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New Year's Bubbles

There is likely no other time of year more closely associated with champagne and other sparkling wines than New Year’s Eve.
There is likely no other time of year more closely associated with champagne and other sparkling wines than New Year’s Eve.
 
Though these wines could certainly be employed very well as apertifs or even dinner wines throughout the year, they are particularly linked with celebration.
 
On the brink of New Year’s Eve, this is as good a time as any for reflecting a little on the “Bubblies” and for suggesting a few that might serve to help you welcome in 2015.
 
From Champagne to the very humble Baby Duck, there’s a huge spectrum of carbonated wine, with Champagne at the top of the heap.
 
To be called “champagne’ a wine must be produced in that specific region of France, where the great houses such as Veuve Clicquot, Mumm’s, Taittinger, and Roederer have been producing these wines which undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle for centuries.
 
Many other regions of France, and indeed, wineries all round the world make wines using the traditional method of Champagne, though none will command the prices that can be associated with the “Mother Region”.
 
At one time, making champagne involved bottling the still wine, but leaving space to add a dose of sugar and yeast, and then putting on a tight closure, such as a bottle cap; then, the bottles were placed in wooden racks with the bottle neck slightly below the base of the bottle and left there for the next phase of the operation.
 
This was called “riddling”, and from time to time each bottle individually would be given a slight shake and quarter turn, gradually becoming more and more inverted while all along the dosage converted the sugar into more alcohol and carbonation to create the all-important bubbles.
 
The process allowed for the sediment left by dying yeast cells to gradually and gently slide to the neck of the bottle, leaving the rest of the wine clear.
 
When the fermentation and riddling process were complete, the neck of the bottle would be frozen, so that the cap could be skillfully removed, and the pressure created by carbonation would expel the frozen plug of sediment.
 
The bottle would be righted very quickly to avoid waste, the gap created by the expulsion topped up, and a cork wired in place to retain all the goodness.
 
By today, much of the process has been automated, with huge machines designed to “riddle” dozens of cases at once, though I am sure there are still places following the old methods religiously.
The other method for creating sparkling wine, the Charmat or Cuvée Close method, is the one used for most inexpensive varieties, including the popular Prosecco of northern Italy; this involves inducing carbonation into the wine under pressure, so that the beverage is already carbonated when it is bottled.
 
Generally, wines made in the traditional method have more depth of flavour, will be more golden in colour, and to my palate, have more weight – Proseccos and other examples of the ‘pressurized’ method will be lighter in turn, but zesty and crisp.
 
In northern Italy, Prosecco is very popular with the younger crowds, who can order it by the pitcher just as someone in North America might call for a pitcher of draught beer.
 
Certainly, both styles have their place, and both will definitely find their way to someone’s flute – that tall skinny glass that is perfect for preserving bubbles – this New Year’s Eve.
 
With Champagne-type wines, you can find many different styles and levels of sweetness – there are Blanc de Blancs – white wine made from white grapes, Blanc de Noir – a white but slightly darker tinged wine made from dark grapes, Rosés, and even Reds – often Shiraz.
 
The most common style is Brut, and Brut is drier than Sec, but there are styles that go from Extra-Brut with less than 6 grams of residual sugar per litre to Doux (Sweet) with 50 grams.
 
For this New Year’s, for Champagne, I would be tempted to buy the Tsarine Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Vintage Champagne, $54.95 until after New Year’s, with its bottle twisted to resemble an onion dome – both the name and the shape a tribute to the Russian court which was a great consumer of Champagne in the 19th century. Now made by Lanson, the original house, Chanoine, was one of the oldest in Chanpagne.
 
It has a fine and generous mousse – tiny and persistent bubbles – with some vanilla and toast on the nose and creamy freshness on the palate – it’s available at the Great Northern Road store.
 
Most sparklers made in the traditional method from other regions will be a fraction the price of champagne, and Ontario has some very good ones.
 
Our own Sara d’Amato has given a 90 to the Jackson-Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Brut 2011, $22.95, at both the LCBO and the Wine Rack stores, calling it “impressive and riveting,” “substantial and elegant, ”and “balanced, firm, and generous.”
 
Henry of Pelham has won many awards for its Cuvée Catharine sparkling wines, both the Brut and Rosé versions – each is $29.95 and is available at the Station Mall and Great Northern Road stores.
 
You will appreciate both of these, with the Rosé providing some berry and even rhubarb notes and the Brut said to present toast, citrus and apple characteristics.
 
One of the best sources for very good but inexpensive sparklers made in the classic method is Spain, with the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava coming in at just $14.25, complete with a free bottle stopper until January 3.
 
This wine is almost guaranteed to be on most publications’ best buy lists year after year: it is nutty and rich with great bubbles and length for the price.
 
The Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava (The Spanish word denoting the classic method) shows more grapefruit along with toasty notes – it’s $12.95, but there are still a few of the gift packs on the shelf with two flutes for $18.25.
 
Chile’s extremely dependable Cono Sur is a good choice for $13.95 along with 9 bonus Air Miles –it’s lively with a tinge of sweetness and delivers all you could wish for with a wine at this price.
 
As for Prosecco, we are finding more and more examples available to us, and while they would be fine for New Year’s Eve, they are very often recommended to accompany appetizers, and so you could consider starting the evening with a Prosecco and popping the cork on a Champagne-type of wine at midnight.
 
Among the many decent Proseccos, Astoria, $13.95, is elegant and simple in an attractive bottle that speaks of celebration all by itself, and the Bottega Vino dei Poeti for the same price offers some apple and pear notes.
 
There is also a Bottega Gold for $24.95, in a completely opaque gold bottle – it will surely impress, but I can’t say that the wine in the bottle itself is significantly different from its more humble stable-mate.
 
Both the Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco Speriore, $17.95 and the Foss Marai, $19.95, in its bright blue bottle, come from one of the best regions for Prosecco, with the latter earning a best buy in the past from the Wine Enthusiast and the former coming from one of the region’s top producers, known for its Pinot Grigio which is the best selling white wine in Vintages. – the extra few dollars may well be worth it in these instances.
 
There’s a myriad of other sparkling wines on the shelf, from California to Australia and back again, and the wine consultants can certainly help you find your preferences.
 
Good luck with your shopping, and Happy New Year!
 
P.S. the next Vintages Release is slated for January 10, and so I will be penning a new column next weekend - which will get me into the 2015 cycle – and point out many, many good wines on what promises to be one of the best releases for the year.

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