Sparkling Wine

Wines of Spain.- Rioja !!! Wednesday December 11, 2019 – 6:30 – 9:30+ – at Vizcaya Restaurant in South Tampa

By in Bistros Eateries & Cheese, Foodies, Restaurant, Spain Wine, Sparkling Wine, Tampa Bay Wine Pairing, Tampa Examiner Wine Pairing, Tastings, Wine Chatter and Blather

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Wines of Spain. Wednesday December 11, 2019  –  Rioja  6:30 – 9:30+  at Vizcaya Restaurant in South Tampa

Wine and Tapas – $35 (it covers the wine and 3 or 4 Tapas plus any surprises) …after that if you want to explore their menu you ‘re on your own; feel free. It’s good and authentic. It will be fun. Good food pairing!
Vizcaya
3671 S West Shore Blvd
Tampa, FL 33629
The wines will be CAVA, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva along with some Spanish Tapas. The wines will be from Rioja and there maybe a Ribera Del Duero in there… But it’s guaranteed to be a good time and a learning experience. 

Crianza: A wine labeled crianza has spent one year in oak barrels.
Reserva: A wine that says reserva on the bottle has been aged for two years; one of these years has to have been spent in oak.
Gran Reserva: These wines are aged for two years in oak and three years in the bottle.
Cava: Spain’s iconic sparkling wine style, and the Iberian Peninsula’s response to Champagne    

Most Riojas are red, and Tempranillo is the principal red grape used. The native grapes Garnacha Tinta (Grenache in France), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano are also allowed in the blend. The Riojas can be in the elegant Bordeaux style, with hints of vanilla from the oak aging; which is the traditional style characterized by lengthy aging and some sweetness; or, gradually, in a more modern style with less aging, which highlights deep and fresh fruit flavors. All this pairs great with food.
White Rioja wines are usually made from Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia grapes. Their will be some of that too.
Hope to see you there.

Franciacorta! The Champagne of Italy!

By in Desert Wines, Italian Wine, Sparkling Wine, Tampa Bay Wine Pairing, Wine and Food Pairings, Wine Chatter and Blather

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Franciacorta! Ever heard of it? Franciacorta is a sparkling wine from the Province of Brescia (Lombardy) with DOCG status, located on the hills located between the southern shore of Lake Iseo and the city of Brescia.
Where’s that? Italy. The top of the boot in the center; in between Piedmont and The Tre Venezie.
If you’re drinking a bubbly from Italy, there is a very strong chance that bubbly is Prosecco, but did you know that there’s another bubbly called Franciacorta, and has more like Champagne than Prosecco?
Honest! And it’s growing in popularity.
The still wines from Franciacorta have ancient traditions and documented in Brescia City council books as “Franzacurta” as far back as in 1277. The Middle Ages! But the sparkling wines are new and only been made since 1961. Prosecco as we know has been around for hundreds.
The difference between Prosecco and Franciacorta is the way each of the wines is made.
In the case of Prosecco, is made using what is known as the Charmat method. It’s a faster and cheaper way to create quality sparkling wine. In this method, the wine is transferred from its first fermentation vat to a large sealed pressurized tank where it undergoes secondary fermentation to create the carbonation. Then the carbonated wine is bottled and shipped to market. The result is a wine that is bubbly with delicious hints of fruit and freshness.
Franciacorta, on the other hand, is made the exact same way winemakers in France make Champagne.
The Method Champenoise or the Traditional Method, Franciacorta receives its bubbles by allowing a secondary fermentation to occur in the bottle. During this fermentation the CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) that’s created is absorbed into the wine, it does not escape and creates the bubbles we’ve come to love in Champagne. This process also usually means the wine is drier with a yeastier and less fruity character than Prosecco. This process of “sur lie” aging is what many say makes wines made in this method more complex.
Furthermore, there is another major distinct difference between Prosecco and Franciacorta. It’s the grapes used to make each of the wines. In Prosecco the grape is Glera, a white grape that has been grown in the Veneto and Friuli regions for hundreds of years. It’s a grape with high acidity, which makes it perfect for bubbly.
Franciacorta uses Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, which are the grapes also used to make Champagne. Just like Champagne… Franciacorta — it’s the name of the wine and the name of the region where it’s made Just like Champagne… it’s a warmer region than the chilly Champagne region, so the grapes are riper and fuller, which results in a wine that is not as racy and/or have the minerality that the Champagne region does. It’s a rounder profile but with the the designations for dosage exactly like those in Champagne.
Do the differences really matter? Only if you try them and enjoy how one, or both, taste.
Seek it out.

Have you ever wondered what the Stages of Champagne making are? Fret no more.

