Category:Sparkling wine

Father’s Day wine 2017

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Father's day wine 2017This year, as we ponder the wine to buy Dad for Father’s Day, I’m struck that so many people will assume Dad wants only big, manly wines. Because he is, after all, Dad.

Oh ye of little faith. Dad may like many styles of wine, and limiting him just because he is Dad does both of you a disservice. Wine is not a pair of cuff links, after all. The great joy of wine is that there are so many different kinds available, and Dad may want a change.

Hence the blog’s Father’s Day wine 2017 post. Keep the blog’s wine gift-giving guidelines in mind throughout the process: Don’t buy someone wine that you think they should like; buy them what they will like.

This year’s Father’s Day wine suggestions:

• Leese-Fitch Firehouse Red 2015 ($12, sample, 13.5%): This California red blend a Big Wine company shows that it’s possible to combine margins with enjoyable wine. There’s a touch too much smoothness (leave the merlot out of the blend next time) among the black fruit, but it also has soft tannins and enough acidity for all for the fruit.

• Domaine des Cassagnoles Côtes de Gascogne 2016 ($10, sample, 12%): This white blend from France’s Gascony is consistently excellent the wine. There is more lime citrus than the white grapeiness I prefer, but it remains fresh, clean and enjoyable.

• Vilarnau Cava Brut Reserva NV ($15, sample, 11.5%): Very well done Spanish sparkling wine made with the traditional cava blend that gives it depth and apple and lemon fruit. It’s not as tart as many cheaper cavas.

• Georges Vigouroux Pigmentum Rose 2016 ($10, purchased, 13%): Yet another well crafted, solidly made French rose, this time with malbec. Much fruitier (ripe strawberry?) than the previous vintage, but still fresh and clean.

More Father’s Day wine:
• Father’s Day wine 2016
• Father’s Day wine 2015
• Father’s Day wine 2014

 

Mother’s Day wine 2017

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

mother's day wine 2017Four suggestions for Mother’s Day wine 2017

The same lesson applies for this, the Wine Curmudgeon’s 11th annual Mother’s Day wine post, that applied to the previous 10. Buy Mom something she will like, and not something you think she should drink. Our Mother’s Day wine gift giving guidelines are here; the idea is to make her happy, not to impress her with your wine knowledge. She’s your Mom – she’s impressed already.

These Mother’s Day wine suggestions should get you started:

• Pewsey Vale Dry Riesling 2015 ($16, sample, 12.5%): Australian rieslings are some of the least known quality wines in the world, because who associates riesling and Australia? This white shows why the wines offer so much quality at more than a fair price: dry, crisp, lemon and lime fruit, and a certain zestiness. Highly recommended.

• Cristalino Rose Brut NV ($9, sample, 12%): Every time I taste this Spanish cava, or sparkling wine, I am amazed at how well made it is, and especially how well made it is for the price. No wonder it has been in the $10 Hall of Fame since the beginning. Tight bubbles, red and citrus fruit, and perfect for Mother’s Day brunch.

• Mulderbosch Cabernet Sauvignon Rose 2016 ($10, sample, 12.5%): This South African pink is tighter and more closed this year, and the weight of the cabernet is more obvious. Having said that, it’s still a fine, fresh rose, with dark red fruit and a little spice and what could even be tannins in the back that add a little interest.

• Bravium Pinot Noir 2015 ($30, sample, 12.5%): This California red is nicely done, a varietally correct pinot from the well-regarded Anderson Valley and more or less worth what it costs. Some earth, red fruit and even a hint of orange peel.

More about Mother’s Day wine:
• Mother’s Day wine 2016
• Mother’s Day wine 2015
• Mother’s day wine 2014
• Wine of the week: Anne Amie Cuvee Muller Thurgau 2015

Wine of the week: Francois Montand Brut Rose NV

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Montand Brut RoseHow about $12 for the very French Montand Brut Rose sparkling wine for Mother’s Day?

The wine world’s obsession with Champagne has always puzzled me, even before I stopped drinking it. We’re always reminded that perfectly enjoyable wines like cava and Prosecco aren’t “real” like Champagne and that we’re missing something by not drinking it.

Nuts to that – these days, given that acceptable Champagne may cost as much as $40, what’s the point when there is quality sparkling at a fraction of the price? Hence, the Montand Brut Rose.

The Montand Brut Rose ($12, purchased, 12%) is French, made with odd grapes (cinsault, grenache noir) that come mostly from the Jura, an odd region best known for cheese and what the locals call yellow wine. But the Montand is made using methode champenoise, with the second fermentation in the bottle, just like the $40 stuff. That means it has the tight, rapid bubbles that are the hallmark of well-made sparkling.

Look for red fruit aromas (raspberries?), a little creaminess, and soft, simple, and enjoyable red berry flavors. This will work both before and after Mother’s Day brunch, as well as for brunch itself. Scrambled eggs in the French style, anyone?

Or keep a bottle chilled in the refrigerator, handy when you feel like bubbles after a very hard day at work. At this price, it’s truly an affordable luxury.

Wine of the week: Tiamo Prosecco Extra Dry NV

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Tiamo ProseccoCan a sweet Prosecco be enjoyable? Yes, if it’s the Tiamo Prosecco

The Tiamo Prosecco is a sweet wine. There, I said it.

But before you close this page, know that the touch of sweetness is part of the wine, and not added sugar. In this, it’s the way Italian sparkling wine is supposed to be, and one of the reasons that I enjoyed the Tiamo Prosecco ($15, sample, 11%). Balance is all, and especially these days when it can be so difficult to find.

