Holiday Sparklers

This is the time of year for things that sparkle – lights on the house, sequins on the dress, bubbles in the bottle. Sparkling wine, usually called Champagne -- sometimes correctly and sometimes not -- is the prime toast of the season, and as we come roaring into the final days before the holiday, the final fortnight before New Year's Eve, let's take a look at what's out there to bring as a gift for the host or hostess, to help get the party rolling, to open with that special person, to make a special toast or mark a special occasion. The long-standing dispute about the word Champagne is, as are many things, rooted in both custom and law.  In France, there are laws that wines must be made in a specific geographic region to carry the name of the region.  Chablis, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cognac, and Champagne all are specific areas, and wine carrying the name must be made there.  Sparkling wines from other parts of France must be called "sparkling wine," or something like that.  Italy and Spain go along with the routine. Winemakers in the United States are free to ignore the customs, and usually do, except for those wineries that have French ownership and obey French laws.  Mumm Napa and Roederer are among many that do. Regardless of place of origin, however, sparkling wines are basically made the same way.  Almost any grape can be used, too.  Traditional French, and the best American bubblies are made of pinot noir and chardonnay in about a 60-40 ratio.  But other grapes can be used, too, and when the label says "blanc de blancs," it means that the winemaker used only the juice of white grapes. Dave Johnson, the excellent winemaker at Stone Hill, in Hermann, Mo., uses only vidal blanc, a French hybrid, and gets splendid results.  He used to begin with catawba, a native American grape, but upgraded to the vidal, a grape with smoother texture and a more delicate flavor.  The 1997 is delicious. Sparkling wines are available in all price ranges.  You're at risk at the very bottom end of the scale, where the wines are coarse and usually too sweet, but there are excellent values – and good drinking – at less than $10.  The best I found, at $9, is Segura Viudas Brut Reserve, from Spain.  It's non-vintage, of course, but is a remarkable value, crisp, with lots of elegant grape flavor and fine acid-alcohol balance. On the sweeter side, and still less than $10, are a couple of Asti Spumantes, from Italy (good marks for old standby Martini & Rossi, and for Fontanafredda).  Valdo Prosecco di Valdobbiadene is another possibility.  Prosecco is the term to cover a number of Italian bubblies, usually light and on the sweeter side. Speaking of sweetness, that's another area where sparkling wines are a little different.  If the label says, "extra dry," that means sweet, and please don't ask me why.  The French, like the rich, are just different from you and me.  Dry sparkling wine is labeled "brut." The wines come in all ranges of color, too.  True Champagnes range from light gold to a straw yellow, or darker gold, but there are rose styles, and even reds.  The latter, which used to be called  "sparkling Burgundy" or sometimes "cold duck," is generally out of style these days, with one notable exception. Rose sparklers, like Mumm Napa Blanc de Noir, or the much more expensive version from Billecart-Salmon, are made in the same manner as still rose wines; the skins of the red grapes remain longer into the fermentation process, adding more color. The longer the skins are in the mix, the darker the wine will be.  The Mumm rose bubbly is brilliant.  The color helps set a festive mood, and the flavor, rising on a veritable storm of tiny bubbles, is outstanding.  Lots of fruit, medium body, a long finish.  It's a true sparkling wine for major celebrations. The notable exception is a true red sparkling wine from Australia, made by d'Arenberg from chambourcin, a grape familiar to all Missouri growers.  It's a French hybrid, as are seyval and vidal and vignoles, for example, and it grows well around here.  I've tasted it in a still version from several Missouri winemakers.  It's usually quite tannic, even slightly harsh, and some Missouri growers blend it into other wines for color, the way French vintners will do with mourvedre. D'Arenberg is a long-time Australian winery, established in 1912, that makes other wines like chardonnay and shiraz in the McLaren Vale area of Southeast Australia, where most of the country's wine is made.  The sparkler goes by the rather unfortunate name of "The Peppermint Paddock Sparkling McLaren Vale Red Chambourcin." It is a gorgeous red color, almost as dark as a Rhone or Bordeaux wine. The bubble is tight and small, and while it does not last a long time, it is active while it does.  The wine is extremely dry, with a hearty flavor, a considerable amount of tannin, some acid and a long finish.  It is not as delicate as sparklers from the traditional Champagne grapes like pinot noir and chardonnay, but it has excellent flavor and should improve as the winemaker and enologist work with the process and the vines. A paddock in Australia, by the way, is not a place where horses live, but a land formation like a dry hillside or mesa.  