The Wine Cellar Blog» Champagne

Moscato, Rap Superstar in a Highball

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 17:52:10 +0000

What is Moscato? Sweet wine for sugar daddies if rapper Drake is to be believed. In Do It Now he raps: "Lobster and shrimp and a glass of moscato, for the girl who's a student and her friend whose a model." Hey! Serving alcohol to minors is illegal people even if it's a relatively low-alcohol wine (i.e. 5% vs. a typical 12% alcohol by volume wine).

Moscato has the same alcohol profile as beer (also 5% ABV, see link for more details on Moscato wine calories and alcohol equivalents). Even if it tastes sweeter and is more palatable to young people, it's definitely for adults, not for taking advantage of children.

With that said, it's also "Mommy's Little Helper" (i.e. relatively harmless stress reliever for moms). Or, as MomsWhoNeedWine.com puts it:

this is a wine we can imbibe at lunch, with the girls, and still be legally able to drive to collect the kids from school.

which is true, check the legality of this for your state at BloodAlcoholCalculator.org.

Moscato has been enjoying a huge spike in popularity for the last year and a half. Whether because of its rap star status or Americans' sweet palates (for example Americans' love of sugar and high alcohol resulted in the Zinfandel craze about 20 years ago) 2010 Moscato wine sales in the United States have surged by 100.7% compared to the previous year. Barefoot Vineyard's moscato wine sales jumped last year from 3.3 million dollars to 31 million, according to MarketWatch. Sutter Home doubled its moscato sales for the same period to 37 million dollars. And Woodbridge, owned by Robert Mondavi, boosted its own sales by 10 times, hitting two million dollars.

All of this hoopla over a wine that's been around since the end of the 16th century. Known properly as Moscato d'Asti an Italian wine, it is made from what may be the world’s oldest cultivated wine grape, Moscato Bianco, or by the French name Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains. It is a light-bodied, light-colored, lightly effervescent (frizzante), sweet white wine which typically has melon and apricot flavors and aromas.

Note: Other varieties of the Muscat grape can be used to make this wine, in the case of Innocent Bystander, Muscat Gordo Blanco and Black Muscat are used and it's pink because of the wine's very short contact with the skins of the Black Muscat grape during vinification.

Moscato Bianco can be vinified in a number of styles: It can be a rare, rose-scented dry wine, or a syrupy dessert wine. Moscato d'Asti is in the middle of the spectrum. But, don't confuse it with Asti Spumante also made with Moscato Bianco and from the same region of Piedmont, but a wine that has undergone a full secondary fermentation resulting in more pronounced bubbles, a little more alcohol (about 7% ABV) and a little less sugar, and a less complex flavor.

Moscato is a versatile wine, which can be enjoyed in a traditional wine glass, or, as it is popularly enjoyed in Italy, in a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Another popular way to serve Moscato is in wine-based cocktails (especially as a replacement for champagne), such as the Limoncellato. Moscato is a wine meant to be drunk young, and one should never purchase bottles older than one year beyond vintage.

LIMONCELLATO RECIPE

1 oz. black cherry rum
1/2 oz. Il Tramonto Limoncello
1/2 oz. pure cane syrup
1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 oz. Luccio Moscato d’Asti

Fill a pint glass with ice. In a separate shaker, combine the first 4 ingredients, cap and shake for 5 seconds. Strain into your pint glass. Top with Luccio Moscato d’Asti. Garnish with a lemon twist and a straw. Go sip by the pool.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

What’s a Prosecco? Italian Sparkling Wine vs. French Champagne

admin — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:21:25 +0000

A new word for the New Year, just don't call it cheap Champagne. But, whether you know what Prosecco is or not, chances are very good you'll have some New Year's Eve. Prosecco is generally a dry Italian sparkling wine made from the grape variety Glera which is grown in the Veneto region of Italy. Up until the 1960s, Prosecco sparkling wine was basically rather sweet and barely distinguishable from the Asti Spumante wine produced in Piedmont. Since then, production techniques have improved, leading to the higher quality dry wines produced today. Prosecco was introduced to the U.S. market in 2000 by Mionetto (still the largest importer of Prosecco) and has experienced double-digit percentage increases in global sales since 1998 (according to a 2008 New York Times article). However, unlike Champagne, its main commercial competitor, Prosecco is produced using the Charmat method, in which the secondary fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks (instead of the bottle), making the wine less expensive to produce. Also, unlike Champagne, Prosecco should not be aged, it should be drunk as young as possible and preferably before it is two years old. Prosecco is mainly produced as a sparkling wine in either the fully sparkling (spumante) or lightly sparkling (frizzante) varieties. Prosecco spumante, which has undergone a full secondary fermentation, is the more expensive variant. Cheap Prosecco frizzante is also sold in cans (see article on Paris Hilton's endorsement of Rich Prosecco in a can).

