Latest Headlines

Random Acts of Comedy in Thousand Oaks ( Kamaka Brown )

FINDING A CAPABLE AGENT TO MEET YOUR NEEDS ( Terese Ayers )

GARY BONNER SINGERS WILL SING IN CAMARILLO ( Gerald Olsen )

METHODIST CHURCH HOSTS FREE FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT ( Gerald Olsen )

share stories | more stories »

YourHub.com \\ Camarillo \\ Stories \\ Posting is no longer available. \\ General Tips & Techniques

Ring in the New Year with the Right Bubbly

e-mail to a friend | print this | link to this

NEXT › ‹ PREVIOUS

Contributed by: Lisa Osborne on 12/20/2007

When my best friend from college got married for the first time this year, her wine aficionado groom insisted on splurging on pricey Dom Perignon for the champagne toast. Of course, it was fantastic and (to those of us who appreciate fine wine) a memorable occasion. But, if you're hosting a party, you don't have to mortgage the ranch in order treat your guests to a classy champagne toast this New Year's Eve.

Whether you're planning on ringing in 2008 with a group, or more intimately with someone special, Antonio Anderson of Enoteca Toscana Wine Bistro in old town Camarillo offers these suggestions.

Let's start with explaining the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine.

"Champagne can only be called Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France," said Anderson, adding "Sparkling wine is the term used for bubbly bottled in the United States. Sparkling wine from Spain is called 'Cava,' and in Italy, it's Spumante or Prosecco."

Reading the Label

When shopping, it's important to know that 'Brut,' medium bodied champagne, is the taste most people are used to. Anderson suggests, 'You can't go wrong with Brut." He says 'dry' is an English term for sweet - so 'dry' and 'extra dry' describe levels of sweetness (extra dry being sweeter). Sec, Demi-Sec and Doux are other terms that describe sweetness.

Making your Choice

If you are hosting a party and want to serve bubbly for a midnight toast, Anderson suggests sticking with a good California Sparkling wine like Gloria Ferrer (around $12 a bottle). Or, one of Anderson's personal favorites is Scharffenberger. He says, at $15-20 a bottle, "it's an excellent sparkling wine for the money."

Celebrating a special occasion? Anderson has one suggestion: "Krug. It's the champagne of champagnes, always rated between 95-100 points (a very high rating)." At $120-400 a bottle, let's hope it makes a good impression on the person you're sharing it with!

Popping the Cork

Anderson says 20 minutes in the fridge will properly chill champagne. When popping the cork, he warns, "Always point the bottle away from your guest. And, twist the bottle not the cork." For a detailed description of how to pop a cork like a pro, tune-in to my radio interview with Antonio Anderson on my website, www.Lisa.fm.

Cheers, to a happy and healthy 2008!

[Report this as objectionable content.]

SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story

Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

Thank you! Your comment has been updated.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Lisa Osborne

Camarillo , CA

Lisa Osborne has posted 23 stories and 2 comments since joining on 8/8/2007. Lisa Osborne 's average story rating is 4.2.

view profile » view other postings from Lisa Osborne »

Loading Ad

Story

Lisa Osborne