Who needs a reason?

Valentine’s Day and Holi have come and gone, but who needs a reason to savour Champagne/ Sparkling wines, and Rosé wines? Traditionally, lovers are said to thrive on a diet of champagne and caviar, and it is almost mandatory to ‘pop the bubbly’ at celebratory events (weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, New Year bashes). Fittingly enough, the party ushering in the millennium of 2000 CE was one of the biggest ever (did you know that 300 million bottles of champagne were sold in 1999 — a record still to be surpassed?).

Champagne is the sparkling wine made only in the Champagne district of France from three locally-produced grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) by the traditional ‘in bottle’ method of secondary fermentation, and has been ‘the food of love’ for at least the past 200 years. ‘Champers’ used to be sweet, and quaffed from a wide-brimmed wine cup; preferences now-a-days are for a drier style (‘Brut’), drunk from fluted glasses (so that the bubbles can be seen and the aroma appreciated). Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial may be the Champagne with the highest sales worldwide (it retails for between Rs 3,500 and Rs 4000), but vintage Champagne like Krug or Dom Perignon go for upwards of Rs 15,000, and the most expensive variants touch the stars (just Google “most expensive Champagne”) at upto US$ 50,000 per bottle!

Of course, romantics and party-goers need not despair, for ‘Sparkling Wines’ are made all over the world: Spain has Cava, Germany Sekt, Italy its Prosecco and Spumante, and other countries just plain ‘Methode Champenoise’ or ‘Methode Traditionalle’ — mostly good stuff, generally sold at lower prices. Cava brands Codorniu and Freixenet are selectively available in hotels, while Sekt labels Henkell Trocken and Deinhard have long been on retail shelves in the metro cities.

Indian sparkling wines have been around for 25 years: from pioneer Indage’s ‘Marquise de Pompadour’ to the Sula Brut, and now Zampa Soiree (formerly ‘Zampagne’, till the Champagne lawyers took the company to court). My recommendation: try the pink Zampa Soiree Brut Rosé — it’s delicious and just the thing to woo your date.

Rosé wines are not made from roses but from red grapes, with the period of skin contact being restricted, and the wines produced in a lighter, sweeter, and low-alcohol style (than red wines). Because of this, Rosé wines are the colour of love (light pink to deep salmon), and tend to be aromatic, light, not-dry wines that can be had either by themselves as an aperitif or matched with a variety of Indian and Oriental dishes. Sadly, few Indian consumers appreciate or prefer Rosé wines — my theory is that people tend to play safe when choosing a wine.

Most Indian wine producers make a Rosé — to my mind, the best are the Sula Blush Zinfandel (Rs 420 in Delhi; Rs 637 in Bangalore) and the Grover Shiraz Rosé (Rs 420/420), although York Winery’s Zinfandel Rosé (Rs 375 in Pune) was terrific, and I’ve not yet evaluated many of the newer variants.

Wines I’ve Been Drinking
A Querciabella Chianti Classico 2006 from Italy, a 90 per cent Sangiovese and 10 per cent merlot/Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon wine rated at 91 points (‘Excellent’) by Wine Spectator.

Spicy, fruity, a bit tannic, with medium body and classic black cherry/ blackcurrant aromas and a smooth, firm finish. n

[The author is a Bangalore-based wine consultant]