It’s the holidays and there is no better way to celebrate than with a glass of sparkling wine!
I asked Josh Hammond with Buster’s Liquors & Wines to talk to us about my favorite holiday libation.
“People love bubbles during the Holidays. It’s a time to be festive and it’s a celebratory type drink. It sparkles along with the Christmas lights and the décor that people have up.”
Most folks refer to all sparkling wines as champagne … but that’s not really the case.
“To be called champagne, it really has two requirements. One that it is made in Champagne, France … which is a particular region in France. And that it’s done by a particular method … which they call Méthode Champenoise. Which basically means it is fermented in the bottle.”
Both champagne and its popular counterpart prosecco are part of a larger category of sparkling wines. So how does proscecco differ from champagne?
“Proscecco is distinctively Italian. It is made in the Veneto region of Italy, just North of Venice, and it’s made with the Glara grape, which is commonly referred to as Prosecco.”
Another difference is the fermentation process. “It is made with the tank method.” By being made in large batches in a single tank it is often priced less than a French champagne.
Whichever you choose, remember …
“The glassware is important for champagne. There are usually two kinds that are used. There’s a flat, squattier bowl you will see stacked on tables that makes a nice presentation. But then there is the flute and that’s what most people prefer and because you can really see the bubbles kinda rise in the glass.”
This is Jennifer Chandler with The Weekly Dish. Cheers!
