The Other Bubblies

As January First approaches, corks will pop from well-iced bottles and a pale, luminescent beverage will gush forth in a glory of foam and froth. The mood definitely will be champagne, but the wine may or may not be. Americans tend to call every wine that bubbles champagne and at one time that was the only sparkling wine. But today the designation is generally reserved for the elegant, somewhat austere wines of the Champagne region of France, a relatively small area 90 miles east of Paris. For reasons of treaty and trade agreement, Spanish sparkling wines are labeled espumoso, German effer-vescents are Sekt or Schaumwein, Italian are spumante and French sparklers grown outside the designated area are called vins mousseux. The United States is one of the few countries where the name is not forbidden, but wines so labeled must be identified as American champagne, California champagne or New York State champagne.

World-wide demand for French champagne, combined with dollar devaluation, has prices at almost punitive levels. Fortunately, nearly every area that produces still wines also produces sparklers, with some very enticing specimens among them. They may not have French champagne's cachet, but neither do they carry its heavy tag.

The Loire valley, particularly Vouvray, Saumur and Anjou, is a fertile source of fine effervescents. Caterers often serve them at "champagne" breakfasts and wedding receptions, invariably to rave reviews. They're round, soft, lightly sweet, with a charming, fruity aroma characteristic of the chenin blanc, the most prolific grape of the region. Interestingly enough, "poor" years make better sparkling wines than "good" years in this area. Priced at about half the cost of champagnes, these Loire-valley sparklers are prime candidates for anyone's year-end fete.

Some blanc de blancs are shipped under the Roger Gouin and Ackerman labels. Made from white (blanc) grapes, they tend to be lighter, drier and more tempered than wines bearing district names. Both firms market sparkling vouvrays and rosés, and Ackerman also bottles an inviting blanc 1811, which has more body and flavor than its blanc de blancs.

Loire sparklers are primarily sipping wines, but locals will occasionally spike one of the drier offerings with a dash of crème de cassis, to make a somewhat boisterous kir. Another standby of the region, Sparkling Nectarose, has been transformed into a still frisky, though less frenetic, Crackling Nectarose, and seems all the better for the change. It's fairly sweet, beguiling and fun. Just don't take it seriously.

Sparkling burgundy is familiar as a red and, less frequently, as an oeil-de-perdrix. But in the past seven or eight years, sparkling while burgundies have come into prominence. A brand named Kriter is now the largest-selling sparkling wine in France and Great Britain, and it's doing nicely in the States, thank you. Enthusiasts have compared Kriter to champagne, which it is not. But it's very good, fairly light and soft, without champagne's brilliant,(continued on page 246)Other Bubblies (continued from page 115) bracing definition. Kriter's Blanc de Blancs Brut de Brut isn't bone-dry despite the name. Their Blanc de Blancs Special Brut has a touch more sugar, though it's by no means sweet. Both bottlings are vintaged.

Sparkling red burgundies go much better at parties than at dinners. They're made sweeter to neutralize the bitterness of the tannin in the grape, which the bubbles bring up. Chanson, B&G, Bichot, Piat and Red Cap are all respectable names.

Interesting for their singularity are blanquette de limoux--sweet, almost white, like a mild asti--and the oddball wine Vin Fou, a humdrum white effervescent from the Jura region that benefits from clever merchandising.

One expects all kinds of effervescents from France; but Spain? Well, Cavas Codorniú is the world's largest producer of sparkling wine by the methodé champenoise (secondary fermentation in the original bottle). Bowing to the current fad, Codorniú makes a blanc de blancs that is softer and less acidic than champagne, but lacks the radiance of the prototype. Brut Codorniú has more oomph. A Non Plus Ultra Brut which rests five years on its yeast, may be Codorniú best. It's quite dry, between the blanc de blancs and the brut in body and bouquet, with a finesse beyond either.

From the Rioja region comes a sparkler with the unlikely name of Royal Carlton; available as Brut Natur and a sweeter Extra Seco. It has more body than Codorniú and a sprinkle of spice in its bouquet. The Anglicized name is allegedly a tribute to Winston Churchill's fondness for the brand.

The Asturias region contributes something different in the way of bubblies--Sidra. It's a hard cider, redolent of apples, with more carbonation but less alcohol (under seven percent) than American apple wines. Around the holidays, los hombres toss a shot of brandy into a glass of Zarracina or El Escanciado Sidra, to make a blood-warming Spaña Llamas.

