Episode 2: Sparkling Wine

Just in time for the holidays: a tale of two sparkling wines. Appetizers, food pairing revelations, and some extras like this budget sparkling wine from Peller Estates, are the topics up for discussion this episode. Oh, and Nita creates some cocktails.

Adding a little ginger syrup to sparkling wine creates a spicy cocktail with a hint of sweetness. The original recipe was in Gourmet magazine in December 2007. It calls for a rim of sugar and crystallized ginger, but I generally skip that part.

Sparkling Ginger Cocktail

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sliced fresh ginger (2 ounces)
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 lemon wedges
2 (750ml) bottles chilled Prosecco (or whatever you have that's bubbly)

Simmer water, fresh ginger, and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan, uncovered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep 15 minutes. Strain syrup through a sieve into a bowl discarding solids. Chill until cold.

Finely grind crystallized ginger (if you feel like it) with remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a blender or food processor, then spread on a small plate.

Run lemon wedges around rims of glasses, then dip rims into ginger sugar. Put 1 tbsp syrup into each glass and top off with sparkling wine.

Alfonso

An Alfonso is a classic champagne cocktail and you can find recipes for it in various books and on many websites. Here is the version we made:

2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 oz Dubonnet Rouge Aperitif Wine
1 sugar cube
Sparkling wine

In a wine glass, add the bitters to the sugar, then add the Dubonnet and a tsp of ice. Fill the glass with sparkling wine, stir gently and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

One little note on the term "estate bottled"...this term is regulated by VQA (Vintner's Quality Alliance of Ontario) and can only be used when all the grapes were grown and harvested in the winery's own vineyards.

What we'll be drinking next: two uncomplicated wines to pair with spicy food.

Episode 1: Tristan & Julien

A juicy, red number from the Languedoc region of France goes well in the afternoon with some slow-roasted ribs and beef tenderloin canapés. Learn a little about the wines from the sunniest spot in France and find out if you too are a Grenache lover.



What we'll be drinking next: a little of the bubbly for your holiday enjoyment.