Here's something you won't often hear from a deathbed: "If only I'd had less champagne."
Money, spare time, good-hair days and champagne - who couldn't use more of each? Not just fancy French bubbly, but any one of a growing number of impressive facsimiles from around the world, including Spain, California, New Zealand and Canada.
Sparkling wine is the standard toast at celebrations, of course. But for those who take white wine seriously, good bubbly is itself a reason to clink glasses. It's not just about the pop of the cork and the froth in the glass. It's about complex flavours and high-tension balance.
Those complex flavours are partly the product of extended exposure to added yeast, which feeds off grape sugars to produce the bubbles that get trapped under pressure in the bottle. Yeast contact can add creamy texture, bread-like aroma and even mineral-like flavours. Champagne's palate-teasing acidity and effervescence also help make it the ideal aperitif.
If you insist on reserving sparkling wines for celebrations, consider celebrating this: Great sparkling wine has never been more plentiful or affordable. The best, by the way, are almost all made in the champagne method (a.k.a. the "traditional" method), in which extra yeast is added to the bottle. (Lesser wines are refermented in pressurized tanks and then bottled, yielding aggressive, soda-like bubbles.)
Let's start with some bargains and work up to the more expensive and even age-worthy stuff.
Released several months ago in Ontario and remarkably still available in decent quantities is Segura Viudas Lavit Brut Nature 2004 ($14.95, No. 277269). Spanish, with an elegant, modernist label, it's made in the labour-intensive champagne style but at a small fraction of the price. Bone-dry, with flavours of citrus, green apple and nuts, it shows a fine, persistent mousse. Best as an aperitif, but it would also pair nicely with salty snacks, such as nuts, potato chips or tapas. It's also a great, offbeat choice for ringing in the new year.
The pink version of this wine, which is also dry and excellent, Segura Viudas Lavit Rosado Brut, is available in British Columbia ($16.49, No. 122769).
In British Columbia, Alberta and a couple of other provinces, make a point of seeking out Sumac Ridge Stellers Jay Brut ($25 in B.C., No. 264879). The current, 2003 vintage of this reliable, refined wine from the Okanagan Valley took home a silver award at the All Canadian Wine Championships in May.
Just arrived in Ontario and available for the holiday season in limited quantities is a new, super-premium sparkler from Spain's Codorniu. It's called Codorniu Non Plus Ultra ($20.95, No. 053660) This medium-bodied, dry white was launched recently to honour the Regent Queen Maria Cristina of Austria, who in 1897 made Codorniu an official wine provider to the royal house, a designation alive today. It's a mix of chardonnay (a key grape of champagne) with traditional Spanish sparkling wine grape varieties xarello and macabeo. Bone-dry, it delivers flavours of bruised apple, wet stone and a hint of sherry-like nuttiness.
From the same winery is the seasonal two-pack consisting of the white Codorniu Reserva Raventos and Codorniu Pinot Noir Brut rosé ($29.95, No. 006379), both in the same bell-shaped bottle as the Non Plus Ultra. Available in Ontario, it comes in a clear-plastic carrying case with a rope handle.
Just discontinued in Ontario but available in British Columbia and elsewhere is the winery's entry-level Codorniu Brut Classico ($12.99 in B.C.; $13.50 in Quebec), which is very decent for the money. Quebec also stocks the double-sized 1.5-litre version for $24.75.