By in Education and Culture, Sparkling Wine, Travel and Places, Uncategorized

Have you ever wondered what the Stages of Champagne making are?  Fret no more. There are several specific steps or phases in the making the sparkling wine of Champagne.These steps are governed by professional bodies and government agencies to adhere to code. See them listed below.
Let’s begin…
HARVESTING AND PRESSING
Harvest time in Champagne takes place between mid-September and early October depending on the year. The start dates of the harvests vary according to the vineyard. They are determined by Champagne’s professional body based on objective criteria that aim to ensure the wine produced is of optimal quality.
FERMENTATION
After pressing, the musts are poured into vats where they will be fermented twice (alcoholic and malolactic fermentation).
BLENDING
This consists of blending the wines produced from different grape varieties, vineyards and years in varying proportions. Only millésimé or ‘vintage’ champagnes are blended with wines from a single year. These are only made in good years.
TIRAGE
This is the name given to the moment when the wines are bottled. The liqueur de tirage, containing yeast and sugar, are added to provoke a second fermentation. The bottle is then closed with a small hollow plastic seal (called a bidule in French) held in place by a metal crown cap.
THE PRISE DE MOUSSE
This is the second fermentation (literally the ‘foam taking’) that lasts about eight weeks. As during the first fermentation, the yeast consumes yeast and converts it into alcohol. It uses up all the oxygen in the bottle and releases carbon dioxide. This time the gas stays in the wine, making it sparkling.
AGEING
When the prise de mousse is complete, the yeast dies and forms a deposit whose molecules interact with those of the wine. The ageing period varies according to the blending type and the results sought, but legislation has established fairly long minimum periods in the interests of quality that set champagne apart from other sparkling wines: – 15 months minimum after tirage, of which 12 on lees for non-vintage champagnes. – 3 years for vintage champagnes.
RIDDLING
When the champagne is deemed to be sufficiently aged and before it is shipped away in bottles, the deposit that makes the wine cloudy needs to be removed. Riddling (or remuage in French) is a time-honored practice of the traditional method in Champagne that consists of encouraging the deposit to descend to the neck of the bottle so that it can be completely removed. These movements help the heavy deposit to attract the lighter deposit right down to the finest particles and therefore turn the champagne perfectly clear.
DISGORGING
Disgorging consists of opening the bottle to remove the deposit. This is done by freezing the neck. The bottles are first turned upside down after riddling. The neck is plunged into a solution at -25°C that freezes the deposit. The bottle is then up-ended and the crown cap taken off. The solid pellet of ice flies out as a result of the pressure (6 bars inside the bottle).
DOSAGE AND LABELING
The small amount of wine lost is replaced by the liqueur de dosage (mixture of wine and sugar syrup), produced by each vintner. The sugar content has a bearing on the type of champagne desired: Brut or Demi-Sec. The bottles are then stopped with a cork held in place by a wire muzzle. The finished bottle will then be washed, dried and returned to the cellar for a minimum of 2 to 3 months to ensure the liqueur and the wine are perfectly blended. The bottles are then labelled and packaged.
Trade Unions :

Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (Champagne Trade Organisation)
www.champagne.fr
Syndicat Général des Vignerons de la Champagne (Champagne Winegrowers Trade Union)
www.champagne-vignerons.com
Union des Maisons de Champagne (Union of Champagne Houses)
www.maisons-champagne.com 

Yes! Italians can make bubbly just as good as the French, and for much less money! Is “mass market” champagne – under threat from Prosecco??? It’s even passed its French rival as the best-selling type of sparkling wine!!!

By in French Wine, Italian Wine, Sparkling Wine, Wine Chatter and Blather

At an open air event this past week;  I noticed that there were a whole lot of sparkling wines along side the beers in the coolers. A lot of regular folks enjoying it. After watching a guy underestimating the pressure of a Chandon bottle. I told my friend I would write about the bubbly. One thing is for certain the bubbly is now a lot more part of the mix for regular drinking.

Coincidently in the regular nightly news this week came across a RED ALERT! that it’s been a very scary week for Prosecco fans and that the never-ending Sunday brunches are in danger! Oh my !some people are going to be beside themselves!!!

The newswire is saying that Prosecco may not flow quite as freely this year! What a calamity!

But before we get into this…

Let’s talk just a little about Prosecco and also Champagne…


Both Champagne and Prosecco are sparkling wines that take their name from the specific geographic regions they’re made in

We know that Champagne is French, and can only be made in the Champagne region there. Prosecco is Italian, and can only be made in the Veneto region in the northeast.

Champagne can only be made from three grapes in any combination:  Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Prosecco is made from an Italian grape called Glera.

Regular wines are only fermented once, but sparkling wines are fermented twice—this is where the bubbles come from. When they make Champagne, it ferments first in a wooden barrel, and then in the bottle you buy it in.  Prosecco’s two fermentations both take place in a stainless steel vat. It’s a quicker way to do things, which makes Prosecco both cheaper and also less able to age than good old Champagne.

