Christmas and the New Year are a time of celebration for many, a time for family and for welcoming in a new chapter in life. Frequently, the accompanying beverage for the chanting of poorly harmonised carols and the drunken mumbling of Auld Lang Syne is a form of sparkling wine. Whether your poison is a vintage champagne or the myriad of rather cheaper offerings of prosecco, tasting a little like that bottle of Appletiser from the last millennium found at the very back of the cupboard, sparkling wine is the lifeblood of this festive time of year. However, once the hangovers have settled from New Year’s Eve, and the Christmas decorations have once again been banished to the lofts, cellars, and sheds of the UK, it often seems as if sparkling wine is forgotten, “never brought to mind” in the parlance of that old Burns jingle. As someone always partial to a glass of fizz, and an obsession with pairing food and wine, this has always struck me as slightly odd—after all, sparkling is for far more than festivities, it is a varied, versatile category of wines capable of offering not only celebratory indulgence, but also intrigue.
My aim in this piece is to stray slightly from the beaten path: I find little use in informing you that a £300 bottle of Krug is, shockingly, rather tasty. Instead, it is far more interesting to look slightly further afield when searching for good sparkling, reaching beyond that famed region of Northeastern France to other parts of the world producing wonderful bottles of fizz that are sometimes simply overlooked through snobbery or a slight fear of the unknown. Whether sold under the name of Crémant, Méthode Cap Classique, or the rather demystifying name of “English Sparkling”, there is so much more to the world of sparkling wine than is often thought. Herein we find a varying range of stories to be told: from the persistent popularity of Champagne in fine restaurants to the recent trendiness of Pét-Nats in the dimly-lit wine bars of East London.
Boschendal Méthode Cap Classique Brut – £16 from Oxford Wine Company
When perusing the sparkling section of the Oxford Wine Company’s website late one night, deciding which wines I’d like to include in this piece and semi-consciously putting off all thoughts of revision, I found this offer of a solid-looking South African sparkling rather hard to ignore. It is no secret and often no surprise that champagne is rather pricey, the word itself has been hijacked by the world of luxury and morphed into a sort of signifier for “premium”, even when simply describing a colour (I suppose “beige to yellowish-orange” just doesn’t sell as many BMWs). However at a price point of £16 and using the same Chardonnay-Pinot Noir blend of grapes commonly found in Champagne, this offering from a well-known wine estate not far from Stellenbosch certainly scratches the itch for a very pleasant sparkling. Much of the bakery, biscotti, and brioche smell that is so loved in Champagne jumps out of the glass here, alongside a lovely bouquet of green apple, gooseberries, and lemon with a delicate creaminess to the finish to boot! This is a bottle I think best described as “drinking above its weight”, with the price of a bottle of entry-level champagne sitting anywhere from £25-40. It seems a no brainer to at least give the Cape’s offering a chance to impress.
Tsarev Brod Pét-Nat Extra Brut – £21.50 from Oxford Wine Company
From the classic style of the Méthode Cap Classique, we now find an offering from Bulgaria made with just a single fermentation, and sealed with a bottle cap. The sparkling wines of Champagne undergo two fermentations, firstly in barrel, then in the bottle along with additional yeast and sugar to spur on the fermentation process and give those biscuit-bakery flavours to the wine from the remaining yeast. Pét-Nat, or “Pétillant-Naturel” wines for the overly formal among us, are instead bottled during the fermentation process, keeping much of the gas produced within the bottle and giving the wine its fizz. Whilst it is widely believed that this method is the oldest manner of making sparkling wines, the wines themselves have only recently become widely available and are highly in demand. There is an image of Pét-Nat wines finding their homes in the dimly-lit and deeply trendy wine bars of Dalston and Hackney, being fawned over by patrons in tiny beanies and Arcteryx jackets that see far more of the Piccadilly Line than the Pennines. However, these wines are gaining broader appeal, and for good reason! Made with 100% Riesling, the powerful green apple and pear drop aromas from this wine were instantly inviting, with a racing acidity that brought forth more images of cider than of your typical sparkling wine. Fruity, fresh, and with some wonderful acidity to back it up: this wine is a great introduction to the world of Pét-Nats for first-timers and a versatile option for hosting and pairing with food.
La Gioiosa Prosecco Brut – £10 from Tesco
Prosecco is a drink nearly synonymous with celebration in 21st Century Britain, and it is not difficult to see why. While the armchair sophisticates of our green and pleasant land may think it beneath them, or at least certainly did 20 years ago, I would challenge them today to refute not only the value for money of prosecco, but its appeal as a wine as well. For a large portion of the population, the bottle reached for when there is a celebration at hand is increasingly less likely to be from some lofty-named Château in Champagne, but rather from an Italian producer prioritising a balance of taste and value. This offering from Tesco boasts a price point significantly lower than that of entry-level champagne, and while it doesn’t possess the biscuit aromas of traditional method sparkling, this is more than made up for with fresh green apple, pear, and grapefruit on the nose, with a lovely minerality characteristic of good quality prosecco. The name “La Gioiosa” means “joy”, a name fitting for the simple delight of a good fresh bottle of prosecco, perfect for a hot summer’s day but equally suitable when paired with delicate fish dishes. A student budget can be an obstacle to celebrations, but in this case a very pleasant result can be reached without the hefty price-tag.
De Chanceny Crémant de Loire – £13 from Tesco
Any fan of cinema will doubtless know that while it may be the principal or main supporting actor that receives the Oscar, the red carpet treatment and the fervour of the paparazzi, a great film requires many more dedicated people behind the scenes each excelling in their role. So too is the nature of the French sparkling wine industry. Champagne, as previously mentioned, may be the belle of the ball, but there are far more producers and regions creating truly admirable sparkling wines that often go overlooked but are capable of providing many of those signature Champagne flavours without demanding such hair-raising prices. Crémant comes from eight regions across France, with the wine also being made across the border in Luxembourg. Among these eight regions are famous wine-growing regions such as Burgundy, Alsace, Bordeaux, and the location of this offering from Tesco: the Loire Valley. Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Chenin Blanc work here to produce a sparkling not short on flavour, with pear and lemon on the nose along with those signature biscuit-bakery smells of traditional method sparkling and subtle creamy notes. Do not be fooled by the pricing of this wine—crémant has long been one of France’s best kept wine secrets and is certainly worth enjoying.
This article began by heralding sparkling wines as being the perfect accompaniment to parties, celebrations, and general merriment. Certainly it is true that sparkling wines are enjoyed most often at Christmas and New Years, but I implore you not to let that deter you from cracking into a perfectly pleasant bottle of sparkling on any given Friday night of the year! The wines themselves are delicious and don’t have to break the bank. When paired with the perfect delicate fish or seafood, or perhaps even a light poultry dish, the acidity and bubbles add something to the overall experience not obtainable through regular dry whites and reds. There are some options above capable of offering a classic Champagne-esque experience, or indeed something different and worthy of conversation, something that is evidence of how interesting, broad, and accessible these wines can be.