“Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist
It was early November when TeamWine test tasted four, locally available, sparkling wines that you can enjoy as the New Year starts. We had fun toasting to the new year, almost two months in the future. If one of these strikes your fancy, you’ll want to purchase one, to not only get it properly chilled, but buy it before they run out. Details of each sparkling wine are below.
Just to clarify, while these are sparkling wines, they were all made in the style and method of Champagne. However, since they are not actually from the region in France named Champagne, they cannot be called Champagne. Flutes and Coupes are traditionally used for enjoying sparkling wine. They are fancy, you can watch with bubbles cascade to the top, but any decent wine glass will do. If you have a flute or coupe, use them, if not, use what you have. Do not stand on tradition…. Pour and enjoy the beverage!
That said, the corks are popped, so let’s get sipping!
Barrel Head 2023 TomCat Dry, Dubuque, Iowa ($35.00 12.5% abv)
Barrel Head winery is across from the airport on Hwy 61 south. It’s worth the trip just to see the winery. John Burns originally owned Barrel Head but Aaron and Jodie Fuhreck assumed ownership in 2023 and are doing a fine job of maintaining the quality and variety of wines available. TomCat is one that has been around since the beginning, and the 2023 version was a perfect opening for our tasting session. TomCat presented with a slight yellow hue. On the nose we had notes of candied lemon, some sweet cherry, and rising bread yeast. On the palate we had bright notes of lemon zest, grapefruit, and some lemon pith. The wine had a light to medium body with crisp acidity which was very refreshing. We thought this might be nice for an after-dinner toast to refresh the palate for dessert. Good to have a bottle of this on hand!
Segura Viudas Brut Cava, Barcelona, Spain ($18.00 12.5% abv Asbury HyVee)
Cava is Spain’s answer to Champagne. This wine is 100% Macabeo grapes, from eight different vineyards, giving the wine some breadth in flavors. Once fermentation is complete, the wine is aged on the lees for 12 months, in total darkness. The result is a bright, crisp sparkling wine with a very light-yellow color and interesting aromas. One taster had cigar box while another detected a bit of citrus and herbal notes. Pear and a fresh cut green apple came through to others. The wine has a thin body and was more acidic than the TomCat. This is a perfect wine to open a meal and could be used to cleanse the palate as needed.
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