Review: 6 Sparkling Wines for Valentine’s

7Feb/100

Review: 6 Sparkling Wines for Valentine’s

Run out and buy your special someone a bottle of Moet or Veuve... or look off the beaten path at a different sparkling wine.

Here's a look at six recently released sparklers from literally all over the world (six wines from six countries) -- tasted blind, just for the fun of it -- featuring three standard sparklers and three rose versions.

Happy early Valentine's Day!

Sparkling Wines

NV Trapiche Extra Brut - Mendoza, Argentina - Lightly sparkling, with fresh apple flavors. Simple, but refreshing. Would work well in a cocktail or as a house sparkler. B+ / $12

2007 Bagratoni 1882 Reserve (pictured) - Tbilisi, Georgia (yes, the country) - Fruity, with orange aromas, but with an oddly vegetal finish. Very bright color. Would go better with food. B- / $25

NV Pongracz Brut - Western Cape, Stellenbosch, South Africa - Very dry, and extremely fizzy. Not bad at all, but nothing special. B / $NA

Sparkling Rose Wines

NV Elyssia Cava Pinot Noir Brut - Spain - Extremely fruity, with blatant raspberry character. Almost tastes doctored. Somewhat sour finish. From Freixenet. C+/ $22

NV Amorosa Bella Brut Rose - Mendocino, California - The essence of rose petals in a bottle. Perfumy and a little cloying. C+ / available only at the Kenwood Inn & Spa (also available here)

NV Lamberti Vino Spumante Rose - Calmasino, Italy - Sweet, not very fizzy at all. Very flat. Not a lot of character, but I can drink it. In an odd side note, whatever is used to make the wire cage black began to melt, leaving a puddle of black ink all over my hands after opening it. B- / $13