Countdown to New Year's

On Wednesday, December 30 (that's New Year's eve eve), Hillside Liquor Store is hosting a bubbly tasting to help with your New Year's Eve libation decision. The Champagne tradition require a good bubbly toast to ring in the New Year, but with so many sparkling wine options, how is one to choose?

Here are some tips and facts:

• Champagne refers specifically to sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France. Everything else is sparkling wine. Champagne typically starts (in BC) at $49 and up.
• Many countries produce fantastic sparkling wine and they can range from bone-dry to super-sweet and anywhere in between. The labelling can be confusing, as each country has its own way of denoting dry or sweet.
• The international standards for denoting sparkling wine sweetness are (from driest to sweetest): brut natural, extra brut, brut, extra sec, sec, demi-sec and doux.

• The proper way to open a bottle of sparkling wine is to un-do the foil cage and dispose of it. Next, tilt the bottle away from your face, firmly grip the cork, and turn the bottle, not the cork. The cork should loosen with a minimum fuss and zero spillage.
  The December 30th tasting will focus on Australian sparkling wine. The tasting will feature the Seaview Sparkling Brut, Yellowglen "Pink" and the Wolf Blass Yellow Label sparkling.
  

Seaview is a household name in Australia respected for its champagne-like style of sparkling wines. Seaview's origins date back to the 1850s when George Manning established 'Hope Farm' in McLaren Vale. The winery was renamed Seaview in 1951 by its new owners, Edwards and Chaffey. The fruit for the wines comes from many regions in South Eastern Australia. One of the first Australian winemakers to use the authentic French technique of methode champenoise, Seaview today exclusively makes sparkling wines.

The tasting notes for Seaview Sparkling Brut:
Deep gold colour and a ripe, sweet cantaloupe, honey, tobacco and biscuit nose are as you might expect from Australian bubbly. It is slightly sweet, with a glycerine texture, yet there is just enough acidity to maintain some grip and freshness. One of the most flavourful if not elegant bubblies around. Very good length.

Yellowglen "Pink"
Yellowglen's inception was in 1971, and has since become a major producer of Australian sparkling wine. There are three distinct ranges, the "Anytime", "Classic" and the "Elegant". Within these ranges are a variey of bubblies incuding classic vintage traditonal method, a low-calorie, and plain old fruity bubblies.
The tasting at Hillside Liquor Store will focus on the Pink, which is made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Pink Tasting Notes:
    Yellowglen Pink is soft ice pink in the glass and has a delicate bead. Distinctive Pinot Noir  aromas of strawberries with a splash of citrus bubble under the nose and develop into refreshing fruit characters of berry and lime with a hint of lemon. Ripe Chardonnay flavours provide the backbone to this delightful and surprising wine.

Wolf Blass is a long-respected Australian winery, known both for its red and white wines in a variety of ranges from the everyday to the celler-able.
Wolf Blass Yellow Label Sparkling Brut has a bouquet that is a complex balance of fresh fruit characters and creamy yeast nuances, while the palate shows delicate fruit, soft bubbles and crisp acidity on the finish.
Further Tasting Notes:
Another Aussie sparkler that aims for the dryness and leanness of a Euro sparkler. Mild, clean aromas of apple, with biscuit and lemony notes. Medium weight, soft and lively, with crisp grapefruit acidity. Good length.