Sparkling Wine

Even if you’ve never heard of any other Spanish wine, chances are you’ve heard about cava.  This is due to the huge international presence of cava sparkling wines.  Freixenet and Cordoníu are the two best-known producers of cava and both wineries have done a marvelous job of marketing Spain’s sparkling wines outside of their home country.  In fact, Spain exports more than half of the sparkling wines it produces, according to the Peñin Guide to Spanish Wine 2007.

With one last column before Christmas and New Years, I would like to continue talking about the wonderful sparkling wines of Italy. This four part series started with the wines of Asti in the Piemonte, then we explored the Franciacorta’s of Lombardia, and the last column discussed the ubiquitous Proseccos of the Veneto. All of these will make tasty and affordable additions to your holiday festivities.

In this article, I want to explore a wine that may be one of the most misunderstood wines not only in Italy, but anywhere. That wine is Lambrusco.

Champagne has launched thousands of ships, toasted billions of weddings and special occasions, flutes attended countless parties, and shared untold special moments between two people.