The wedding tasting

Back when I wrote about buying our new video wall on time by cutting out two bottles of Veuve Cliqout a month, sister-in-law, dining aficionado and culinary-college prof, Deet wrote to tell me that I did not have to give up our traditional sparkling Fridays and sent me info on many reasonably-priced champagne alternatives.

Her notes were my jumping off point for one of my Josh and Adrie wedding assignments: find a good and affordable wine for toasts and mimosas at the garden reception. Although I could not find any of the specific wines she suggested, based on the types of wines on her list, I was able to put together a flight of five sparkling wines for the wedding couple — and Laurie, Val and me — to taste on Saturday.

We tried California Bruts in the champagne tradition, Chandon Brut Classic and Piper-Sonoma — both held up pretty well, nice, and dry with enough bubble to stand up to orange juice. Another California wine, Cameron Hughes Lot 25, was judged to be too delicate — both in taste and bubble — for our purposes. A Prosecco, Zardetto, rated a resounding “no” for its “swampiness.” ( “Bah,” wrote Adrie in his notes. )

But the all around favorite: the delicious Blason de Bourgogne Cremant Reserve. It is a wine made in Burgundy with local grapes, using the traditional champagne method. For its yummy dry crisp-but-not-thin taste and its fine and plentiful bubbles, we all loved it. (Val and I loved it enough to pick up a case for ourselves and at just under $9 a bottle, it is the perfect filler for those non-Veuve Fridays.)

Thanks Deet for pointing me toward Cremant de Bourgogne — a wonderful champagne alternative, of which I was completely unaware! (The wedding party thanks you, too.)

Pix above: Adrie of the happy couple, Laurie and I begin our tasting.