{"id":354,"date":"2009-07-29T12:32:38","date_gmt":"2009-07-29T16:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.summerofjim.com\/2009\/07\/29\/wines-that-sparkle\/"},"modified":"2009-07-29T12:32:38","modified_gmt":"2009-07-29T16:32:38","slug":"wines-that-sparkle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/?p=354","title":{"rendered":"Wines That Sparkle"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hear the distinctive pop and it signals the celebration about to begin.\u00a0 Our eyes brighten as we watch the sparkling wine being slowly poured into a slender flute.\u00a0 No other wine is as closely identified with those important occasions that add meaning and definition in our lives than Champagne\u2026 New Years, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Valentines Day & etc. At these key junctions during the year, Champagne<\/strong> makes a command <\/em>performance <\/p>\n

But there are far more reasons to enjoy Champagne and other sparkling wines than celebrating the major milestones in any given calendar year. For one, it is the most ideal accompaniment for any dish being served\u2026 and at any time of the day!\u00a0 From eggs benedict in the morning, to a chilled calamari salad for lunch, as an aperitif before dinner, to chicken Kiev at dinner, to poached pears for dessert.\u00a0 Clearly sparkling wine is our most flexible <\/em>of wines\u2026 like pearls, it goes with everything.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much credit for this wine is laid at the feet of the 17th<\/sup> Century monk, Dom Perignon.\u00a0 While not its \u201cinventor\u201d, he certainly is the person responsible for selecting the ideal grape varietals and creating the blending techniques that are still in use today. <\/p>\n

Strictly speaking, only sparkling wine produced with grapes grown in the delimited Champagne zone is entitled to the name Champagne<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/em>The hills and valleys of the Marne near the towns of Reims and Epernay are responsible for all the world\u2019s Champagne. The chalk soils of Champagne not only gives their wine its unique character, it also provides the perfect home for aging these wines in the prodigious underground caves <\/em>of the historic Champagne houses.<\/p>\n

The art of Champagne lies in the blend.\u00a0 Pinot Noir from vineyards in the North slope of the Montagne de Reims responsible for the \u201cheadiness\u201d of the wine, Pinot Meunier from the Vallee de la Marne <\/em>adds bouquet and roundness and Chardonnay from the East facing slopes of Epernay contributes finesse and delicacy.\u00a0 The resulting wine can not be surpassed for its delightful freshness, nor for the sheer joy in its consumption.<\/p>\n

And there is far more to sparkling wine<\/em> than Champagne itself.\u00a0 Different countries, different grapes; but made in the same method with the second fermentation in the bottle giving the wine its precious bubbles. \u00a0Germany has its Sekt<\/strong>, and Spain has its Cava<\/strong>; but the sparkling wine that is unmatched in its popularity falls to Italy\u2019s Prosecco.\u00a0 <\/strong>Both the name of the grape varietal used and the name of the wine, it can be made in a lightly bubbled frizzante<\/em> style, or in a classic methode champenoise.\u00a0 <\/em>And in a country that boasts numerous regional cuisines and associated wines, Prosecco comes as close to being the \u201cnational beverage\u201d of Italy as any.\u00a0 It is safe to say that more Prosecco is consumed in Italy than still water in this country!<\/p>\n

Prosecco is enjoyed at any time of the day, in any type of glass, cup or mug.\u00a0 No formality here.\u00a0 The softer fruit flavour of Prosecco, soft finish and more modest price, makes this wine a natural for gatherings.<\/p>\n

So, \u201cpop the cork\u201d, be it tete du cuvee <\/em>Champagne, a tasty Cava or a friendly Prosecco\u2026 and take a page from Italy, don\u2019t save it for launching a battle ship, don\u2019t reserve for the nine days a year when opening a bottle is de rigeur\u2026 <\/em>after all \u2013 we live 365 days a year!\u00a0 Why not celebrate living!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We hear the distinctive pop and it signals the celebration about to begin.\u00a0 Our eyes brighten as we watch the sparkling wine being slowly poured into a slender flute.\u00a0 No other wine is as closely identified with those important occasions … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/summerofjim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}