2010 was a good year for Italian sparkling wine, it will be long-remembered by Italian winemakers as the year it finally surpassed the production of French Champagne. This year's production of "bollicine" ("Bubbles", as sparkling wine is referred to in Italian) primarily Asti Spumante and Prosecco, will hit a stunning 380 million bottles, overtaking France's much more expensive (and much more valuable) Champagne by 10 million bottles, according to forecasts by Italy's wine expert association Assoenologi. Rivalry between the world's two top producers of bubbly has always been great, with France flaunting its brand supremacy and perceived superiority over Italy. But since on average sparkling wine costs much less than Champagne, the price factor has given Italian sparkling wine a distinct advantage in this economic climate. Exports of Spumante and Prosecco rose 17% within the first 9 months of 2010, as reported by the Italian farmer association Coldiretti. In Russia imports soared a hefty 166%. Following the trend, Vinitaly, a festival that promotes Italian wine globally will put "bollicine" in the spotlight in 2011. In addition to Prosecco, another important Italian sparkling wine region is Franciacorta. Franciacorta´s bubblies are considered to be the creme de la creme of sparkling wines in Italy, and it uses the "Champagne Method" of fermentation.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Winter Games 2010: Snow, Sabrage and Salmanazars

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:42:04 +0000

On top of the immensity of the Olympic Winter Games, it appears the Canadians are planning an after party of equally biblical proportions. Thanks to Andre Saint-Jacques, owner of the Bearfoot Bistro and its extravagant underground wine cellar of more than 20,000 bottles (a perennial winner of the Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence), the Champagne will flow freely for gold medal winners. And to make things even more thrilling, the Champagne bottles will be ceremoniously decapitated by Saint-Jacques himself - the Guinness World Record holder for most Champagne bottles sabred in a single minute (21). Opening a Champagne bottle with a sword or saber by hitting the lip of the bottle (its weak point) with the blade, thereby severing the collar from the neck is called "Sabrage" and dates back to the Napoleonic Era. Napoleon was quite the lover of Champagne and is credited with saying, "Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it." Saint-Jacques, also an effusive lover of the bubbly is Canada's No. 1 importer of Moet & Chandon. To celebrate the Games, Moet showed their love for their favorite Canadian with a gift: 100 jeroboams (3 liters) and 30 salmanazars (9 liters) of Brut Imperial (these big bottles are appropriately named for biblical kings). The salmanazars are for Canadian gold medalists and their guests, and the jeroboams will be given to the first Olympic medalists of each country. Saint-Jacques will also offer magnums (1.5 liters) of Champagne to the rest of Canada’s medal winners. Much like the advice Saint-Jacques gives about beheading Champagne bottles - when drinking multiple glasses of Champagne "Its all in the wrist." That also goes for swallowing the aspirin after.

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Empress Josephine’s Wine Cellar

