Heading out to a dinner and you don’t know what the hosts are serving? Should you bring a red or white? Neither. Surprise everyone and bring some bubbly. You’ll be sure to light up everyone’s evening.
Because sparkling wines tend to be bright and refreshing with high acidity, they make for great food wines. Their often-subtle flavours don’t get in the way or conflict with strongly flavoured foods and make an ideal counterpoint, acting as a palate cleanser between bites. Those fizzy bubbles act to cut through rich, creamy or spicy foods.
Yes indeed, sparkling wines are very versatile when it comes to food. Here are a few pairing suggestions.
First the obvious classics:
popcorn or salty potato chips. Easy and really who needs more?
Charcuterie and cheese plate – be sure to include some rich creamy cheeses.
Mushroom, onion, or tomato tartlets
Friday night air fryer wings and gyoza
Also great with:
Caesar salad
Escargot
Bruschetta/ Crostini
Crab cakes
Caviar
Oysters
Shellfish
Seafood
Smoked salmon
Sushi
Paella
Thai food
Curries
Creamy pastas
Turkey
Ham
Salmon
And for breakfast:
Eggs Benedict
Scrambled eggs
Omelettes
And that is simply the tip of the iceberg, so open some bubbles and enjoy!
In Festive Fizz part 3, I offer up two wines from Summerhill and two from the TIME Family of Wines.
Summerhill Pyramid Winery has long been known for producing noteworthy sparkling wines. Established in 1991, is Canada’s largest organic winery. They offer six very different sparklers in their portfolio. Summerhill is BC’s first Demeter bio-dynamic vineyard and Canada’s foremost producer of sparkling wine. “Our winemaking philosophy is that organic and bio-dynamic provides the royal road to producing exceptionally beautiful, authentic, terroir-based wine that will connect you with the beautiful Okanagan Valley.”
Summerhill
Cipes Brut Rosé NV
$42.00
Made in the traditional method, this is a blend of 85% organic Pinot Noir and 15% organic Chardonnay. The wine rested ‘sur lie’ for sixteen months, which gives it depth and complexity.
Copper/salmon colour with medium-minus intensity. The nose is delicate with aromas of strawberry, melon, straw, hibiscus, grapefruit zest, and savoury notes. Good balance with a creamy mousse. The palate shines with strawberry, cherry, melon, pineapple, and apple flavours. Flavours linger on the medium-long finish.
90 Points
Summerhill
Cipes Traditional Cuvée 2004
$130.00
Made with 100% organic estate-grown fruit – 87% Chardonnay and 13% Pinot Noir. The bottles aged ‘sur lie’ for 18 years before disgorgement. I am a big fan of aged sparkling wines and all the amazing character that develops over time. This is an amazing wine to sip and savour. Golden amber with medium-plus intensity. Complex and layered with aromas of toast, brioche, fruity, lemon, ripe apple, honey, pumpkin, earth and nuts on the nose. Well balanced with mouth-filling mousse. The palate reflects the nose along with candied fruit, especially orange peel, melon, lemon, tangerine, and hay along with caramel notes. A medium-long finish. Truly outstanding.
96+ Points
TIME Family of Wines
Chronos Brut
$34.99.
This is a ‘wow’ wine. I was impressed the first time I tasted it and, in my opinion, it is a bargain at this price. It is made from 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir and is tank-fermented. Lemon yellow with medium-minus intensity. The nose is appealing with aromas of toast, lemon cream, golden delicious apple, nectarine, peach, and delicate floral notes. Good balance and mousse. Crisp and refreshing on the palate with flavours mirroring the nose followed by a medium-plus finish. Buy several bottles and squirrel away a couple in your cellar to enjoy over the next few years. This is only going to get better.
91 Points
TIME Family of Wines
McWatters Brut 2017
$64.99
This wine, a tribute to founder Harry McWatters, is more expensive because it is made in the traditional champenoise methode and it has been aged for 6 years. You will taste the difference. A blend of 65% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Blanc with grapes coming from three vineyards – Kuipers (Kelowna), Wendenburg (Penticton), and Platinum Bench (Oliver). “Lots of lees stirring on the Chardonnay component. Aged 42 months en tirage before disgorgement.”
Straw coloured with medium-minus intensity. A rich and layered nose showing aromas of lemon, brioche, lees, toast, tropical fruit, peach, floral notes, and a hint of pineapple. Very good balance with fine creamy mousse. The flavours echo the nose. A medium-long finish. Pair this with something special, something decadent – caviar, oysters, smoked salmon, eggs Benedict or keep it simple with truffle fries or a favourite seafood dish. We enjoyed it with curried salmon fettuccini.
93 Points
Over the holidays, why not keep things simple? Gather a few friends, or not, make a few of your favourite nibbles, sip some BC bubbles, relax and enjoy yourself.
See the link to the first two Festive Fizz articles here:
https://myvancity.ca/2023/12/15/festive-fizz-part-one/
https://myvancity.ca/2023/12/18/festive-fizz-part-two/
(bottle shots and feaure image – Sam Hauck)
