Celebrate with Sparkling
At The Vine we think there’s never a bad time for bubbly and we are delighted to have great sparkling wines in our portfolio all year round. But if you’re looking for a good reason to hear the sound of a cork popping, the upcoming holiday season provides the perfect opportunity.
Perhaps the best known bubbly is Champagne, which has been a celebratory drink for centuries, often saved for the most special occasions because of its considerable price tag. There are, however, sparkling wines made in all wine regions around the world and in many different styles to suit every palate and budget, like the four we are showcasing today.
Sparkling wines can be made with many different grape varieties and they undergo a process of double fermentation: once to make a still wine and a second time to create the bubbles. With Traditional Method wines (like Champagne, made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), the second fermentation is done in the bottle and the wines are aged on the fine lees for many months in order to develop texture and complex secondary toasty and baked notes. Other wines, like Prosecco (made with the Glera grape), have the secondary fermentation done in tank (the Charmat method) and the wines are bottled with very little aging in order to capture fresh fruit and floral aromatics and flavours.
If your tastebuds favour the latter, this rosé sparkling from Campania and crisp Prosecco from the Veneto offer bright fruit, expressive floral notes and lots of happy bubbles.
La Guardiense NV ‘Quid’ Rosato Brut, Campania
Retail: $21.95 / btl (6 btl/cs)
Click HERE to order!
Mosole 2020 Prosecco Millesimato ‘Extra Dry’, Treviso
Retail: $25.95 / btl (6 btl/cs)
Click HERE to order!
If you prefer the more complex character of Champagne, these two beauties from Niagara reveal the nuances of bottle aging with a perfect combination of toast, texture and balancing acidity.
Cave Spring NV Blanc de Blanc Brut, Beamsville Bench
Retail: $26.95 / btl (6 btl/cs)
Click HERE to order!
2027 Cellars 2017 Edgerock Vineyard Brut Rosé, Twenty Mile Bench
Retail: $45.00 / btl (6 btl/cs)
Click HERE to order!
Read more about these wines below and pick your perfect sparkling to celebrate the holidays!
The Wines
La Guardiense NV ‘Quid’ Rosato Brut, Campania
Made with 50% Aglianico and 50% Sangiovese, grapes were whole-cluster pressed and underwent a short maceration to enhance the wine’s colour before being cool-fermented in stainless steel tanks. The second fermentation was followed by four months’ aging in autoclave and the resulting wine was bottled and released young and fresh. This wine has a rich, dark pink hue, with intense notes of bright red fruits and a hint of baker’s yeast on the nose. The elegant and fine bubbles support a well-balanced wine with a refreshing finish.
Click HERE to order!
Mosole 2020 Prosecco Millesimato ‘Extra Dry’, Treviso
A blend of 95% Glera and 5% Chardonnay grapes were fermented and then aged for three months on the lees before a second fermentation in stainless steel pressure tanks, a process which took about 30 days. In the glass, the wine is straw yellow with fine bubbles. On the nose there are notes of green apple and pear with hints of wisteria and vanilla flower. A beautiful, well balanced wine, very fresh and lively with a persistent and elegant finish.
Click HERE to order!
Cave Spring NV Blanc de Blanc Brut, Beamsville Bench
This sparkling wine originates from the Cave Spring Vineyard, located on a hillside of the Niagara Escarpment known as the Beamsville Bench. Bottle fermented in the Traditional Method from 100% Chardonnay, the wine was aged sur lie for 33 months, resulting in a dry sparkling wine with the delicate effervescence and mineral nuances reflective of its terroir. On the nose, there are aromas of bread dough, green apple and lemon meringue over top nuances of wet stone and hazelnuts. The palate is dry and medium-bodied with a very fine, tight and vivacious mousse. Creamy up front there is a rich and mineral texture and a lively streak of apple fruit on the mid-palate; a crisp, delicate citrus tone neatly weaves its way throughout, giving way to full, persistent flavours of toast and baker’s yeast on the finish.
Click HERE to order!
2027 Cellars 2017 Edgerock Vineyard Brut Rosé, Twenty Mile Bench
Traditional Method sparkling made from 100% Pinot Noir, sourced from the Twenty Mile Bench. The first fermentation took place in steel tanks and the wine was held on the less for four months. The second fermentation took place in bottle followed by a further aging on the lees for 30 months. The wine has a lovely onion skin colour and a complex nose of freshly baked brioche alongside bright red berries and lemon custard. It has an elegant, persistent mousse and balancing acidity that stretches the flavours of raspberry pie and buttered toast to a long finish.
Click HERE to order!
About La Guardiense
In the post-war years, Campania was a strikingly poor agricultural region, with little infrastructure and limited access to markets. Grapes were sold to wineries in Naples and Rome, and prices were controlled by the buyers – often below the cost of production. Established in 1960, La Guardiense is an important co-op located in the region of Sannio, near the city of Benevento, created to provide a reliable market for local grower’s grapes. It began with 33 members who decided to control their own fate, to produce and sell the wine made from their grapes. Today, there are 1,000 members farming 1,500 hectares, and La Guardiense is one of the largest co-operative wineries in Italy. Read more.
About Mosole
Mosole presents a masterclass on typicity and varietally correct wines. Located in the Lison-Pramaggiore DOC, this is a unique region in that it comprises a significant proportion of the eastern Veneto – but straddles Friuli, too – and whose wine production predates Roman times. Tenuta Mosole’s 30 hectares of vines grow on calcium-rich clay, where, over the years, the changing courses of the rivers Livenza and Tagliamento have left behind old calcareous beds that contribute aromatic compounds and minerality to the wines. The estate is on the Venetian side of the region, just a stone’s throw west of the border with Friuli, located about 40 minutes northeast of Venice. Honouring the history of this territory, each Mosole wine features a local landmark from Venice and the surrounding area. Read more.
About Cave Spring
Almost 50 years ago, the Pennachetti family — Len and his father John, Sr. — helped pioneer the cultivation of European grape varietals on the Niagara Peninsula. The site that was to become Cave Spring Vineyard was purchased in 1973, and planted with some of the region’s first Riesling & Chardonnay vines between 1974 and ’78. Named by 18th century European settlers for the limestone caves and mineral springs located throughout the property, situated on a gently sloping hillside at the heart of a narrow 8 km terrace of the Niagara Escarpment known as the Beamsville Bench, the site offered significant potential for quality winegrowing. These original blocks now represent some of Niagara’s oldest vinifera plantings — the Chardonnay and Riesling reserved for Cave Spring’s iconic ‘CSV’ bottlings. Read more.
About 2027 Cellars
NEW! Order online at TheVineAgency.ca.
You can also email wine@thevineagency.ca or call 416.693.7994. We’d love to chat about wine with you!
