There is one way to really ruin a New Year’s celebration: serving low-grade sparkling wine.
There are many affordable sparkling wines on the market that run the gamut for quality from the pathetic to the excellent. Choosing the wine that is right for your personal celebration or party could be daunting. Check out the list below for suggestions.
Barefoot Sparkling Wines ($10)
Barefoot makes a complete line of sparklers from the traditional dry brut style to sweet, fruit-flavored wines. There are few wines that can beat Barefoot at producing well-made and affordable wines while maintaining affordable prices. There are so many styles and types of Barefoot sparklers that it would take this entire column to list them all, so please take our word for it, they are exceptional wines for the price.
Biltmore Estates 2011 Chateau Reserve Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine ($30)
This sparkler possess a soft, smooth flavor and aroma ending in a velvet-like creamy finish. Biltmore Estates Blanc de Blancs is an imperial wine with great depth and charm.
Prosecco ($7-$20)
Prosecco is series of Italian sparkling wines whose popularity is increasing by leaps and bounds in this country while still maintaining a reasonable price tag. Some worth trying are the Val D’oca Prosecco ($12), Villa Sandi Prosecco ($13) and Bellenda San Fermo 2010 Prosecco Superiore ($20). Oh yes, guess what, Barefoot also makes a very nice Prosecco that sells for the super affordable price of $7.
While on the subject of Italian wines we must issue a warning. Do not buy an Italian spumanti without knowing exactly what you are buying. All too often, the buyer will want a sweet sparkling wine and will grab any wine that says spumanti off of the shelf. Wrong. Spumanti is the Italian word for all sparkling wine. It is only the Asti Spumanti or Moscato Spumanti that are sweet sparkling wines; the rest are on the dry side.
Anna de Codorniu Brut Rose ($15)
In Spain, the sparkling wines are called cava and there are also some excellent wine buys in that area. This cava has been constructed in the style of the classical Champagnes, comprising 70 percent pinot noir and 30 percent chardonnay. That’s not all that is interesting about this wine; it also comes in an easy to spot, elegantly colored pink bottle.
Schramsberg Vineyards Mirabelle Brut Napa Valley Champagne ($18)
There are also some American sparkling wines that are of excellent quality and more than affordable. The Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Napa Valley Champagne has been made in the classical style from pinot noir and chardonnay grapes, although this wine makes no attempt to emulate other sparkling wines. It is a true California wine, accenting fruit and freshness. The wine is crisp, with a toast-like aroma and hints of cherry, citrus and oak in the flavor. Here is a great party wine that can hold its own with some of the best foreign sparklers at a lower price.
Le Grande Pavillon De Boschendal Brute Rose ($15)
The name may be French but the wine behind the label is South African. Made by the classical formula for making Champagne, this wine is a delight. It’s bright, clean and full of all one seeks in a fine sparkling wine. As has been the trend with South Africa, they offer outstanding wines at low prices.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at ben@articlesonwine.com.
