Choosing the right sparkling wine
Any celebration is incomplete without a good sparkling wine. The most important moments of our lives are commemorated with a glass of sparkling wine in our hand.
We drink sparkling wines to celebrate a birth of a child, a graduation, a wedding, to mark special milestones, to start a new year, a new job, or a new decade.
December is the month of joy and social gatherings, the month when we come together with our loved ones, our family, friends, and co-workers, to end the year on a high note. At these gatherings, the right sparkling wine can be the icing on the cake.
If you want to learn how to choose the right sparkling wine and serve it in style to impress your guests, here are some tips to make your bubbles truly sparkle.
Charmat or classic sparkling wine?
It depends on what budget you have and who you are hosting. Classic sparkling wines tend to be more expensive, as it takes at least two years, often even longer, to make them. The classic method of producing sparkling wines requires the wine to be fermented twice, the second time in the bottle where the sparkling wine is in constant contact with lees.
Classic sparkling wines have a more complex aromatic profile and fine bubbles – they are perfect for more demanding wine lovers.
Sparkling wines produced with charmat or tank method mature in stainless steel vessels for just a few months. They are more affordable and tend to have fruity notes. They can be appreciated by a wider range of consumers.
Clinking glasses, yes or no?
Although opinions on this matter differ, we generally do not clink glasses when drinking sparkling wine. You simply raise your glass, look the person you are toasting with in the eyes, and take a sip. Is this rule carved in stone? Of course not.
How to serve and taste sparkling wine?
To showcase its qualities to the fullest, sparkling wine is to be served at 6 °C. Before serving it, you should leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours to cool. Do not keep it in the freezer, as sparkling wine is extremely sensitive to changes in temperature.
Ideally, you should drink sparkling wine from a glass that allows you to observe the bubbles. We recommend using tulip glasses with an effervescent point notched in the bottom, which accelerates the flow of bubbles. Remember, the better the sparkling wine, the smaller the bubbles are and the longer the foam lasts.
We always drink sparkling wine as an aperitif, as it prepares our taste buds for the more intense flavours of our food. We can enjoy it alone or alongside refreshments. However, we should avoid serving sparkling wine with desserts, unless we are having a sweet sparkling wine, in which case the wine needs to be sweeter than the dessert.
