[wine] Sparkling fwd WPost

Greetings, Last I heard, we're doing Tuscan wines at Il Vesco Vino at 6:30 on Thursday.... can anyone confirm or confound? Anything shaking for New Year's Eve (aka Amature Night)? Here's some thoughts on bubbls from today's Post. Cheers, Jim NEWS | OPINIONS | SPORTS | ARTS & LIVING | Discussions | Photos & Video | City Guide | CLASSIFIEDS | JOBS | CARS | REAL ESTATE <A TARGET="_new" HREF="http://ad.doubleclick.net/click%3Bh=v8/34c8/3/0/%2a/n%3B41985313… SRC="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/advertisers/newsweek/health/… BORDER=0></A> It's All About the Bubbles By BEN GILIBERTI Wednesday, December 27, 2006; F02 T o ring in 2007, nothing beats a bottle of French champagne, which has the style, flavor, complexity and, yes, the tiniest dancing bubbles of any sparkling wine. With prices dipping to about $25 at retail outlets this year, champagne has become a distinctly affordable luxury. For larger gatherings or smaller budgets, other sparkling wines, at prices as low as $10, can also make for delightful imbibing. These champagnes are listed in order of personal preference based on quality and value. For inexpensive sparklers, my highest rating goes to the most shameless imitators of French champagne. Resources for finding wines include http://www.winesearcher.com and http://www.wineaccess.com. Call stores to verify availability. Prices are approximate. FRENCH CHAMPAGNE Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve ($30): Aggressive pricing makes this toasty, full-bodied offering irresistible. Perrier-Jouet Grand Brut ($35): This aperitif-style champagne is magically racy, with marvelous clouds of bubbles. Aubry Brut Premier Cru ($30): Lovely honeyed apple with subtle smoky finish. Medium-bodied. Heidsieck &amp; Co. Monopole Blue Top ($28); Heidsieck &amp; Co. Monopole Blue Top Premier Cru ($40): Explosively fruity and bright with bubbles that just won't quit. The Premier Cru has more body. Roger Pouillon &amp; Fils Brut Cuvee de Reserve ($36): Beautiful focus with warm, mellow flavors of toast, ginger and pear. Piper-Heidsieck Brut ($27): The low-price leader among the big houses delivers a full quotient of yeasty fruit and lively effervescence. Bertrand-Delespierre Brut Tradition Premier Cru ($38); Bertrand-Delespierre Brut 2000 Premier Cru Millesime ($50): Mouth-filling pinot noir flavors and toast-ginger bouquet. Joseph Perrier Brut Cuvee Royale ($39): This medium-bodied brut offers intriguing notes of mineral and smoke with spiced apple and pear flavors. Pommery Brut Royal ($38); Pommery Brut Apanage ($46): Brut Royal is fresh and racy, and Apanage adds a mellow notes from older reserve wines. Jean Laurent Brut Blanc de Blancs ($35); Jean Laurent Brut Blanc de Noirs ($35): Although one is made from chardonnay and the other from pinot noir, both have authoritative flavors and bounteous bubbles. Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($40): Yeasty and toasty, with a rich overlay of coffee/mocha notes on the husky fruit. Pascal Doquet Brut Blanc de Blancs ($45): Rich bouquet followed by ripe, toasty apple and pear fruit flavors. Deutz Brut Classic ($34): Zingy citrus and apple fruit ride over the palate on clouds of tiny bubbles. Pol Roger Brut Extra Cuvee de Reserve ($35): Impressive, full-bodied; can be enjoyed now or cellared for one or two years. Canard-Duchene Brut Cuvee Leonie ($39): Fresh, robust and lively. Taittinger Brut La Francaise ($36): Subtle and elegant as always. INEXPENSIVE SPARKLING WINES Charles de Fere Brut Blanc de Blancs Reserve ($10; France); Charles de Fere Jean-Louis Brut Blanc de Blancs ($9): The chardonnay-dominated reserve is champagne-like, with notes of toast, citrus and apple. The Jean-Louis is lighter and nicely crisp. Both are amazing for the money. Gruet Brut Blanc de Noirs ($15; New Mexico); Gruet Brut ($15): Great structure and character in these unlikely sparkling wines from New Mexico. Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs Brut Sonoma County ($15; California); Gloria Ferrer Brut Sonoma County ($15; California): Both offer lots of robust pinot noir character. The blanc de noirs is huskier. Saint-Germain Brut French Sparkling Wine ($10): Lively, fresh and tasty. Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut Columbia Valley ($12; Washington); Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Blancs Columbia Valley ($12): Fresh fruit flavors with a vibrant finish. Do you have a question for wine columnist Ben Giliberti? E-mail him atfood(a)washpost.com. -- -----------------------------day, December 27, 2006; F02 WINE OF THE WEEK Bollinger Special Cuvee Brut Champagne ($39; France) Tastes Like Honey, apple and citrus, with vanilla, coffee and smoky mushroom on the finish. The bouquet is of grilled nuts and bread. Grape Varieties60 percent pinot noir, 25 percent chardonnay, 15 percent pinot meunier. What's Special About It Although Special Cuvee is classified as a standard non-vintage brut, it has the authoritative flavors of a top-of-the-line champagne such as Dom Perignon, Roederer Cristal and Krug Grand Cuvee. Serve With Veal and poultry recipes using mushrooms or truffles. How It's Made While most champagne houses use modern, temperature-controlled stainless-steel fermentation tanks, Bollinger uses traditional oak barrels for the first fermentation, which adds a warm, toasty character. Bollinger also uses a high percentage of older reserve wines, which are added to younger wines for the second fermentation in the bottle. Winery Bollinger has been owned and managed by the same family since it was founded in 1829, a rarity in today's era of corporate control. Bollinger relies on its own vineyards for nearly two-thirds of its grapes, an unusually high percentage for a major house. Geography The Champagne region is a glorious fluke of nature. Its dry, chalky soil is almost useless for growing anything but vines, and it is situated so high in the northern latitudes that the grapes can barely ripen. The complex mineral notes from the soil and the steely acidity imparted by the cold climate combine to create a vibrant and complex sparkler unlike any other in the world. On the Label"By appointment to H.M. Queen Elizabeth II Purveyors of Champagne, Champagne Bollinger S.A." Queen Victoria granted Bollinger the Royal Warrant as Official Champagne to the Court in 1884. The connection with the Brits remains strong. Winston Churchill guzzled with abandon, and James Bond's Aston Martin sports a refrigerated bottle in the center console. Vintage Note Bollinger Special Cuvee is a non-vintage brut, or, more aptly, a multi-vintage blend. Blending of vintages is used by virtually all champagne houses to maintain a consistent house style from year to year. Historical Sip Bollinger owns the vineyard that produced Thomas Jefferson's favorite wine from champagne. However, unlike most champagnes today, it was a still wine. Where to Get It Bollinger is imported nationally by Paterno Wines International and is widely available in area retail shops. For more information on availability, check http://www.paternowines.com/locator. * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *