A Bouquet of Bubbly Rosés with Festive Nibbles #WorldWineTravel

This month I am hosting the World Wine Travel writers. As December is a crazy time of year, I wanted to keep it simple: we are pouring sparkling wine from anywhere in the world - any region and any grape - and pairing with a holiday appetizer.

photo courtesy of @thehotel_california

Here's the Bubbly Line-Up

• Culinary Cam discovers A Bouquet of Bubbly Rosés with Festive Nibbles: From California's Central Coast to Neusiedlersee, Alsace, Swartland, and More (you're here).

• The Quirky Cork takes A Sparkling Journey Through Hungary, Germany, and Armenia.

• Food Wine Click! pours A Very Bourgogne Holiday Apéro.

• A Day in the Life on the Farm shares A Tropical Grazing Board and Hawaiian Sparkling Wine; Mele Kalikimaka

• Cooking Chat has Brie Crostini with Prosciutto and Sparkling Wine

• Crushed Grape Chronicles tells of Bites with Bubbles – tossing together a party for two

• ENOFYLZ Wine Blog shares Bubbles and Bites: Dr. Konstantin Frank Sparkling Brut Meets “Meat and Potatoes”.

• Wine Predator.... Gwendolyn Alley says Sekt Means Sparkling in German: 2013 Raumland Cuvee Marie Luise Brut Means Fondue Fun and Small Bites– Clink Different!

• Savor the Harvest shares Sparkling Wine From Around the World with Dinatoire.

•  Our Good Life finds the Top Affordable Sparkling Wines for Every Budget.

A Bouquet of Bubbly Rosés with Festive Nibbles: From California's Central Coast to Neusiedlersee, Alsace, Swartland, and More

Good grief the month got away from me! I sourced all the wines I wanted to pair as soon as I picked the theme. I cooked. I poured. I did outsource one pairing and was wildly impressed with their creation though I never did get their tasting notes. But, as the time is short and the deadline is near, my post will be very different than I had hoped. Bear with me.

Also, while I was the one who picked the theme of sparkling wines with appetizers, I ended up with heartier pairings that are more main dishes. However, if you served small portions, you could call them 'small plates.' That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

To Italy...

As I usually do when I am trying an array of wines from around the world, I either start with wines from California or Italy. I outsourced the Scarpetta Timido Brut Rosé to the Berkeley kids. The wine is a single varietal comprised of 100% Pinot Nero grapes from the Grave dei Fruili. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel using the same method used in Prosecco production. While I didn't get their tasting notes, I have had the wine before. It pours a bright, clear geranium color with aromas of red fruits and fresh flowers. On the palate the wine mirrors the aromas and is a great match with salads and seafoods. The kids poured it with scallops, risotto, and broccolini. It looked delicious!

For my own Italian pairing, I went with a bottle of non-vintage Cantina Orsogna Lunaria Pinot Grigio Pét-Nat Ancestrale 2023.

This single varietal, a 100% Pinot Grigio, from Abruzzo is made as a Pétillant-Naturel, 'Pét-Nat' for short. You can read about that process in my post - A #WinePW Preview + My Favorite American Sparkler, Pét-Nat. I love that this biodynamic project, Lunaria Ancestrale, honors the sheep in the vineyards. During grazing, the sheep feces fertilizes the soil, increasing soil fertility and nutrient absorption. In the Spring, the sheep are washed and fleeced. It's that sheared fleece that is spun into wool and tied around the neck of the Ancestrale bottles.

I poured the Ancestrale with orechiette blanketed beciamela with roasted mushrooms. Here's my process for roasting mushrooms.

From California...

I headed to the Santa Maria Valley via wine glass and poured a 2018 Riverbench Brut Rosé.

Riverbench Vineyard was established in 1973 when the first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes were planted on the bank of the Sisquoc River, known as the Santa Maria Bench. In 2006 they began producing their own wines in limited quantities. The wine poured a rusty salmon color with a hefty layer of froth. On the nose I got whiffs of mock orange and a hint of rose. On the palate the wine sparkled with flavors of red fruit and earthy marzipan.

Because I love pairing Asian foods with sparkling pinks, I poured this wine with a dinner of jap chae and kimbap. You can see my Kimbap-Sushi Hybrid. I have yet to share my process for jap chae, but after asking the lady at our local Korean market how she makes it, my interpretation has gotten lots better. I just need to write it down.

Then, a little closer to home, I poured Twisted Roots Brut Rosé.

