The people at Sainsbury’s rescued me in the last week of term with an invitation to a tasting at their Head Office and testing kitchen. They also invited a few fantastic bloggers and my girl-crush Holly Bell ( cannot tell you how delighted I was that she sat next to me. Poor thing had no idea!) and plied us with a selection of their Sparkling wines, so my holiday was off to a great start.
The thing about wines and sparkling is that so many people aren’t really sure about it. They don’t know what they like, what they should like, what goes with which food, what is good value, and what the difference is between Sparkling and Champagne. Allow me to enlighten you, just a little.
Champagne is a sparkling wine that comes from the very small are of Champagne in France. Because they have tight laws over who can use the name Champagne, that leaves the rest of the world with the less-glam sounding term ‘sparkling’. But, my friend, bubbles are bubbles. The process of making sparkling is the same across the grape-harvesting regions of the world. And there is a bottle to suit every taste, every meal and every budget. Let me walk you through the ones that we tasted.
2. TtD Fairtrade Moscato Rose, £5.99. Moscato is proving really popular in the United States and Australia & New Zealand as it is lighter and fruitier, making it the ideal drink for warmer climates. This had a strong blackcurrant flavour, reminiscent of Kir Royale, and would be a great summer afternoon drink. I personally didn’t like it, but suspect that if presented with a cold glass on a hot day, I would change my mind.
3. Sainsbury’s Brut Rose Champagne NV, £19.99. Produced by Duval-Leroy for Sainsbury’s, this is a noticeably more mature drink than the Prosecco. Dryer, with a peachy colour (and flavour) it reminded me of late summer. Blended from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the colour comes from the skins of the grapes, which are left in the juice for as little as 3 hours, it has flavours that you would recognise and is a very nice Non-Vintage Champagne to buy for a gift.
4. TtD Vintage Cava, currently £6.99 (ends 1st January 2013.) Cava is the Spanish equivalent of sparkling, and this comes from one of Spain’s leading cava wineries. The Vintage Cava is a great drink to accompany main courses, since it’s structure holds against the stronger flavours of main courses. It has a golden colour and herby flavour which some wouldn’t enjoy without food. At it’s current price it is incredible value, although full retail is only £10.49.
5. Sainsbury’s Blanc de Blanc, currently £14.99 (ends 1st January 2013.) For Chardonnay fans, this is made exclusively from those grapes using the traditional Champenoise method. It is very pale in colour and has a nutty flavour. As it is very delicate, you could serve with light starters or seafood. But I’d prefer to drink it by itself. This is definitely one of my favourites, which goes to show that you can’t always tell what you will like: in the past I have disliked New World Chardonnay but found myself loving this. As it’s full retail price is £22.49, the current special offer is one worth stocking up on. We’ll be drinking some of this on New Year’s Day.
6. Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs, currently £29.99 for a Magnum (ends 1st January 2013.) The Which? Best Buy of 2012, this is a really great sparkliing. Made from red wine grapes, the Blanc de Noirs has a deeper flavour and colour than the Blanc de Blanc. You can serve it with stronger flavours as it will hold against them. And you can buy it in half, standard and magnum sizes. Get some. It’s lovely.
7. TtD Vintage Champagne, £25.99. I wrote one word under this: heavenly. Because it is. It has very fine, velvety bubbles and is a lot less acid than younger sparkling. It has flavours of caramel and brioche, a toasty smell and is a comforting as a pair of slippers yet glamorous as a pair of peacock-feathered Manolo Blanik. If you want to bring in the New Year with some style, this is for you.
I had a really great evening, drinking sparkling and Champagne at Sainsbury’s behest, for which I thank them. I learned that a zork is a great idea. I learned that Sainsbury’s Parsnip crisps are far too peppery for my liking. I learned a bit more about the difference between Vintage and Non-Vintage.
What I also learned is that you do know what you like, really. You need to be more confident in expressing your views: the Moscato seemed to really split the room. I did not like it. I loved the Vintage Champagne. Others did not. There is no wrong answer. There is no ‘you should like this‘.
I have given you an idea of the flavours of the drinks I tasted. I have told you what you can eat to go with them. And now I insist that you go forth and drink bubbles this festive season. The more you try, the more you might like it!
*disclosure: I was invited to the tasting event and given a Magnum of Prosecco, for which I thank Sainsburys. All opinions are my own.
Go on! You know you want to tell me what you think!