Wine for New Year’s Eve

admin — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 21:16:10 +0000

New Year’s Eve is a fabulous holiday for so many reasons, but mostly for the fact that drinking bubbly is mandatory. However, there is a secret you should know, especially if you’re throwing the party: you don’t have to serve Champagne on New Year’s. That’s right, I said it. If you want the best bang for your buck, offer your guests Cava from Spain or Prosecco from Italy. They sparkle as brightly as Champagne for half the price. Here are my top picks:

2010 Naveran Brut Cava

Like most Cava, this wine comes from an area outside of Barcelona called Penedès. It’s made in the same way as Champagne but from different grapes: Xarel-lo, Macabeu and Parellada.

Naveran is known as the Cava of Kings – rumor has it that the Spanish royal family serves the highest-end Naveran at their palace in Madrid. So it should be good enough for your New Year’s party.

La Marca Prosecco

From the Veneto region in Italy, this Prosecco has been made for almost 50 years and is consistently delicious. Made from the Prosecco grape, it boasts ripe apple, honey and white flower notes. With lively bubbles and a fresh finish, your guests will keep toasting with this treat well after midnight. Pro tip: save a few bottles to use as mixers for killer mimosas the next morning.

Cheers to a wonderful, wine-soaked New Year!

VIDEO UP: Wine for English Bulldogs

admin — Wed, 18 May 2011 04:35:36 +0000

In this video we had a very special guest star, my bulldog Tyrus!! He’s a total sweetie and a total ham. Look at his face. Look at his figure! He was meant to be famous. I’ve had him since he was 2 months old. He weighed 8 pounds and I had to go pick him up at the Priority Parcel area at JFK. Since then he’s pretty much taken over my life with his cuteness, his constant need for attention and his flatulence.

English Bulldogs – there’s a wine for that, a wine that we humans can thoroughly enjoy.

2006 Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor

A sparkling wine from England! This wine isn’t distributed in the US so I wasn’t able to get a bottle. Even though I don’t have the wine to show you and to taste, I still wanted to tell you about it. First of all, it’s clearly the right pairing for English Bulldogs! And, more importantly, you should have English sparkling wine on your radar screen.

If you haven’t noticed the world is getting warmer overall and this is having an effect on viticulture. New areas that used to be too cold for quality wine production are becoming better suited to growing grapes. I predict that in a short amount of time Southern England is going to be known for fine sparkling wine. Don’t be surprised if world-renowned French champagne houses start buying land there!

Ridgeview Estates is in Sussex which sits on the same geological formation as the Champagne region of France. So it’s no big surprise that the three traditional Champagne grapes grow well there. In the UK there are already more than 100 wineries and many of them make sparkling wine.

I picked Ridgeview because they’ve received some pretty hefty international acclaim. The 2006 Ridgeview Merret Grosvenor was deemed the “Best Sparkling Wine in the World over 10 pounds” by Decanter Magazine in 2010! Yes, it’s a British publication, but still – this wine stood up to world-class Champagne in taste tests and won. Speaking of pounds, Tyrus weighs 60 pounds and, yes, he pulls me down the street.

Tasting Notes: Since I don’t have the wine, I can’t taste it, but it’s supposed to have strong bread aromas, citrus fruit and even a bit of tropical fruit. Those of you in England let me know how it tastes on Facebook or Twitter. Cheers to slobber!

Video originally posted on 03/07/2011. You can watch the video on the homepage or below.

Wino Woman: There's a Wine for That » sparkling

Wine for New Year’s Eve

VIDEO UP: Wine for English Bulldogs