It’s nearly time to ring in the new year, and for many that occasion calls for champagne. If you’d like to celebrate the new year with something absolutely delicious while supporting Long Island’s local vineyards, consider one, or more, of the sparkling wines at Sparkling Pointe.
First, a short primer on sparkling wines: There are a lot of them, and most are not champagne. To be champagne, the wine must be produced in the Champagne region and produced in the Methode Champenoise, also known as the traditional method. In this method the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. This produces fine, delicate bubbles. There are other types of sparkling wine made on Long Island, but at Sparkling Pointe they use the same traditional method used in the Champagne region.
Two sparkling wines from Sparkling Pointe that should make everyone’s short list for NYE have to be the 2018 Topaz Imperial and the 2017 Brut. The 2018 Topaz Imperial is a gorgeous, blush, sparkling wine. It’s a dry wine with light, but distinct, strawberry notes. Underneath the fruit notes are base notes of shortbread.
The 2017 Brut is also dry with a lovely citrus freshness. It’s incredibly clean with a creamy feel. These wines share a similar trait with the finest champagnes in that they both pair exceedingly well with a wide array of foods. One can easily enjoy these wines with everything from appetizers to dessert.
Sparkling Pointe’s winemaker Gilles Martin said of sparkling wine, “Pure symphony of the senses, elegant ballet of tiny bubbles, the perfect harmony between soul and people.”
Born at the gates of the Champagne region, one may believe Martin was destined to become a renowned and award-winning winemaker, but that destiny was paved with hard work. He earned an engineering degree in biology and food sciences and a master’s of oenology from the University of Montpellier. He then worked in Germany, Australia, and Virginia before becoming the assistant winemaker of the celebrated California Roederer Estate winery, where the wines he produced were widely considered the best sparkling wines ever made outside the Champagne area. Luckily, Martin now calls the North Fork of Long Island his home as he produces the beautiful and highly rated wines of Sparkling Pointe.
According to the Sparkling Pointe website the 2017 Brut retails for $31 and the 2019 Topaz Imperial retails for $44. The 2018 Topaz Imperial retails for $29 according to wine-searcher.com.
For more food and drink coverage, visit longislandpress.com/category/food-drink.
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