Per capita, Germans put away more of the tingly stuff than anybody. It's considered a status symbol there, and the Herren apparently want their neighbors to know they're participating in the country's economic boom. Sekt has come to mean German champagne, although the term for sparkling wine is Schaumwein. The word Sekt is supposedly a corruption of sack, which in Chaucer's time meant wine from the south. In our time, Sekt has taken on a quality connotation, which is recognized by the new German wine regulations. To warrant its use on a label, the wine must contain at least ten percent alcohol, have a low level of sulphur dioxide, be produced by way of a second fermentation (not carbonation) and exhibit "flawless color, bouquet and flavor." A Sekt containing at least 60 percent German wine may be sold as Prädikatsekt.

Deutsches Sekts run to the touch of sweetness and Riesling fragrance characteristic of German still wines. The better ones achieve a refreshing balance between sweet and acid, but even they generally have a sweet edge. A lot of cheap wine brought in by tanker goes into the lesser lights.

Henkell and Soehnlein are the largest producers in Germany, but only Henkell is known in the U.S., and it's a worthy representative. In an attempt to get a foothold in America, it pushed a Piccolo, split size, at distress prices. Henkell and Soehnlein both have bottlings labeled trocken (dry), but they are not sehr trocken (very dry).

The familiar Blue Nun is equally palatable and considerably more festive as Sekt Sparkling Blue Nun. The flavor of the Sekt is consistent with still Blue Nun, so if you like one, you'll probably like the other. A ridged plastic cork is a helpful innovation, affording some protection for the novice cork popper.

Dienhard Lilac Sekt, Langenbach and Kupferberg Gold are well-made Sekts from smaller houses and do not suffer when compared with the biggies. For a pleasing change of taste, try Erdbeer Sekt, German Sparkling Strawberry. It's on the sweet side, with a redeeming tart edge and strawberry scent.

If German regulations are precise, the Italian wine scene is, well, Italian; that is to say, unpredictable. Still wines often come up frizzante and occasionally erupt in Vesuvian splendor. Practically every table wine has a vivacious counterpart--asti spumante being the most notable. It's a pale, honeyed, ingratiating sip, with the unmistakable fragrance of muscat grapes in its bouquet. Wines run from fairly to frankly sweet, but the bubbles keep them from being saccharine.

The spumante and panettone party is a favorite form of holiday entertainment in Italy. M&R, Fontanafredda and Calissano are exemplary astis, the latter not quite as sweet or perfumy as the others. Cora, about two dollars below M&R, is good value. Don't look for méthode champenoise on asti labels. It's one sparkling wine for which tank fermentation is preferable.

Italy's drier whites can have a slightly bitter aftertaste. You might investigate Calissano Duca d'Alba, Carpene Malvolti Brut or Cinzano Brut Riserva. The last is known as the Elizabeth Taylor Special at Metropolitan Wine and Liquor, New York, because they've delivered it by the case to her door. Lacrima Christi, which can be quite dry, is being phased out as a sparkling wine, although there's still some around.

Italy's foremost red foamer, Nebbiolo Spumante, is sweet and velvety, with a hint of violets in its bouquet. Barbera, Brachetto and Lambrusco are also made spumante. Be aware that the two-dollar Lambruscos now flooding the country are not sparkling, though most do have a pin-point prickle.

What about American sparklers? We have them in profusion--not to say confusion. The whites, with a few exceptions, are labeled champagne. One such exception is an extravagantly bouqueted Sparkling Muscadelle du Bordelais out of the Hanns Kornell Cellars. And Kornell's winy sparkling burgundy, made with pinot noir grapes, is one of the best reds. They're flirting with the idea of calling it Champagne Rouge. Sparkling Pinot Noir might be more apt.

While the cold-duck caper seems to be abating, that champagne-burgundy mixture is still in demand. Paul Masson makes one of the drier premiums and André is hard to beat at the price. Le Domaine and Gold Seal, available in magnums, are prospects for the punch bowl. And if you've a hankering, there are ebullient fruit wines, boisterous moscatos, turbulent cabernets, crackling rosés and an alluring Sparkling Gamay Beaujolais from Mirassou.

So count on it. Where there's a still wine, somebody's going to bring it out as a bubbly. The gamut runs from terrible to terrific, thus we suggest a preparty sampling to determine whether your initial choice is a hit or a miss. Happy holidays and happy sipping!