Wine: A Time for Sparkling

For a celebration, occasion, event, festive fizz, or simply regular dining, there are plenty of choices for sparkling wines. Many countries, worldwide, produce different styles and flavours – in fact, something for every taste and palate. For this quest, I searched for a retailer that included a range of sparkling wines within their wines/drinks shelves – some that are great for everyday dining and also others that would be most acceptable for celebrations and events.

Firstly, Extra Special Asti (Grapes: Moscato). This classic, sweeter sparkling wine, originates from the town of Asti, in the Piedmont region of Italy. Extremely popular and really fabulous to accompany summer fruits, it is also an all year round pleaser.

Amongst other sparkling wines, Prosecco is a further tried and trusted favourite, for many. Fillipo Sansovino Millesimato Prosecco (Grapes: Glera) I found to be excellent, from the pleasant bouquet through the refreshing mouthfeel and palate. This is, again, another very popular, Italian production. Perfect for pre dining drinks, too.

Marques Del Norte Cava (Spain) has plenty of appeal, especially to Cava devotees and utilises Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada grape varieties, to great advantage. Much enjoyed, for many dining occasions, this is a good choice and highly popular.

Solato Lambrusco (Italy) is a red wine with a slight sparkle. Adding colour to any dining table this is produced using Lambrusco Salamino and Lambrusco Marani grapes. Aromatic and very good to accompany a lot of cuisine, including meat dishes, this is another Italian classic, for easy drinking.

Louvel Fontaine Champagne has a fruity bouquet and excellent perlage, which leads, enticingly, to the mouth’s pleasures and splendid sensation. The extended palate adds to the delights of this impressive French, rose-coloured production (Grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier), which brings elegance and sophistication to any dining occasion or event.

These are just a selection that I located at an Asda store, where I found excellent value wines and drinks.

Written by Trevor Langley