Bubbly is beautiful almost any time, but it’s special for Thanksgiving, when people gather at the festive table. A variety of palates sit around it, a variety of food is displayed on top, and sparkling wine not only adds gaiety, but also will work with almost any taste preference or type of cooking.
France, and the legendary Dom Perignon, made Champagne synonymous with sparkling wine. While many winemakers from around the world use the term casually, French law insists that only wines from the Champagne district can do so. In fact, sparklers from other regions of France are labeled sparkling wine.
Americans use a mixture of terms, depending on individual preference, but Italians often call their sparkling wines Prosecco, which is the most popular grape in the country’s bubblies that can range from extremely dry to rather sweet, to satisfy anyone at any meal. Turned into a Mimosa by about a 50-50 mix with orange juice, it provides a festive touch to brunch, and it’s a favorite at our house. Either Prosecco or a drier sparkler will work. In summer, dropping a ripe strawberry into the glass makes it more festive.
We recently tasted some offerings from Mionetto, which has been making Prosecco and other wines in Valdobiaddene, Italy, just north of Venice, for more than120 years. Sergio Mionetto, the current winemaker and oenolgist, makes the bubbly in several styles, at several prices. He’s the youngest of seven brothers and grandson of the company founder, Francesco, born inn Valdobiaddene and a life-long resident. The best bargain, at $10, is called IL, or "the", with the letters in a large yellow swirl on the bottle, and it’s a delight, with good bubble, if slightly on the larger side, and a pleasing, crisp dryness. It’s also only 10.5 percent alcohol, a little lower than most sparkling wines, and it’s wholly from the Prosecco grape.
Il also arrives with a crown cap, which makes a corkscrew unnecessary; according to the winery’s press materials, the crown cap has been used on Prosecco is retail stores and at the winery for many years.
More traditional corks are used in two other Proseccos from Mionetto, the Sergio Extra Dry ($19) and the Prosecco Brut ($13). The former blends 70 percent Prosecco di Valdobbiadene (from the area where the winery is located) with a blend of Chardonnay, Verdiso, Bianchetta and Perara grapes from the Veneto region. It’s a little — but not much — sweeter, not so much as to offend a dry wine afficionado, but enough to please one who prefers drinks a bit sweeter. It also would be a fine pair to oysters on the shell. Prosecco Brut blends five percent Chardonnay with 95 percent Prosecco for a sparkler that is bone dry but with pleasing flavor and nice, tight bubble in the glass. Good grape flavors with a touch of apple, a delight with any appetizer.
Mionetto wines are available at many St. Louis locations, including the Lukas Superstore, Costco and Cost Plus.
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We tasted a few other Proseccos recently, in similar price range, and can give good marks to Enrico, vinified in the French style and extremely dry, with a bit of apple in the flavor, and to a pair from Il Follo, a Piagar Extra Dry and a Rose Brut, the latter made with five percent Cabernet Sauvignon grapes added to the Prosecco. The red grapes bring a bit of color and a touch of red fruit. Il Follo also is from the Veneto region, the Valdobiadene-Conegliano area.
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A lot closer to home, Missouri winemakers also produce sparkling wines, with Dave Johnson at Stone Hill, in Hermann. creating a superior bubbly made from Catawba grapes and an even better one from Vidal grapes. Using only white grapes to make a sparkling wine brings the designation "Blanc de Blancs" to the label. The Vidal brut, made in the traditional Methode Champenoise, or aging and gaining bubble in the bottle, is crisp on the tongue, with a hint of citrus for acid and a tiny, long-lasting bubble. It’s delicious, and under $20 a bottle. In the same price range is the Brut Rose from Crown Valley in Ste. Genevieve. A little sweeter and a lovely mid-pink, it shows considerable strawberry on the tongue and is a beautiful mixer in a Mimosa.
–Joe