© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Sparklers Other Than Champagne

Sparkling Wine
Picasa
/
flickr.com
Sparkling Wine

We're in the heart of the holidays now, and we all could use a little advice on tasty alternatives to costly Champagne.

Price key: $=less than $20 $$= $20-40 $$$=$40-60 $$$$=above $60

Quality key: * = decent wine ** = very good wine *** = superb wine ****= elite

VALUE = exceptional quality for the money

Dom des Herbauges “Luminessence” Loire Valley NV ** $$

(From the Loire, chardonnay based sparkler, clean floral nose, green apple flavors)

Saint Hillaire Cremant de Limoux, Rosé, Languedoc-Roussilo'19 **1/2 $$

Quinta do Ferro Espumante Tinto Bruto – 26.99 *** $$ WINE OF THE WEEK

(A sparking red from Vinho Verde...go figure...enchanting and captivating)

All of these wines can be purchased at Kenilworth Wine and Spirits.

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.