Peppermint refers to the peppermint gum trees that grow there. And I was charmed by the language on the back label, capitalization and all: "The Peppermint Paddock was first planted during the boom of the late 19th century as the demand for the much acclaimed wines of the McLaren Vale spread throughout Australia and the Empire.  It was during this halcyon period that Australia's idiosyncratic sparkling red wines were pioneered.  Surrounded by Peppermint Gum (trees), the paddock is a windswept and steep, south-facing sandy, dryland block littered with Ironstone overlooking McLaren Vale to St. Vincent's Gulf.  Despite advances made in viticulture this Century, traditional vines have struggled to survive on the Peppermint Paddock, let alone bear fruit.  Enter Chambourcin, a hybrid grape variety of unknown parentage, ideally suited to the Peppermint Paddock's less than ideal conditions.  Re-planted in 1990 by fourth generation family winemaker Chester Osborn, with the aid of natural disease resistance and a little irrigation, McLaren Vale's first Chambourcin has grown vigorously on its own roots.  The Peppermint Paddock Chambourcin yielded its eighth crop in 1999 possessing all the hallmarks of the variety, an abundance of colour, flavor, tannin and acid, lending itself to sparkling red wine.  This release is a blend of various base wines from the 1993 to 1999 vintages.  The Osborn family is proud to release this wine." I'm very fond of sparkling wine.  It goes with almost everything, and it's a superb aperitif, perhaps with a little pate or some good caviar.  Unless dinner is highly spiced, it works throughout the meal and right through dessert as well.  One reservation here, however.  Some people like chocolate with bubbly.  I don't.  I think the sparkling wine and the dark chocolate go at cross-purposes with one another.  To me, chocolate demands a rich, full-bodied red wine. Anyway, I ran through a large handful of sparkling wines in recent days, some American and some French.  My favorite imports, at moderate-to-expensive-but-not-outlandish prices, are the Bollinger non-vintage special cuvee and the Louis Roederer brut premier, both close to $50.  To my taste, the Bollinger has a bit more of the toasty flavor that the English reportedly prefer on their tables. I found the Roederer a little more acidic, with citrus overtones.  Both are excellent. One of the classic Champagnes, Mumm Cordon Rouge, the one with the big red slash across the label, is another swell sparkling wine that has a brisk bubble and classic crisp flavor. Mumm Napa and Roederer Estate, from Mendocino County, were my favorite California offerings, along with the classic J, from Jordan of Sonoma County.  Mumm's California outlet makes several wines. My choice from Mumm is the 1996 DVX, named for the late Guy DeVaux, who traveled to California in 1979 for what was named "Project Lafayette," aimed to give the French chateau a foothold in the U.S.  With the entire nation to choose from, he selected Napa and the Mumm Napa program began.  I met DeVaux a few years ago, a charming, old-fashioned, opinionated man who was a splended raconteur.  The wine that bears his name, a blend from many small plots on the property, is glorious, with a tight bubble, a rich aroma and a lingering taste.  Close to $50.  Worth it.  A DVX rose will be along in a few years. The Roederer Estate, from an architectural gem in the Anderson Valley, is another winner in all respects and a long-time favorite, especially at about $20.  It compares favorably with French competition, even from its own cousin, Louis Roederer.  An evening splurge on caviar and lobster finds this a perfect complement.  The J, a lively straw-yellow color, is a little lighter, but also quite tasty, at less than $30. Another fine American bottle is a rather recent arrival, Laetitia, from the Monterey area.  It's on the light side, but with a good bubble and a brisk, long-lasting finish.  At about $16, it's a fine value and a chance to investigate still one more winery. Freixenet, the Spanish sparkling wine giant, produces Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine from its property in Sonoma County, and an elegant winery it is. A traditional pinot noir-chardonnay blend, it offers the good fruit and warmth of the former while retaining the crispness of the latter. Domaine Ste. Michelle, from Washington, is another veteran West Coast producer, but the current blanc de blancs version seems rather flabby and unappealing. Also receiving good notices, though not personally sampled, are sparkling wines from Taittinger's Domaine Carneros and Piper Heidsieck's Piper Sonoma; Iron Horse, also from Sonoma; the French Veuve Clicquot; Joseph Perrier; and Laurent Perrier's non-vintage ultra brut, an extremely dry and extremely complex wine.  Those who insist on big names and big dollars on the holiday table can look to Deutz, Pol Roger, Krug and Lanson, wines of reputation and quality as high as their prices. Enjoy the holiday, and the year ahead, and remembeer a last tip from Patrick Fegan, Chicago-based wine expert, who says, "And remember, drink a glass of water with every glass of fizzy.  You'll thank me the next morning."