"SparklingWine" news and stories

We're not ready to say good-bye to summer just yet -- and not quite ready to switch over to red wine. In fact, we hear the best way to say hello to autumn is to pour a glass of sparkling wine into a flute and hang out on your porch, savoring the warm nighttime air.

Here are seven sparkling wines that we recently fell in love with and want you to try.

Bisol Spumante Cartizze Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore, Veneto, Italy ($45)
A very nice floral scent eases into a light, delicate Prosecco that's simply delightful and full of fruit flavor (apples and peaches). If you're balking at the higher price on this wine, that's because it's very balanced and a consistent high scorer from wine critics.

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi Sparkling Brut, California ($10)
A light citrus aroma, followed by apple and creamy lemon flavors. This is a very fresh, light sparkling wine that would be appropriate for most palates. It's made from 100% Chardonnay grapes. At this price point, it's a value practically unheard of for sparkling wine.

Mumm Napa Brut Rose, Napa Valley, California ($22)
A pale salmon color in the glass, this sparkling wine's appearance is deceiving because the palate is anything but delicate. Instead, it's got bold plum, cherry and wild strawberry notes in a crisp, refreshing structure.

While spending Valentine's Day with your sweetheart, odds are pretty good you'll be opening up a bottle of bubbly to celebrate that through the craziness called dating you've found each other. Finding someone trustful and loving that make you laugh is no easy task, that we know. Can't the same be said for scoring the perfect bottle of wine?

Here are three sparkling wines that, when poured into the glass, produce a beautiful pink color and come pretty darn close to being perfect. What would go well with these wines? The good news is that there are not a lot of foods that won't. Sparkling wines are very food-friendly, whether that means pairing with a slice of cheesecake at the end of a meal or cradling a flute in one hand while eating spiced nuts with the other.

After the jump, our three favorite pink sparklers...

The sparkling wine we drink on New Year's Eve is not the stuff we drink at other times of the year. Beyond marking the end of the year, Dec. 31 also caps the end of holiday season, a last gasp of celebration -- and provides a ray of hope for what lies ahead. People want to party, not reflect. Chug, not sip.

Circumstances dictate that the sparkler you give or receive will likely be consumed by many mouths -- some quite inebriated already -- and not just by an intimate group of two or four. These factors influence what you buy.

Generally speaking, the ideal bottle will be inexpensive, widely available and fairly dry. The guide below walks you through New Year's Eve options, from fancy French Champagne to an international stable of less expensive, lesser-known alternatives.

Learn How to Open Champagne

by Kristine Hansen

Generally, crisp and celebratory, wines like cava, brut, Champagne and American sparkling wines probably won't turn any heads if you bring them to an occasion that calls for bubbles. But Crémant, a French sparkling wine, can make a fashionable entrance. Although still a nouveau import to many areas of the U.S. it's tres affordable. Most Crémants are priced under $20 a bottle.

Crémant is produced in seven regions throughout France: Bordeaux, Alsace, Burgundy, Loire, Die, Jura and Limoux. Strict laws from the French government stipulate that the grapes must be harvested by hand and the bottles aged for at least a year. There are also rules for the composition of grapes. And they differ by region. In Burgundy, for instance, at least 30 percent of the wine must be Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris.

While traveling through the Burgundy region this summer, in between spreading cheeses on rustic baguettes and reveling in the deliciousness of mustards from this region, we sipped some very good bottles of Crémant de Bourgogne. Fortunately you can buy both of our top picks in the States.

Ah, bottle of champagne, most delightful of ways to waste a spring's day. However, with the season just beginning and the economy showing no signs of improving, you'd best make that bottle of champagne an inexpensive one. How convenient then, that the good people of Barefoot have added a few new varieties to their line of sparkling wines.

Brut Cuvee and Extra Dry have been joined by Pinot Grigio and White Zinfandel, with the Chardonnay getting pretty new blue packaging to match the others' yellow and pink. The colors go with the light, fruity flavors and the pleasant, somewhat pastel buzz you feel after a few glasses. With the bubbly running less than $10 a bottle, you can even stockpile a few for April and May.