admin — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 20:01:29 +0000

Bordeaux wine lovers may credit the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris and Emperor Napoleon III's "Official Classification" with putting Bordeaux wine on the map. But, it turns out that his grandmother the Empress Josephine, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte may have ignited French passion for the wine. Prior to Josephine raising the status of Bordeaux to an elixer fit for nobility, it was seen as an inferior product suitable only for the English who had been stubborn lovers of claret, or red Bordeaux wine, for four centuries. At the time of the French Revolution, Burgundy and Champagne reigned supreme, in fact, not a single bottle of Bordeaux is known to have been kept in the wine cellars of King Louis XVI. When Marie-Josephe-Rose de Tascher de La Pagerie (aka Empress Josephine) died in 1814, she left a heap of unpaid bills and a golden legacy to social historians. Marie-Josephe-Rose, was among other things, a great connoisseur and collector of clothes, and an innovative gardener and botanist. The written inventory of her final possessions at her chateau west of Paris has inspired studies and exhibitions on subjects as varied as the fashion trends and gardening styles of the early 19th century. Josephine was also a celebrated hostess and, although not a great drinker, a great collector of wine. The official inventory of her possessions at her death includes more than 13,000 bottles of wine from all over the world, from Cyprus, Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal as well as South Africa and Hungary. The empress also kept hundreds of bottles of rum from her native Martinique, which she used in rum punches and served at dinner parties in gilded bowls. Josephine's chambermaid described her as a "very sober woman." She was partial to very sweet wines including champagne, but drank it all with moderation – like Napoleon. The Emperor Napoleon's favorites were Burgundy and Champagne, but he also grew fond of South African wines during his time in exile on Saint Helena, the South Atlantic island where he died in 1821 at age 52 – not far from Cape Town. Study of Josephine's 1814 "wine list" reveals something that may seem unsurprising but was, at the time, extraordinary. Almost half of her bottles and barrels came from vineyards around Bordeaux, little known chateaux that later would become some of the greatest names in wine: Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Haut-Brion. Was the Empress Josephine the cause of the great switch in French wine tastes which allowed the vineyards of Bordeaux, and especially the great chateaux of the Medoc, to emerge by the mid-19th century as the most prized wines in France and the world? This is one of the subjects explored in an entertaining exhibition, La Cave de Josephine (Josephine's Cellar), which has started at the Chateaux de Malmaison, where Josephine lived for the last 15 years of her life, and died in June 1814, aged 50. The exhibition, which will move to Germany and Italy next year, also examines other changes in the art de vivre of the French nobility which followed the fall of the monarchy. Before the Revolution, an aristocratic French dinner-party was a kind of immense, stand-up buffet in which all dishes were served at once. Wine glasses were kept on trays by servants and topped up as required. After the revolution, France gradually adopted the "Russian" style, now universal, of serving different, sit-down courses one after another. Wine glasses began, to be placed permanently on the table. These changes were driven partly by the post-Revolutionary lack of legions of low-paid servants. France had also finally cracked the "industrial secret" of how to make crystal wine glasses, something previously known only to the British.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

To Boldly Go Where No English Winemaker has Gone Before

admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 06:52:09 +0000

At least since the Middle Ages. Due to warmer temperatures, a few British wineries have revived a red winemaking tradition which died around 600 years ago. Wine critcs' opinions about the wine have been mixed, but some seem convinced that the finest red wines may in the future come from north of the English channel if this warming trend continues. With soils similar to Champagne and an edgier climate, England is already producing world-class sparkling wines like Nyetimber (which recently won the International Wine & Spirit Competition Denbies Trophy for the Best Worldwide Sparkling Wine for the 3rd time), Ridgeview and Camel Valley. But, red wine is a different story. UK vineyards still struggle to ripen popular red grape varieties like Pinot Noir. They are rarely able to produce enough for a single grape variety wine. As a result, for the past decade or so UK growers have been making reds that blended Pinot Noir with other grapes such as Dornfelder, a Germanic variety which ripens in colder climates but isn't as tasty. So far, English winemakers have not managed to master the varieties behind the famous full-bodied wines of Bordeaux, such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, although some have tried to grow these under plastic sheeting. This has yielded reds that are generally lighter in color and taste, and less alcoholic than wines from warmer regions. No wonder the English are looking up for help. A number of English vineyards have signed up for a satellite imaging service to optimize grape harvests, and hopefully wine quality. The Oenoview system, first launched in France last year, analyzes the images to determine vine leaf density, soil water content and grape bunch sizes. The imaging system gives growers an idea of grape quality based on the quantity of foliage which is an indirect measure of the amounts of sugars and tannins contained in the grapes. It also tells winemakers which parts of the vineyard are ripening earlier than others so they can be harvested accordingly. Unlike the French, the English are not afraid of technology and see it as a large part of their industry's future. According to Julia Trustram Eve from English Wine Producers, "Innovation is at the heart of the English wine industry and vineyard owners are keen to use technology that complements their winemaking skills."

