A Sparkling Wine World Tour
These are odd times. You don’t need me to tell you that. Social distancing, self-isolation, working from home etc have all led to an explosion of online activities. My two bbfs in Istanbul and I have a weekly happy hour on House Party. Wine tastings have gone virtual on YouTube, Zoom, Instagram, and other platforms. For me, life hasn’t change a great deal since all this began. I already work from home. I have an abiding dislike of people generally and really only leave my apartment a few times a week anyway. What I do miss, is Mass. My church has discovered Zoom (and don’t get me started on the fiasco this has been). But particularly now, during Holy Week, I really feel the loss of actual, real Mass.
However, it is Easter! A time of celebration, joy, and thanksgiving. So as I wake up on this beautiful sunny day in lockdown Istanbul, I decided to put on my pretty Easter dress for the Santa Maria Draperis Zoom crowd and celebrate the day with sparkling wine.
Now, my raison d’être might be Turkish wine, but I’ve already covered the various Turkish sparkling wines in previous posts. So for today’s Easter celebration post, I decided to dig out notes on various European sparkling wines I’ve enjoyed over the last year or so. I remember a time back when that I did not like sparkling wine. At all. I have no idea what was wrong me. Now when I travel and have to make the difficult decision about which wines I bring home; I usually afford space for at least two sparklers.
So, pop a cork to celebrate Easter, spring, sparkling wine…whatever makes you feel exultant today!
Ducal Sontia 2015 Tasting Notes
In 2007, Mitja Lo Duca, a determined mountaineer from Trenta, Primorska, bought a property in Svečina in Slovenia’s Štajerska Slovenija district. There he founded Ducal Wines. Lo Duca farms organically and grows Chardonnay, Laški rizling (Welschriesling), Riesling, Šipon (Furmint), and Pinot Noir.
The Ducal Sontia Brut Nature is a traditional method sparkling wine made with Chardonnay. It was not disgorged prior to corking. It poured deep gold with lively and persistent bubbles. Bubbles burst with aromas of ripe stone fruit, white peach, apricot, white flowers, and almond skin. The wine hit my mouth with all the froth and excitement of sea foam then settled down for a dry, dry finish. Flavors echoed the nose with the addition of fresh bread and apples. Medium-bodied with 13% abv and an acidity as lovely as the bubbles!
Badagoni Brut Sparkling NV Tasting Notes
Badagoni, one of the largest wineries in Georgia creates a huge line up of wines. While I generally prefer to buy wine from smaller producers, especially in Georgia, one cannot escape the really good deal that is Badagoni’s Brut Sparkling wine. Made with Kakhetian Mtsvane in Kakheti, it was vinified using the Charmat method as is appropriate for a grape like Mtsvane.
Pale lemon on the pour with a lively foam of bubbles. Citrusy and floral notes framed a core of tropical fruit aromas on the nose. A creamy foam of bubbles hit my mouth, accompanied by a lively acidity and dry, medium plus finish. Fruity and charming with notes of lemon pity bitterness (in the very best way!). Only 12.5% abv, this Brut Sparkling from Badagoni is a lovely example of what Georgian grapes can do with bubbles and is really far too easy to drink.
Schlumberger Novara Traveller’s Exclusive NV Tasting Notes
This pretty little sekt from Austria’s Schlumberger I bought in Frankfurt Duty Free (ergo it being the “traveller’s exclusive”). Although what makes it different from their Brut Klassik is beyond me. A blend of Welschriesling, Weiß Burgunder (Pinot Blanc), and Chardonnay done in the traditional method, this 12% abvwine poured an intense lemon color with a quick flash of bubbles.
Yeast and fresh bread aromas chased those of ripe yellow fruits, golden apple, and pear, and flowers on the nose. A full and soft mousse filled my mouth with ripe yellow fruit flavors and a sweet candy finish. Dry and clean but it stopped a little short of the kind of crispness I (personally) like in a sparkling wine.
Fratelli Bortolin Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG Dry NV Tasting Notes
Next we move to Italy, to Venice where I picked up this Prosecco from Fratelli Bortolin. Made with 100% Glera, the wine, which we’ll just call Fratelli Bortolin Dry because the full name is a crazy mouthful, poured a light gold with fine and persistent bubbles. Fruity and floral on the nose with golden apple, pear, lemon candy, and almond blossoms.
Low alcohol at only 11% combined with mouthwatering acidity for a light, delicious, and far to easy to drink wine. Juicy white peaches and pears on the palate with a lemony citrus edge. Lightly frothy in the mouth and dry (as the name suggests) it nonetheless had something of a juicy quality to it. Very pretty and charming.
Kir Yianni Paranga Sparkling NV Tasting Notes
My European tour of sparkling wines ends in Greece with the Paranga from Kir Yianni. On my most recent trip to Athens I visited Warehouse CO2, a sparkling wine bar, where I tried the Paranga Sparkling for the first time and earmarked it to bring home. A blend of Chardonnay, Xinomavro, and Moscato (fascinating blend, no?), the grapes all come from Amyndeon PDO in northwest Greece. A traditional method sparkling wine, the Paranga also rested sur lie for about 5 months prior to disgorgement.
This pretty wine showed a bit of an exotic character with tropical white flowers aromas of plumeria and frangipani framing apricot, peach, and pear fruit flavors. Fleshy on the palate but light and frothy with 12% abv and a medium finish. Simple and easy but lovely.
Whatever your occasion, I hope you’re celebrating something today. I plan to open another Greek sparkling wine…but that’s for a future post. In the meantime, I wish you a Happy Easter!