Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Here we are on the brink of the Holidays, and this Friday is the final Carpe Vinum Friday Flight of 2004! (Since the following two Fridays are Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.) So we’re going out with a bang! Or at least a series of “Pops,” considering it’s the Annual Celebratory Sparkling Tasting! I’m bringing 7 wonderful bubblies from around the world to the tasting as a celebration of another year, and a little taste test for what would best suit the impending festivities!

Sparkling wine is made worldwide, and no region is better known for these effervescent delicacies as Champagne in France. According to Historical records, the first mention of bubbly wine (made intentionally) was by the English, although the process was perfected and institutionalized by the French (French monks. . .one by the name Dom Perignon. . .sound familiar?).

Effervescence in wine occurs naturally as a second fermentation in the bottle if there are enough live yeasts and sugars to feed the yeasts that give off the carbon dioxide that forms the bubbles under pressure. Although the process can be accidental, producing a flawed wine, with Champagne and other sparklers it is quite intentional. The wines are blended, and yeasts and sugar are added to the bottles, add a little magic and some time and more process than I care to mention here, and there you have it! Pop! Spritz! Fizz!

Almost every wine growing region has their own sparkling wine, most done in the traditional “Methode Champanoise,” but many regions have their own flair, or trademark, making it their own particular sparkler. Spain’s Cava from the Penedes region follows the traditional method, but uses native Spanish grape varietals, Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello. Italy’s Veneto region has Prosecco made with the Prosecco grape (go figure), and is actually cask fermented, rather than bottle fermented, to produce the Frizziante (bubbles).

There is, still, another style used in a few places which utilizes the far more time-efficient method of injecting carbon dioxide to the wine, in the same manner as sodapop or (non-cask-conditioned) beer. I can’t really say this is a very noble effort, but you know.. .all work and no play, yada yada, and so on. Therefore I will also have on-hand the new Sparkling White Wine from Sofia Coppola, sold in little cans with tiny straws. A bit kitschy and cute, but fairly tasty. . .and at $5 a pop, you can’t go wrong. . . but it might be considered an affront to all the “legitimate” sparkling wine producers. But, hey. . .it’s fun to rock the boat sometimes.

So Friday, December 17th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Beauteous Bodacious Bottles of Bountiful Bubbles!
Trevisiol 2003 Prosecco, Veneto, Italy
Codorniu NV Cuvee Reventos Cava, Penedes, Spain
Pierre Jourdan NV Methode Classique Brut, Franschoek, South Africa
Rene Mure NV Cremant D’Alsace, Alsace, France
Argyle 1999 Brut, Willamette Valley, Oregon

The Extra-Special Premium Pours:
J 1998 Brut, Russian River, California
Duval-Leroy NV Cuvee Paris, Champagne, France

And the Super-Kitschy Oddball $5 Canned “Pop” With a Straw:
Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs, California

A stellar deal at $10 for the first 5, and $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Hope to see you here!
Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is “Whatever you’re having in your own home with friends and/or family!” That’s what I’ll be doing! . . .Well, not with your family, of course. . .unless I’m invited. . .but I’m kinda busy that night, already, thanks! But if you happen to need something for your own special occasion, that’s what I’m here for!

(I.E. – No tasting here on Christmas Eve or the following Friday on New Year’s Eve. We will be open for a few hours on Christmas Eve, for those last-minute wine needs!)

M