New Years Eve is just around the corner. Can you give us some quick tips to picking the perfect champagne?
Stephanie M. emailed us at expert@sweetspot.ca and our sommelier Erin Rosar, answered;
Shopping for your New Years’ bubbles can be lots of fun so here are a few handy must-know tips and terms to help you understand some key sparkling wine labels:
- Only wines coming from the Champagne region in France are allowed to use the term Champagne on their labels.
- Champagne is a blended wine style made from three permitted grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
- Vintage Champagne is very special and is a blend of grapes from just one year – tricky in a region where the yearly average is only 10 degrees celsius.
- Non-Vintage Champagne is a blend of wines from many different years, as is the most common style of Champagne on our wine shop shelves. Very consistent in flavour and style.
- Blanc de Blanc on a Champagne or sparkling wine label lets you know that the wine has been made with only the Chardonnay grape and this will be the lightest and most elegant of the Champagne styles.
- Blanc de Noirs means that the wine has been made from the two black grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and will be a little fuller in body and will be a great choice to pair with a heavy meal or food styles.
- Cremant is a term that means that the wine has been made in the same method as Champagne but that it comes from another region within France other than Champagne – these are great wines and are very reasonably priced! Great to know about!
- Prosecco is a grape variety that grows in the Italian region around Venice. This wine is a light and fresh style of bubbles that is a wonderful sparkling wine. It is also the base for the Bellini cocktail.
- Moscato d’Asti is a must-know sparkling wine style from Italy, especially if you are planning on serving anything chocolate for your New Years celebration. Moscato is the grape variety that this wine is made from and this slightly sweet and softly sparkling (frizzante) wine is sure to make you smile as it tickles your nose.
Renowned as Western Canada's favourite sommelier and fast-becoming a national name, Erin Rosar is the creator of 'Wine in the Kitchen' and founder of WG Wines based in Calgary, where she goes by the alter ego of Wine Girl (WG). She is also an instructor with the International Sommelier Guild and is a recognized sommelier with the Court of Masters Sommeliers out of London, England. Learn more about Wine Girl at www.wgwines.com.
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