13 June, 2010

Champagne, it's not just for special occasions anymore.

Image via bgvjpe's flickr

I'm a big fan of sparkling wine, even those not from the Champagne region (the only sparkling wines legally bearing the name Champagne). They are incredibly food friendly and come in a variety of styles that should be able to please anyone.

That's why I found this post on the WSJ blog, On Wine, intriguing. Apparently, Robert Mondavi's low priced Woodbridge line has launched an everyday sparkling wine. To launch the brand as an "affordable luxury" they teamed up with Daniel Boulud's DGDB in New York, known for 14 different kinds of sausages. The idea is to bring sparkling wine to the everyday, to be enjoyed with comfort foods like sliders and fried chicken.

Hooray! But we didn't need Woodbridge to usher in this trend. There are a number of great Cavas from Spain and Proseccos from Italy that nicely fit the description of an everyday affordable luxury. Neither of these have the complexity of a high end sparkler, but for everyday drinking, you're not looking for that. Rather, these at the lower end provide simple pleasing flavors that complement food and snacks perfectly. Try them with saltier foods like sushi, chinese take-out, pizza, french fries, and the like. No doubt you'll find it enjoyable.

Cheers!

2 comments:

  1. Hot buttered popcorn. A sommelier friend of mine passed this along and we tried it. It is incredible. And french fired, yup. It makes sense though when you think a lot of cocktail hours at events server fried appetizers with bubbly.

    Another awesome write-up!

    Jason

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  2. I totally agree with you, we feel a bottle of prosecco on a Saturday grilling with friends is just perfect.

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