OK. So I found the perfect wine to uncork during your Labor Day celebration. If Mother Nature stays her course, we should have nice sunny weather making outdoor events a must.  This year, I am putting two of my favorite wine styles together; rose and bubbles. The wine, Sergio Mionetto Rose is a well-made, off-dry spumante from the Piave & Trentino regions of Italy. The production process is called Charmat and differs from the Champagne method in that the wine undergoes the second fermentation in tank not bottle. This keeps the fruit fresh and bright on the palate. Lower in alcohol (11%) this wine is a great starter wine made from Raboso and Lagrein grapes making it a cool chance to turn your friends on to new grapes. We opened a few bottles this past weekend in Cellar Door and everyone loved it. Not a cellar buster - just a simple crowd pleaser to celebrate the end of summertime sippin’. Cheers.

It’s official. The amount of Champagne being exported is up by 8% over last year. This is good news for the growers, producers and lovers of bubbles around the world. Being of the latter group, I can confidently say that the only thing better than bubbles is well - more bubbles. While I might be stating the obvious here, it is important to know that only sparkling wine from Champagne is allowed to be called Champagne. In Spain, the bubbles are called Cava. In Italy, the term is Spumante and in the USA, we label our bubbles Sparkling Wine. All are good and worth a try. I am working on a few sparkling wine cocktails including a Margarita Punch topped off with Prosecco and a Cava Sangria featuring Tempranillo and bubbles from Spain.  If you are interested in the recipes - let me know. Cheers. 

In my line of work, I have had the honor of tasting alot of good wine. Trouble is, I don’t always have the opportunity to share the news. With that in mind, I have decided to add a “Weekday Wine” post to my blog every week. My “Weekday Wines” are not (and never will be) the block buster labels you read about in collector magazines.  Instead, they are the wines worthy of sipping with dinner - any night of the week.

When it comes to Spain, good-value wines are easy to find in each and every region. I was in the market for in inexpensive “Tuesday Night” wine when I first fell for Realeza Tempranillo from the Castilla y Leon region. This easy sippin’ red is a Vino de la Tierra which means that it is a country or regional wine designed to be enjoyed any night of the week. Think orange, leather and earthy aromas - get the picture? The other cool fact about this wine is that it comes in a wooden box. If you buy by the case (easy to do when the wine sells for $11 a bottle), you get to keep the box for your cellar or as a magazine holder to house your old copies of Wine Spectator.

In terms of white, I left Spain and sampled a tasty wine from Germany. Made from my favorite grape, Riesling,  Robert Eymael’s Monchhof 2005 Urzig Wurzgarten Kabinett ($23) is just plain yummy. Crafted from grapes of the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, this high acid, off-dry wine is great served with home-made burritos, chips and salsa or Chinese carryout. Not that it matters, but the name means “house of the monk.” Only 9% alcohol and a hint of residual sugar works to tame the spice and heat in most dishes.

Stumbling onto a great find or good-value wine is only fun if you can talk about it - so feel free to chime in on any wines that you have discovered recently.

Cheers.