CINZANO Sparkling Bubbly Guide for the Holidays
Nothing says “cheers!” like sparkling wine and champagne. During the holidays this year, serve an elegant tasting sparkling wine or champagne to enhance your meal. Casa CINZANO has been making vermouth and sparkling wines since 1757. There are many effervescent wines that you can serve alone or top to enhance a cocktail. Here’s a alphabetical guide of different sparkling wines to serve this year for your more intimate holiday meal.
Courtesy of Mondoro
Mondoro Asti Spumante is made with Moscato grapes from the Asti region of Piedmont. Mondoro’s sister brand Cinzano also makes an Asti wine. Asti is also known as Asti Spumante, an Italian sparkling white wine that is produced around the town of Asti and throughout southeastern Piedmont. The level of alcohol, can fluctuate between 6% to 9% in the fermentation process. Spumante translates to sparkling wine in Italian.
Mondoro Asti is a brand of Spumante that has mastered elegance, allure and prestige, while remaining affordable to consumers. This is an ideal sparkling wine to serve with a charcuterie board offering different cheeses, sliced meats, pickled vegetables and dried fruit.
Pouring into a pretty glass, one will notice its pale yellow color with green reflections. The aroma of acacia flowers, white peach and sage hits your nose with a hint of tropical notes. After the first sip, this sweet and elegant bubbly offers a burst of sparkles on the palate. It cuts the fats in the cheese and meats to provide a more balanced palate.
Courtesy of Cinzano
Cinzano Asti is sweet and low in alcohol. Moscato d’Asti is fixed at 5.5% alcohol. Made from 100% white Moscato grapes, this Asti is elegant and offers a rich floral bouquet with fruity and herbaceous notes. On the nose one detects acacia flowers, honey and sage. Sipping this Asti reminds one of biting into a sweet white peach. This is an excellent sparkling wine to serve with appetizers of fresh salami and aged cheese with bread. You can also serve this with a dessert course of holiday pies, a Panettone or hazelnut cake.
Courtesy of Cinzano
Brut Sparkling Wine offers a fresh and clean mouthfeel and rich nose of tropical fruit scents. Made with Pinot Chardonnay, it is ideal to serve with light appetizers. One sip offers a fresh stone fruit and minerality flavor profile with hints of apple and pear. Serve with cheese and a cherry tomato bruschetta on crunchy Italian bread.
Cava is a sparkling wine from Spain and can be made as a white or rosé sparkling wine. The Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo are the most popular and traditional grape varieties for producing cava.
Champagne Sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it comes from the region just outside Paris in Champagne, France. Champagne can only be made using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.
Courtesy of Cinzano
Prosecco tends to be sweeter than champagne and is also an Italian sparkling wine produced in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions of Italy. The grapes that make Prosecco are glera grapes, however some varieties have chardonnay and pinot grigio grapes mixed in. Prosecco must be certified D.O.C. or D.O.C.G. These Italian governmental standards ensure the highest quality and standards were used during production. Mondoro’s sister brand makes a wonderful Prosecco D.OC. This is a dry, fizzy and fruity sparkling wine offering a straw yellow color and a nose of green apple and ripe pear. It’s the perfect aperitivo to top on cocktails, such as the Aperol Spritz. Pair with soups and savory tarts for a first course, and pour another glass during second course with dishes such as seafood, chicken and vegetables, and spicy curry dishes.
Photo courtesy of Cinzano
For a classic and pretty holiday cocktail make an Aperol Spritz. Here is Cinzano’s recipe:
In a pretty wine glass filled with ice, pour equal parts of Cinzano Sparkling Wine (Prosecco D.O.C. or Pro-Spritz) and Aperol into a wine glass. Add a splash of soda water, and garnish with a slice of orange
Aperol Spritz is one of the most widely consumed cocktails in Italy and is now becoming a favorite around the globe. It’s pretty in color, light, sparkling and refreshing with an essence of orange.
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