Lincoln, NE – Does wine always have to be serious? It does not. Sometimes it’s a great change of pace to try something unique, different and fun. Something that offers pleasure without pretense. This month I feature wines that are fresh, fizzy, and chilled. Sealed with a bottle cap but provide a special kind of enjoyment for a warm summer evening.
These wines are made Petillant-Nature style. It’s an ancient method of making sparkling wine where after producing still wine yeast is added to the bottle and then capped. The yeast remains in the bottle and is not disgorged as is the case with sparkling wines made in the traditional method, like champagne. The result is typically a fresh, fizzy wine with a bit of sediment in the bottle. In a clear glass bottle, you will see sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Just before opening, you can gently rotate the bottle to stir the sediment throughout the bottle. Often times the packaging of these wines is also fun and irreverent. In any event, I enjoy them.
With the weather being warm I did this tasting on my deck. I wasn’t really very hungry, so I stopped by a local fast food restaurant and picked up some cheese curds. What could be better with bubbly wine than fried cheese?
For wine I started with Marino Abate, “Inzolita”, NV, Sicily, Italy, $21.00. Made by an enterprising young wine maker from the Northwest corner of Sicily from the Inzolia grape, the wine is a reflection of its charismatic producer. The wine is pale yellow in the glass. It offers subtle aromas of pineapple, lime and a hint of quince. The wine has a fresh effervescence that tickles the tongue with delicate bubbles and pleasing flavors of pineapple, pear, and a light pineapple note. Hard do stop drinking this
one.
89 points
Next, I tried Thiery Chardon “Au Gre Du Vent”, Loire, France, $20.00. Produced by a young couple who are all in with organic and natural wine making. This pet-nat wine is made from Chenin Blanc and is intense and aromatic with ripe melon, grapefruit, and honeysuckle. Lively effervescence with fresh grapefruit, starfruit and a hint of fresh hay. The wine is playful and energetic. A very pleasing and enjoyable wine.
90 points
The last wine I tried is Meinklang “Prosa”, Burgenland, Austria, $21.00. Made from an organic/natural producer whose farm not only produces great wines but is the largest bee keeping operation in Europe. The story of Meinklang is nothing short of incredible. Their “Prosa” a pet-nat wine made from Pinot Noir is so enticing in the bottle, that when I see it a bottle always ends up coming home. In the glass this wine is a delightful watermelon pink, it has scents of fresh roses, raspberry, and cream. It’s bubbles are a delicate mousse that offers strawberry, fresh cherry, and a slight peach note. Fun and pleasant throughout.
89 points
This is a group of wines that is hard to top. They were all delicious on their own and they worked very well with cheese curds as you might imagine. The fatty, oily texture of the cheese did a great job of accentuating the freshness of the wine. My favorite wine with the cheese curds was the “Inzolita”. I love the interesting stone fruit flavors that emerged from this wine as it was complemented by the cheese nugget.
Mark McDonald and his wife, Kim, own The Italian Vine, a Lincoln-based
wine distributorship.
For more information on these wines, including where you can find them
in Lincoln or Omaha, email mark.italianvine@gmail.com
