Check out our 5-list of sparkling wines for every day or at a cookout with friends.
Sparkling wines are among the most versatile around – equally fun to drink in summer or winter alike, and they pair well with everything from sushi to poultry to cheese. Chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier are the grapes used for champagne. But a number of other varieties can be given a shot of effervescence, and more than a handful work well with bubbles.
If you’re unfamiliar with the sparkling water category to choose, a good rule of thumb to remember is that Champagne is a spakling wine that must come from its eponymous region in France (and adthere to a strict set of rules), which means that not all sparkling wines are champagne.
In fact, sparkling wine can be make all over the world, with many regions known for their distinctive styles. Italy produces prosecco, méthode cap classique is made in South Africa, and cava is what you’ll find in Spain. And remember: Just because these bottles don’t bear the word “champagne” on their labels doesn’t mean they can’t be great.
All in all, there are just a few of the many distinctive sparklers out there. Here are our top 5 sparkling wine picks you should try this season.
PROSECCO: “CASA COSTE PIANE VALDOBBIADENE FRIZZANTE”
Here is a prosecco of unusual gravitas. A product of meticulous Italian farming and minimal intervention in the cellar, it is a complex, substantial wine that can hold its own against top-flight sparklers from other regions
CAVA: “AVINYÓ SELECCIÓ LA TICOTA BRUT NATURE GRAN RESERVA”
This is a delicious cava from a Catalonian vineyard outside Barcelona. A dry, gently spicy wine, it is a great bubbly to serve with large meals – seafood dishes, in particular.
SCHRAMSBERG 2016 “BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT”
Blanc de Blanc Bruts sparkling wine is made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes in the same manner as champagne (known as Méthode Champenoise or Traditional Method). This wine is clean, crisp, and perfectly dry with notes of brioche, apple, honey, baking spices, and the tiniest bit of smoke.
KEUSH VAYOTZ DZOR ARMENIA BRUT
“(KEUSH Vayots Dzor) weds high quality with a dreamy price point. Crafted using the Traditional Method, or Méthode Champenoise, from indigenous Armenian varietals (Khatoun Kharji and Voskehat) and grown on volcanic and limestone soils, the grapes are ripened at their high-elevation perch situated between 4,000-6,000 feet above sea level,” Karen Willian, who owns and operates ACME Fine Wines in Napa shares.
MIONETTO PROSECCO BRUT NV 187 ML
It is a light body, crisp and clean dryness sparkling wine. Best of all, the Prosecco itself is a value that belies the price tag with its bright acidity, and bouquet of stone fruits and perfectly ripe orchard apple.