Look for smaller bubbles than in cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, or in Champagne. That’s because Prosecco is made using the charmat method, where the second fermentation that produces the bubbles is done in a tank and not in the bottle. But the Tiamo Prosecco isn’t too light, unlike those Proseccos or other charmat wines where the bubbles fizz about as much as flat Alka-Seltzer.

The sweetness, meanwhile, is offset by citrus and white fruit, as well as a noticeable green apple aroma. Extra dry, in the winespeak that is sparkling wine, means the wine is sweeter than burt, which means dry.

Serve this well chilled, and drink it on its own or with salads or something like roast chicken marinated in rosemary, olive oil, garlic, and lemon juice. That’s what I did, and the pairing reminded me why they matter when you pay attention.

Mini-reviews 93: Barefoot bubbly, red Loire, Ridge, red Cahors

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Barefoot bubblyReviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the final Friday of each month

• Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvee NV ($10, sample, 11.5%): One of the most frustrating things about reviewing wine is consistency of the product. I’ve written glowing reviews of this wine, but when I tasted the most recent sample, it was almost flat and devoid of flavor and character. Is this a flaw with this specific bottle of wine? Is it a problem with the current “vintage?” Or is it a problem in the supply chain, where the wine sat in a warehouse or delivery truck? I think the last, since I’ve had this problem with sparkling wine from many producers at many prices over the past 18 months. This is one of the disadvantages of non-vintage ones; you don’t know how long it has been sitting and getting worse.

• Domaine de la Chanteleuserie Cuvée Alouettes ($17, purchased, 12%): This red wine, from the French region of Loire, is an excellent example of what the Loire can do with cabernet franc – red berry fruit, freshness, graphite, spice, and length. It’s clean through the palate with surprisingly soft tannins. Highly recommended.

• Ridge Geyserville 2014 ($35, purchased, 14.5%): This California zinfandel red blend isn’t anywhere near ready to drink, and needs at least another year (if not longer). Until then, look for ripe black fruit and a lot less of the style and elegance that Ridge is known for.

• Château Lafleur de Haute-Serre 2014 ($10, purchased, 13%): This French red, made with malbec from the Cahors region, is not what I’d hoped given that it’s from Georges Vigouroux, a fine producer. It’s just ordinary, 1970s style wine with too much unripe fruit and a rusticity that isn’t as much charming as annoying.

New Year’s sparkling wine 2016

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

New Year's sparkling wineFour New Year’s sparkling wine recommendations that combine value and quality

If you want Champagne recommendations for the New Year, you’ll have to go here. Champagne? We don’t need no stinkin’ Champagne.

In fact, even without the Wine Curmudgeon’s Champagne boycott, the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France keeps getting more expensive and doesn’t show any real improvement in quality to match the higher prices. And the bargain Champagnes on the market, the ones that cost around $20 or $25? When a $20 wine is touted a bargain, that’s all you need to know.

Hence my sparkling wine 2016 recommendations, which focus on affordability and value.

Also handy: The blog’s annual wine gift guidelines and the sparkling wine primer.

• Camino Calixo Brut NV ($10, purchased, 11.5%): Very lemony dry Spanish bubbly with tight bubbles and crisp finish. Think of it as a softer version of Hall of Fame standby Cristalino. It’s more of a food wine than I expected, so consider this for a New Year’s brunch.

• Carpene Malvolti 1868 Extra Dry NV ($16, sample, 11.5%): This Italian Prosecco isn’t as sweet – extra dry means sweeter than brut, which means dry – as some brut Proseccos. Very well done, with lemon fruit and a creaminess you don’t usually find in this price of wine.

• Valdo Prosecco Brut NV ($12, sample, 11%): This year’s bottle was more Champagne-like than last year’s, which wasn’t a bad thing. It was firmer, with more structure, less sweet citrus fruit, and an appealing character that said, “This is more than a cheap Prosecco.” Highly recommended.

• Gérard Bertrand Brut Rosé Cuvée Thomas Jefferson 2013 ($16, purchased, 12%): This French cremant (a sparkling wine from a region that isn’t Champagne) had tight bubbles and cherry fruit. It’s an intriguing wine, made with chardonnay and pinot noir just like Champagne. I would have preferred less chardonnay, which made it rounder, and more chenin blanc, the third grape in the blend.

More on New Year’s sparkling wine
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2015
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2014
• New Year’s sparkling wine 2013
• Wine of the week: Segura Viudas Brut Rose NV
• Wine of the week: Vega Barcelona Seleccion NV

Wine of the week: Perelada Brut Rosado NV

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Perelada Brut RosadoWant value and quality? Then the Perelada Brut Rosado is a holiday must

The wine business, and especially the Champagne part of it, has taught us that sparkling wine matters only if it’s made with chardonnay or pinot noir. The Perelada Brut Rosado is here to say otherwise.

It’s made with garnacha, the Spanish version of the grape that produces a wonderfully ripe, cherry-ish flavor, less subtle than pinot noir’s more elegeant cherry. But it’s perfect for the Perelada Brut Rosado ($10, purchased, 11.5%).

That’s because cava, the Spanish sparkling wine, can be a little tonic-like in the wrong hands. The traditional cava grapes offer freshness, some lemon, and not much else if the winemaker isn’t careful. But the way the garnacha is used here fills out the wine, and makes it even fresher and more fun.

Drink this chilled anytime you want bubbly, whether to celebrate over the next week, or because it’s Tuesday night. Highly recommended, and a candidate for the 2017 $10 Hall of Fame when it debuts next week.