The first thing to know about sparkling wine is that the varietal range is as broad for sparkling as it is for red or white wines. So if you think that sparkling wine is Prosecco and Champagne, you're really missing the range. There are white, rose, and red sparkling wines from around the world! One fact about sparkling wines is that very often vintners will blend vintages to retain a consistent flavor over the years. Contrary to other wines, sparklings only have a vintage year when a the vineyard had a particularly good year, and the vintner put some of the juice aside for a vintage wine. Most vintages are blended for the favored consistent flavor. Sparkling wines with vintage years that are not from Portugal are going to be more expensive, because they are limited-release wines.
Below I am introducing you to five different sparkling wines.
Broadbent Vino Verde 2001, Portugal - a blend of Loureiro, Trajadura, and Arinto grapes, this is one of the best vino verde wines available from Portugal. It is a very clear pale wine, and "verde" refers to how early the grapes were picked, not the wine color. I smelled melon and funk (think sweaty sock) from this wine, but tasted a tangy citrus. Some unusual notes about this wine: the flavor is very light, the alcohol content is very low, the price is very low, because Portugal subsidizes the wine industry, and the wine is made to drink quickly (not age). These facts add up to a big recommendation: buy it for your hot summer day picnic with salads or sipping while mowing the lawn. But don't buy it for a hearty meal or formal event.
Domaine de Montbourgeau Cremant du Jura, France - Jura likes to produce sparkling wines, and in this case the vintner used Chardonnay grapes. The color of this wine is a very light gold and I smelled pink grapefruit in the wine. The flavor was interesting, not at all like a sparkling I am accustomed to from France. It was not sweet or citrusy, but balanced between the two. Its a simple wine, and for some reason, I really wanted a young and simple goat cheese with it. It didn't have much flavor, but it could probably stand up to some baked white fish dishes -- with a light creamy sauce, but not lemon or any grilling flavor.
Lini Lambrusco Rosato 2009, Emilia Romgana, Italy - Once upon a time, America imported sickly sweet and cheap Lambrusco sparkling wines (such as Riunite). These days, we can find a variety of Lambruscos. This wine had a fresh smell, like newly cut grass, and light red / pink color with a visible water line. The flavor was tart and the wine had a lot of tannin in it. The tannin left a very dry feeling in my mouth, and overall I thought the wine would taste better with food. Italians would tend to agree with me, as this wine is often paired with a Bolognese sauce, which would balance against the wine well.
Bruno Verdi Sangue di Guida 2011, Lombardia, Italy - produced from less common grapes, Croatina and Rara Uva, the wine had a strong strawberry and cherry smell. The color was purpley red, and the flavor was like jam -- SWEET cherry with some tannin. Fun facts about this wine are that it was so popular in the 13th century, that the Catholic church worried about over-consumption. Therefore, the church named it "sangue di guida", which literally means "the blood of Judas", in order to deter heavy consumption! If you're not scared off by the name, I'd recommend a pepper steak or spicy food with this wine, so that something with a strong flavor balances the wines jammy taste.
Blanc de blanc Brut Comelli NV, Italy - informally added at the end, information about this wine was scarce. It was produced from Chardonnay and had a cut grass scent with a hint of yeast. It is a tart wine that is neither citrusy nor sweet. It tasted more like Prosecco and Champagne than any other wine this night. It was my favorite, but I probably still wouldn't buy it; it wasn't as smooth as some cremant sparkling wines I've had, nor did it have enough of the Prosecco flavor that I like.
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