 Break Out the
Bubbly - It's Time to Celebrate!
As
New Year’s Eve approaches, thoughts almost always turn to champagne (or
other sparkling wines). This
traditional part of New Year’s Eve celebrations is a great wine because
of its versatility with food. There’s
even better news for you: you
can find incredible value in sparkling wines, as prices remain the same or
drop from last year.
In
preparation for New Year’s Eve, our wine tasting on Saturday, December
28th will feature a variety of sparkling wines:
-
1998
Marque de Gelida from Spain, scores 87 from Robert Parker
(Retail cost $9.80)
-
Segura
Viudas from Spain, scores 85 from Wine Spectator
(Retail cost $10.85)
-
Nino
Franco “Rustico” from Italy, scores 90 from Robert Parker
(Retail cost $15.20)
-
Herbert
Beaufort Grand Cru Champagne from France
(Retail cost $22.20)
-
1992
Mailly Grand Cru Champagne from France
(Retail cost $22.20)
-
1997
S. Anderson from California
(Retail cost $32.10)
We
will also be serving a complimentary sampling of fine cheeses with the
wines:
-
Port
Salut cow’s milk semi-soft cheese from Loire Valley, France
-
Gruyere
cow’s milk hard cheese from Switzerland
-
Reblochon
cow’s milk semi-soft cheese from Loire Valley, France
Stop
by the store on Saturday between 1 – 6:30 pm for our free sparkling wine
tasting.
Clarification
of Terms: Champagne,
Sparkling Wine, Spumanti, etc.
Many
people commonly refer to any sparkling wine as “champagne,” although
that’s inaccurate. By
definition, champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France, and
is made by “methode champenoise,” which involves two separate
fermentations. The first
fermentation takes place in either oak casks or stainless steel vats.
The resultant still white wine is then bottled, with more sugar and
sometimes more yeast added for the second fermentation.
To
get the best results in sparkling wines, extra care is taken in fruit
selection and pressing of the grapes to obtain clean juice that is low in
tannin and low in color from grape skin contact.
Many
other types of sparkling wines (although not all) are made using the same
type of process. Cava, for
example, is a Spanish sparkling wine also made by the methode champenoise.
Italian sparkling wines made from this process are called Spumanti.
Other regions of the world simply refer to their sparkling wines as
“Sparkling Wine.”
There
are different levels of sweetness available in sparkling wines.
The terminology can be confusing.
For example, “Extra Dry” is almost the sweetest level!
Following are the definitions, from driest to sweetest:
-
Extra
Brut - sweetness level
limited to 0.6% or less of residual sugar. Replaces
terms like Brut Zero and Brut Absolu which have no “dosage” (or
added sugar).
-
Brut
- sweetness level limited to 1.5% residual sugar or less.
-
Extra
Dry - sweetness level limited
to 1.2-2.0% residual sugar.
-
Demi-Sec
- French term meaning half-dry. When
applied to sparkling wines, it means a relatively sweet wine ranging
between 3.5 and 5.0% residual sugar.
Variety of Sparkling
Wines Available at Our Store
You
can find an excellent selection of sparkling wines from many regions of
the world in our store. All
of the wines we sell are highly rated (85 points or higher), and our price
ranges ensure that we can find a sparkler for anyone’s budget.
-
French
Champagne: Egly-Ouriet,
rated 92 points by Robert Parker, available at $35 / bottle
-
Spanish
Cava: Marques de Galeda
and Segura Viudas, scoring 85 – 89 points and available at < $10
/ bottle. (Spain has the
best wine values in the world!)
-
Italian
Spumanti: Rustico, rated
85 – 90 points and < $15 / bottle
-
California
Sparkling Wine: S.
Anderson, 85 – 89 points, < $30 / bottle
Serving Tips
To
achieve the best results when serving sparkling wines, chill to 40 – 45
degrees. Always use champagne
flutes as glassware, and triple rinse the glasses beforehand to eliminate
any soap deposits. Be sure to
provide plenty of water for your guests – a good measure is one glass of
water for every glass of wine.
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In this issue:
Join Our Wine Club!
Store Location & Hours
Legal Notice on Ordering Wine
How
Did You Get this Newsletter?
We've
all wondered how it is that organizations get our email address.
Some scan the web, others buy lists of 1000's. We don't agree with
those methods and have no desire to send email to those that would rather
not receive it.
The
mailing list for this newsletter was generated only from the
personal email archives of Wine Expressions' owners. So, if you
don't personally know the owners (Brad Mitchell, Randy Russell, Jack Thew),
someone you know does, because your name was included on an email to one
of us.
We
hope you enjoy the newsletter and decide to remain on our distribution
list. You are welcome to pass this newsletter along to a friend, or
click unsubscribe to
be removed from our lists.
By
the way, we never share your email or address information with anyone
else.
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An
Invitation: Join Our Wine Club
Why join a wine club? In
short, it's the perfect answer for learning about wines and trying new
varieties, with almost no effort on your part.
With our Prairie Wine Club, we
send you a monthly shipment of either two or three bottles (your choice). Each
shipment includes notes about the wine, suggested food pairings and special offers for purchasing
additional bottles at a discount.
When selecting these wines, we
look to expand your exposure to great value wines; we'll usually include a
combination of red and white. Most of these wines go to club members
before they reach our store shelves, so as a club member, you get a
preview and first chance at buying these selections in volume.
Subscriptions are automatic for an
initial six-month time period, but you may have them cancelled or extended
at any time.
Our wine club can make the perfect
gift, whether for yourself or the wine-lover on your list. Contact
us with questions. You can sign up at the store or on our web site.
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Store
Location & Hours
We
are located in downtown Lisle at the southwest corner of Burlington Ave.
& Main St.
Hours
of Operation:
M - Sat 11 am - 7 pm
Sunday 1 pm - 5 pm
(We
are open on Sundays just through the end of December.)
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Legal Notice
on Ordering Wine
You must be 21 years of age or older to order any alcoholic beverage.
By law, we are allowed to ship wine to only the following
states: California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
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