Sales of Prosecco have shot up in recent years as people have discovered that the Italians can make bubbly just as good as the French, and for much less money!

Consumers have increasingly embraced Prosecco a more balanced, easier-to-drink alternative to Champagne; it’s even passed its French rival as the best-selling type of sparkling wine early in 2014.

Guess What ?!? The spike in demand has put pressure on Prosecco producers to amp up their output.

Champagne producers are somewhat concerned about the success of Prosecco. But global demand for champagne is rising too, even in markets such as the UK and US where Prosecco is popular. The prices of Champagne have been adjusting and falling as a response…

In 2014, Prosecco DOC sales increased by 27%, according to the Italian news organization Italy24. Prosecco export to the U.K. rose by more than 60% and increased to 38% in the USA, Italy24 also reported.

It is “mass market” champagne that is – or really should be – under threat from Prosecco.

Is this actually be a good thing for the French champagne producers?

It might force them to decide whether they really want to be the market leaders in inexpensive bubbly, or would rather exploit the strength of their protected brand “Champagne” and charge very high prices for a quality product.

Currently, they are trying to do both. It’s a tough decision especially when Prosecco is gaining ground.

OK, let’s get back to the Prosecco calamity…

If you thought the Greek financial crisis was the biggest disaster facing the world, or the Ukraine standoff, or the Chinese property crash – think again. Something really dreadful is about to hit. There is going to be a global shortage of Prosecco. So said Robert Cremonese, export manager of the popular Prosecco brand Bisol.

“Last year’s harvest was very poor, and down by up to 50% in some parts, so there is a very real possibility of a global shortage,” Cremonese said in an interview with the trade publication The Drinks Business. While the supply is limited, demand is up, according to reports.

The Prosecco DOC, which is made up of territories and provinces in northeast Italy received a lot of rain in the last year, according to Cremonese.

“A lot of the vines in the DOC area are newly planted and they ended up being soaked – the grapes were rotten and yields were down by nearly half in some cases,” Cremonese told The Drinks Business.

Yet, Prosecco’s governing body has stepped in to calm fears of a looming shortage, claiming that yields were smaller than expected, the 2014 harvest went ”far beyond the target”. – Wine Business

To further stir the pot; in a phone call with The Huffington Post on Friday, Domenico Zonin, the CEO of Zonin, Italy’s largest privately owned wine company, also said that there’s no cause for alarm. He doesn’t think it’ll end up making a serious difference in prices or availability.

Nevertheless, it’s out there…a shortage of the Italian bubbly could occur as a result of high demand and rainy weather.

Despite the fast-rising demand, Prosecco prices have been pretty steady. For the Italian producers, this is a disappointment. With demand rising so fast, they should be able to charge more. The gap should have closed between champagne and Prosecco. It hasn’t. This is probably because even though Prosecco tastes every bit as good as inexpensive champagne – indeed arguably better – it is still not “Champagne” though.

Mind you, inexpensive champagne is something of an oxy-moron. Champagne is a luxury good, and luxury goods tend to be Veblen goods – we drink more of it as the price rises….go figure.  

So it’s the demand for good-quality champagnes that is holding up well in the market; since they are not really challenged by Prosecco yet…

…And truly, investment Champagnes have never been so expensive. People just can’t get enough of the good stuff!

There you go. I told you it was a calamity!

 

 

 

Is there any better way to celebrate the New Year than with a cheerful sparkling wine?!? – Spanish and Italian bubbly rocks too! – My Easy Going Picks!

By in 2014 Top Wines, Sparkling Wine, Wine Scores and Reviews

Is there any better way to celebrate New Year’s Eve than with cheerful sparkling wine?!? Certainly Not! Bring on the Bubbly!

Since we’re talking of sparkling wines, champagne is of course the king of bubbles and apart from recognized and celebrated maisons, such as Krug, Bollinger and Ruinart…

In fact the New York Daily News was so kind to publish the top 10 champagne brands for 2013 by volume sales:

1. Moet & Chandon

2. Veuve Clicquot

3. Nicolas Feuillatte

4. G.H. Mumm

5. Laurent-Perrier

6. Taittinger

7. Piper-Heidsieck

8. Pommery

9. Lanson

10. Canard-Duchene

All just awesome! But there’s more to this story…

So… in no special order because I really enjoy all of these…here is my selection of easy going sparkling wines of the New Year … actually for any time… a perfect match for every mood and pocketbook. Enjoy, and not all are Champagne of course… Spanish and Italian bubbly rocks too! Stock this stuff up; so you always a have some sparklers that are good.

Freixenet Cordon Negro Extra Dry – $10 – The crowd pleasing Cava in the black bottle; it’s earthy and fruity and not really dry…It’s flavorful and is nice and smooth.