I met Twisted Roots' owners Josh and Julie when I collaborated with The Quail & Olive for a happy hour event earlier this year. When Julie attended another event where I was demo'ing a pumpkin risotto, she mentioned this first Rosé release. Pinot Noir-based, this Rosé was crisp and dry with persistent bubbles and lovely layers of citrus and green apple softened with a yeasted brioche.

Sticking to an Asian menu, whereas I matched the Riverbench with a Korean-inspired dishes, I went Japanese with karaage and a smashed cucumber salad. See my process for Crispy Japanese Karaage. I will share the cucumber salad shortly.

To Austria...

I haven 't had too many wines from Austria, so I was excited to get my hands on the non-vintage Szigeti Pinot Noir Brut Rosé from Neusiedlersee because it fit my theme!

Austria's Neusiedlersee wine-growing region is situated to the east of Lake Neusiedl that straddles the Austrian-Hungary border. Made from Pinot Noir grapes, this wine poured a brilliant almost marigold color with a rose filter. On the nose, I got aromas of tart red fruit such as currants. On the palate there were hints of spice with a generous finish.

It reminded me of cold Winter dinners in Denmark. So, when I had a table full of college kiddos, I served the wine with Andesteg, Danish roasted duck stuffed with apples and prunes, for the main course and an upside-down rhubard cake for dessert. I will be sharing both of those recipes soon. Andesteg is traditionally served at Christmas and we loved it. So I will definitely be making it again soon.

To France...

Whenever I buy sparkling wine from France, I rarely buy Champagne. Sparkling wines from other regions in France are just as enjoyable at less than half the price. For this I poured the non-vintage Willm Crémant d’Alsace Brut Rosé

This is single varietal - 100% Pinot Noir - from Willm Estate in Barr, at the foot of the majestic Kirchberg de Barr Grand Cru vineyard. Interestingly enough Emile Willm, the estate's founder, was responsible for the first wines from Alsace to be exported to the United States in the early 1930s as soon as Prohibition ended. It is rumored that Al Capone enjoyed the Willm wines after his release from Alcatraz!

In the glass, the wine poured a deep salmon color with a light gold rim. The Willm Rosé Brut is delicately textured - with persistent tiny bubbles - in addition to being silky on the palate with an energetic finish. While I could easily see this pairing well with salmon or sushi, I poured it with our favorite take-away pizza. We had a white pizza with mushrooms, truffles, and sausage, a spicy Hawaiian pizza, and an all-meat pizza with pepperoni, sausage, and salami. The wine was great with all, but especially amazing with the truffle pizza.

To South Africa...

I found the non-vintage Lubanzi Rosé Bubbles, a sparkling wine from the Western Cap of South Africa which is a blend of Swartland-grown Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault.

The pallid color of this wine belies the depth of its flavor. The palest of pink, the wine was highly aromatic with layers of wild summer fruits. But its balanced acidity and saline minerality made it an amazingly food-friendly pour.

For this pairing, I opted to go with 'what grows together goes together' and made a Bobotie, a traditional South African dish that we have been enjoying for years. Bobotie is a slightly sweet, spiced dish with ground meat in an egg custard with bay leaves floated on top. My version is my own, a traditional dish with a California twist.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

• 1 leek, trimmed and thinly sliced

• olive oil

• 1 Tablespoon curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1/2 teaspoon ground, smoked paprika

• freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste

• 3 Tablespoons ketchup

• 3 Tablespoons apricot jam

• 7 eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped herbs

• ½ cup milk

• bay leaves for garnish

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large frying pan, heat the oil and braise the fennel and leeks until golden. Add in the meat and cook until completely browned. Season with spices and stir in the ketchup and jam. Spoon the mixture into a well-greased, oven-proof dish.

Combine the eggs with the milk and spices and beat well. Pour the mixture over the bobotie and arrange the bay leaves as garnish.

Cover and bake for an hour, or until the egg custard has set. Remove the cover and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until golden brown.

That's a wrap for my December #WorldWineTravel offering, a tasty bouquet of bubbly rosés with festive pairings. Well, maybe less festive and more hearty. I did go a little off the rails from the appetizer theme. Regardless, if you can get your hands on any of these sparkling wines, I can't wait to hear what you make to go with it!

The group will return in January with a flexible topic of something that interests us in the wine world. I will be sharing my thoughts about making the next generation of wine drinkers! Stay tuned.