Lamarca Prosecco DOC NV

The short:

1. No outstanding or uncharacteristic behaviors in this bottle, but it was nice to drink
2. The label was definitely attractive to me. Robin’s egg blue (or ‘Tiffany” blue to some), clean and classy look to it, making it easy to want to pull from the shelf
3. No idea on the tasting room. I mean, come on..it’s made in Italy! And their website points only to the U.S. company in Hayward?! Punching in “who owns Lamarca Prosecco” and alternate versions got me nowhere quickly. The wine might be made there, but I’m curious…If there is a tasting room, someone get me an invite for further investigation!
4. Let’s be real – we’re talking about a style of sparkling wine that is VERY common in Italy, but it’s not so popular in the general U.S. consumer vernacular. That THAT behavior is why I picked up this (and the other) sparkling wine. Also, Prosecco is both a wine region and a wine grape?Hmmm…That THAT behavior is why I picked up this (and the other) sparkling wine.

The nerdy notes:

• Light color, slight golden hint, nice initial bubble stream in the glass and decent bubbles once in the glass for more than 10 minutes
• Nose: pear, cream, slight vanilla, grapefruit hint
• Taste: fine bubbles, creamy, slight sweetness, light pear and white peach, nice balance

Naveran Cava Brut 2009

The short:

1. No outstanding or uncharacteristic behaviors in this bottle either, but also nice to drink.
2. The label has a great vintage quality to it, but between that vintage-ness and the lower price point, I hesitated to pick it up until compared against the other Cavas in the group
3. Not sure how it compares to other tasting rooms, but the fact that it EXISTS excites me! Anyone feel like booking some round-trip tickets?
4. Again, reality: we’re talking about Cava, which is Spain’s popular style of sparkling wine. But, we’re also talking about grapes I’ve never heard of until now from another region typically not selected right off the bat for most U.S. consumers.

The judegement: 4 out of 5 – Also pretty nice to drink on NYE. I picked this up for $13 also.

The nerdy notes:

• light color, slightly darker than Lamarca, nice initial bubble stream and decent bubbles once in the glass for more than 10 minutes
• Nose: creamy, slight yeast
• Taste: apple, creamy, very fine bubbles, nice finish/lingers, pear notes
• Grapes include: 50% Xarello, 30% Macabeo, 20% Parellada

Final thoughts
Okay, so technically I cheated a little. Though popular styles in their own regions, they still need more recognition from our regular wine drinking folks. Also, they are ridiculously easy on the wallet, and provide a heck of a lot of enjoyment. P.S. A nice surprise awaits you under the cage wrappers of each bottle – fun little crown caps to the corks! (See my pic above!)

No, wait. Let’s not call it a “resolution”, because resolutions are too easy to break. Let’s call it Bubbly Goals! When most of us think about selecting a bottle of bubbles, there are some typical go-to names that pop-up, such as Mumm, Korbel, Gloria Ferrer, and Freixenet to name just a few. Why is that? Because it’s what we’re used to. But what about bubbles that come from alternate wine regions in the U.S., or even sparkling wines that come from other countries? There’s a host of them, and my recommendation is to try any from these REGIONS:

• Cava (Spain)
• Prosecco, Asti or Lambrusco (Italy)
• Espumante (Portugal)
• Sekt (Germany)
• Pezsgo (Hungary)

And don’t forget all the alternate STYLES of sparkling:

• Natural
• Extra Brut
• Brut
• Extra Dry/Extra Sec
• Dry/Sec
• Demi-Sec
• Sweet

Finally, a sparkling wine doesn’t HAVE to be made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Pinot Muenier. Why not try something made with:

• Muscat/Moscato
• Lambrusco
• Syrah
• Riesling
• Pinot Blanc
• Gamay
• Gruner Veltliner
• Blaufrankisch

What you should do now is select a bottle or two that deviates from your comfortable path, be sure to report back here about what you enjoyed, and where you found it so others can try it out. What you shouldn’t do is feel overwhelmed by all the options. Your best bet is to hit your local bottle shop first, and then fall back onto a larger chain store if time is running out. There are so many kinds of bubbly, so asking someone that works at the shop for a recommendation will help you go a long way. I’ll be posting my thoughts on a couple of bottles shortly, and look forward to your comments here.

What a wonderful way to kick-off our wine deviance…with bubbles!