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

5 Random Facts About Wine

admin — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:38:27 +0000

1. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, 4 feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York state, on June 5, 1988. 2. Marilyn Monroe was said to have once taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. Vintage not confirmed. 3. The largest cork tree in the world is known as The Whistler Tree. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages more than 1 ton of raw cork per harvest, which is enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine. Or one really big keg of beer. 4. Demi Moore tried to seduce Michael Douglas in the 1994 movie Disclosure with a bottle of the limited edition Pahlmeyer 1991 Chardonnay (Napa Valley, California). She seduced Ashton Kutcher in real life with a case of Red Bull. 5. A jar of red wine was found in Tutankhamen's tomb, inscribed with the winemaker name, Khaa, and the vintage, "Year 5." Those who tasted it remarked that it was "kinda funky."

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Storing Wine in Davy Jones Locker

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:32:22 +0000

Is the wine cellar passe? Some French wine buffs believe there's a better place for storing wine, at the bottom of the sea (OMG!). A couple years ago, French winemakers began submerging hundreds of bottles of wine at a depth of 30ft in Saint-Malo Bay off the coast of Normandy. After being "massaged by the sea" for a year, it is said that "underwater whites" have more obvious wood aromas, and "submerged reds" evolve more slowly than cellared wine. Recently, Champagne house, Louis Roederer, sent divers to place several dozen bottles of its Brut Premier at a depth of 50ft in Saint-Malo bay (hidden of course). In a year's time experts will assess if they have matured with a different or better taste than in the traditional cellars of the Champagne region. The sea may be the ideal wine cellar (i.e. constant temperatures, high humidity, no UV light), but it seems more like bored winemakers playing "Pirates of the Caribbean". Click here for more information on wine bottle storage.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Brits and Bollinger

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:29:14 +0000

Bollinger is a major Champagne house in France. They produce several labels of Champagne under the Bollinger name, including the vintage Vieille Vignes Francaises, Grand Annee and R.D. as well as the non-vintage Special Cuvee. Ever a favorite of the British, Bollinger became the official supplier to the British court in 1884, receiving a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria. It's even the choice of James Bond (i.e. Bollinger Grand Annee Champagne 1988, in "Golden Eye"). Well, it’s not often that a major Champagne house releases a new champagne but Bollinger has done just that with the release in London of Bollinger Rose. The creation of this non-vintage rose has been long in the making and a dream of the House for almost a decade. This Special Cuvee is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Meunier, and will be widely available May 1st.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Not So Buoyant Bordeaux

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 19:09:47 +0000

There was a time when excess Champagne was dumped into French rivers. As a matter of fact, wine-growers from Bordeaux and Burgundy used to say that the reason Champagne had bubbles was because the wine was no good. This may have been true at one time, but today, Champagne sales are experiencing significant growth. Recent figures show that worldwide sales hit a record high in 2007 with 338.7 million bottles sold, up 5.3 percent. Demand is outstripping supply to the point that 40 new towns will be added to Champagne's AOC (Appellation d'Origine Controlee) in an effort to keep up with the world's thirst for the legendary tipple. Sales of Bordeaux on the other hand are hampered by overproduction, overpricing and what's anticipated to be a disappointing 2007 vintage.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Tiny Bubbles… In My Wine…

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:07:00 +0000

OK, let's turn Don Ho off (great New Years Eve party tune by the way). Tiny bubbles may make Don happy, but they make oenophiles pretty giddy too. An old adage about Champagne is, the smaller the bubbles, the finer the wine. The tiniest bubbles are the result of long aging, as well as the temperature of the aging cellar. The cooler the wine, the smaller the bubbles. Generally, really tiny bubbles are found in Champagnes known as prestige cuvees. A prestige cuvee is a wine manufacturer's best wine, and it is always given a special name. Dom Perignon, for example, is the prestige cuvee of Moet and Chandon. Click here for further discussion of wine temperature.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog

Inflated Bubbly

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 07:16:13 +0000

It usually starts right before Thanksgiving, there's a huge increase in demand for Champagne, not just in stores but in restaurants and bars. This increase in demand puts incredible pressure on Champagne prices. Avoid the price hike. If in December you're thirsting for a popular brand like Veuve Clicquot, choose a high-volume, warehouse-style store. Distributors try to get a premium in December, but larger stores that have the space and the buying power buy in September or October, when they can take advantage of the lower cost. Smaller stores that don't have room to store the stuff and may not have the budget to buy in advance have to pay more and therefore charge more.

This is a post from: The Wine Cellar Blog