The Best of the Bubbly

The long-awaited results from the Bubbles tasting party!

The Crowd Pleaser: D'Aquino's "Asti Spumante"

This light, delicate, sweet sparkling wine is made entirely from Muscat grapes.  Due to its lightness and sweetness, this Italian sparkling wine is a real crowd pleaser.  Its alcohol content is low (7.5%) compared to other sparkling wines (~13%), making this an excellent wine to serve to guests who need to drive home!   D'Aquino Asti Spumante.

Where to Find It: Trader Joe's

How Much it Costs: $5.99

The Winner: Il Conte d'Alba Moscato d'Asti

This sweet Italian wine was the winner from the blind tasting at the Bubbles Party.  Though it is not a true sparkling wine, it is delightfully light.  This wine also has a relatively low alcohol content (5.5%), making it a great wine to serve to guests.  This wine pairs great with fresh fruit or fruit tarts.  It is also made from Muscat grapes.

Where to Find It: Beverages and More

How Much it Costs: $11.99

The Critic's Choice: Domaine Chandon Rosé

This is one of my personal favorites.  There is a wonderful balance of lightness and crispness with sophistication.  Also, this wine is made right here in California.  It is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.  Just make sure to sip slowly--this wine has a 13% alcohol content.

Where to Find It: Most grocery stores; Beverages and More; Domaine Chandon Winery in Yountsville, CA

How Much it Costs: $17.99 (Bevmo); $22 (Domaine Chandon Winery).

This was just a small sample of some of the wonderful wines we got to taste as the Bubbles event.  If you brought a wine that I did not list here, please list it under the comments!  Most of the bottles were thrown away before I was able to take notes on their labels.  

Wine + Art

On a recent trip to Baton Rouge, I went to Corks-N-Canvas, an art studio that mixes learning to paint with drinking wine.  I was instantly intrigued--we all think of pairing wine with cheese, but why not art?

The studio focuses on the concept of art as entertainment.  With a little instruction, anyone can paint.  My mother had already been to the New Orleans Magazine Street location where she painted a crooked house. My mother happens to be extremely artistic, so her pieces looked very good.

That was an interesting thing about the class.  Yes, we were all painting the same object, but, everyones looked different. Very different. There was a bonafide artist sitting next to me, and her painting was downright inspiring.  The class was three hours long--though I was so into it, I could have used an extra hour or two.   Music even played lightly in the background (I was impressed by the playlist, which included India Arie).  It was therapeutic.  I was able to focus all of my energy in one place--the tip of my paint brush and the strokes that followed.

I have no doubt that this concept will be popping up all over the country.  Those of you with a lot of liquidity, look into franchising options!

Mulled Wine

If you are looking for a holiday cocktail (aside from eggnog..), try spicing things up with mulled wine. Mulled wine is typically a red wine served warm and seasoned with cinnamon, vanilla pods, cloves, orange zest, and honey.

Mulled wine has its modern roots in Germany (gluhwein). It is also popular in France (vin chaud) and Italy (vin brulee). Adding spices and sugar was a way to make spoiled wine drinkable. But, please do not use spoiled wine if you are going to make this drink!

Recipe- Mulled Wine

3 bottles of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot)
3/4 cup of port (dessert wine) OR brandy
16 whole cloves (not ground cloves!)
6 cinnamon sticks
1 large orange, zested
juice of 1 orange
1/2-3/4 cup honey or sugar (optional)

Combine ingredients in a large pot over low heat. Bring to barely a simmer and let it heat for about 20 minutes. If it boils, you will boil the alcohol out. Serve warm.

Pairing Red Wine and Chocolate

Red wine and chocolate is currently the "darling" of wine pairing. My roommate was having a red wine/chocolate craving, so we made chocolate souffle and paired it with a red wine. Though the chocolate we used in the souffle was "bittersweet" and had a 60% cacao content, the recipe called for sugar, so the actual souffle was much sweeter than the chocolate.

The amount of sugar in the chocolate is important because the key to a successful red wine/chocolate pairing is that the wine be sweeter than the chocolate. What red wine is sweeter than chocolate? Try a port or a dessert wine.

Just remember: The wine should be sweeter than the chocolate.

If you are eating a bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, try a Merlot. I paired the 2006 vintage of Sterling Vineyard's Merlot with bittersweet chocolate and it was divine! (It was also on sale at my neighborhood grocery store for $10.99).

My absolute favorite port is sold by the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena, CA. It's "Madeira," solera-made, wood-aged brandy. The solera was actually recently discovered, and is over 120 years old. The after taste of caramel makes this wine especially great if pairing with a chocolate with caramel. You can visit the V. Sattui website at www.vsattui.com. They don't sell their wines to mass distributors, so you'd have to order straight from them (or better yet, go visit their tasting room!)

I ended up pairing the souffle with the Merlot, and it worked out great. Another popular red wine for chocolate pairings is Cabernet Sauvignon.

If you are intimidated by all of this, but you would like to pair a wine with your dessert, you can never go wrong with a sweet sparkling wine (sweet Champagnes are indicated by "demi-sec" or "extra dry"). Be adventurous and try new things--the only way to learn about wine is to drink it ;)