Depreville Extra Dry, France – $10 –  a light off-dry bubbly with nice fruit white peaches, lemons, pears, cream… well-dressed with tropical notes

Mumm Cuvee Napa Brut Prestige, Napa – $20 – Simply the best complex sparkler for the price…Crisp flavors! Fresh apple, ginger spice and smoke with notes of raspberry; Layered…

Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava, Cava – $10 – creamy bead supporting red apple and pastry cream with lemon notes

Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio Champagne, California – $10 – Yes this one… the ‘Pinot Grigio’; Aromas and flavors of Key lime pie and medium dry

Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto D’Acqui DOCG, Itlay – $20 – Perfumed with a hint of rose petals, raspberries, strawberry shortcake, like punch in color. Effervescence is softer…Truly remarkable stuff.

Marques de Monistrol Brut Cava – $10 – A good straight forward Cava; with apple and stone-fruit fragrances. A nice easy finish too  

Nino Franco Prosecco Rustico NV, Valdobbiadene – $15 – A bad boy Prosecco! White peaches, flowers, wet stones, smoldering tinges

La Marca Prosecco di Conegliano, Valdobbiadene –  $13 – This Prosecco with a heady bouquet of ripe lemons and flowers on the tongue it’s ultra-juicy; vanilla cream on both nose and palate

Domaine Chandon Brut Classic, California –  $15 – Nuts and stoned fruits. Peaches with creamy vanilla flavors; with a hint of raspberry. Delicious! There’s a slight sweetness peeking through…

I hope this list inspires you to pick some of these up and …Happy New Year!

 

Top 10 2006 Wines – A Special Report by Ralph Del Rio Wine Correspondent -Great Wines and Great Values

By in 2006 Top Wines, California Wine, Oregon Wine, Sparkling Wine, Tampa Bay Wine Pairing, Wine Chatter and Blather

By Ralph Del Rio, Wine Correspondent

2006  Has come and gone and there were a lot of great and memorable wines. I found a lot of values from Australia. Big Blockbuster types…I also found great values from Spain and Eric Solomon’s group of wines in particular kept me quite interested in Spain. There is going to be good things to come in the new world.

My Picks for 2006 contain two overriding things to keep in mind. They are all excellent in their own right and are also obtainable which in many case it’s not easy to find wines that you are reading about in the magazines.

So here goes…my list for the best of 2006


2004 Yangarra Estate Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvèdre McLaren Vale Cadenzia

I enjoyed the Shiraz as well. This wine with its dark chocolate, anise, herbal essence and raspberry bouquet.  Nice flash of peppercorn spice too.

2003 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta Colchagua Valley

A dark inky figgy wine. Can stand up to the best of the Bordeaux and Napa Cabs. Big tannins with juicy red fruit, plums, cherries, and coffee notes. Nice sweet vanilla spices on the finish

2006 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough

Loaded with fresh Grapefruit and gooseberry an outstanding wine tropical fruit hints…also fresh cut grass, lemon grass. Like a benchmark!

2003 Archery Summit Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Arcus Estate  

Big Pinot Noir from Oregon! Totally as good as the best of Burgundy. Deep ruby color. Burnt Cherry Pit and cola flavors, blackberry, licorice and a touch note smoke. Pretty Nose! It’s that Blackberry!

 2004 Green Point Shiraz, Victoria Australia

White Pepper with spicy nose. It’s this spice that keeps bringing the nose back. It’s not a Pinot! It’s a Australian Shiraz with  Elegant mouthfeel, almost plush, deep with nice length. This is a very smooth wine but totally awake.

2004 Glaetzer Wallace Shiraz Grenache, Barossa Valley South Australia

Beautiful nose, full bodied fruity, long, very classy wine that has structure. A Shiraz that can pair well with a lot of European food. You sense it. So much going on with the fruit flavors. Great, grilled steak wine.

Piper-Heidsieck Cuvee Sublime Demi-Sec NV, France

Great zip to this superior non-vintage demi-sec, exploding with candied citrus fruits and barbecued pineapple and a handful of nuts. Goes down nice; Before a meal. After a meal.

2004 Seghesio Family Vineyards Sonoma

The 2002 was a knockout Zin for me. This one reminds me of it with its lush briar patch feel and Spicy, blackberry fruit. It has structure too. It’s balanced though and the tannins integrated, good stuff, layers.

2003 Provenence Cabernet Sauvignon

Excellent! With it’s ripe, blackberry flavors, licorice and chocolate caramel with a hints of vanilla and toast. It’s rich and has that cocoa powder dust sensation that Rutherford is known for. Get this just for that sensation!

2004 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

Great acidity mixed with big tannins. Right up front for a Pinot Noir. This is intense but it has this relaxing feel to it. It’s inviting. You get black cherry, raspberry fruit that’s in your face and persistent, ending with sense of wet rain.