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ROSEN: Bubble up

Find the right drink to ring in the new

By Jennifer Rosen, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published December 31, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

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With oceans of bubbly available to fit every taste, budget and ability, there's simply no choice but to have fun with some kind of sparkling beverage to toast a fresh year.

Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky

With oceans of bubbly available to fit every taste, budget and ability, there's simply no choice but to have fun with some kind of sparkling beverage to toast a fresh year.

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It's a fact that the New Year simply will not occur unless ushered in with streamers, whistles and champagne, so it's your personal duty to keep corks popping and bubbles foaming.

You may think you've waited till the last minute and it's too late. Perhaps you don't particularly like champagne. Or you think you can't afford it. Maybe you don't even drink. No matter. This is one ritual you can't get out of.

With oceans of bubbly available to fit every taste, budget and ability, there's simply no choice but to have fun.

We're counting on you to get 2008 out of the gate. All you need now is the silly hat.

Tips for handling and serving your New Year's bubbly:

* When opening champagne or sparkling wine, always point the bottle away from you. Champagne geysers are a lot more common in Colorado, thanks to our high altitude and low air pressure. Picture a car tire exploding in your face, and you have some idea of the damage a flying champagne cork can do. And the bottle contains three times the pressure that's in your tires. I've had corks let loose and ricochet around the room before I'd even untwisted the cage.

* Wrap the bottle in a napkin or dish towel, both to catch errant corks and to help your grip. Peel the foil off and untwist the cage, but leave it on. Then hold the cork steady with one hand and twist the bottle with the other. The cork should ease out gently, but have a glass ready to catch any overflow.

* Bubbles make wine go to your head faster, which is why champagne makes you feel giddy and euphoric. Use a flute or tulip-shaped glass - the old saucer shape allows bubbles to dissipate too fast. Besides, it's far too easy to spill.

* Don't worry about opening a bottle you won't finish. As long as you store it in the fridge, the temperature will keep the bubbles in solution. Even without a stopper the wine will taste fresh and frothy for two or three days.

Budget line

If you're a cheapskate or you've got a large crowd to please, don't bother with big "C" French Champagne. Look for Cava, the Spanish sparkler that shares Champagne's methods and grape varieties, but not its price. Freixenet's Carta Nevada Brut ($8) and Cordon Negro ($10) are tasty and reliable. So are the Brut ($7), and Creu de Lavit Xarel-lo ($20) from Segura Viudas. Another option is Prosecco, the delicate sparkler from northern Italy. Try Zonin ($10) or Prosecco Brio Folonari ($11). There are plenty of bargains from this part of the globe, like Domaine St. Michelle Cuvee Brut Columbia Valley ($11) and Crane Lake Brut ($8).

Step up

For a little more money you can explore the yeasty, toasty elegance of French Champagne. Try Taittinger La Francaise Brut ($29), Louis Roederer Brut Premier ($34) and Deutz Brut Classic ($34). Or enjoy the lush fruit and body of top California sparklers like Mumm's Brut Prestige ($18) or DVX ($45), Schramsberg's Mirabelle Brut Rose ($25) or Blanc de Blanc ($30), and Iron Horse's elegant Wedding Cuvee ($29) or robust Russian Cuvee ($30). From Washington state try Argyle Willamette Valley Brut ($21) and Mountain Dome Brut ($19). Or head the other direction entirely for Clover Hill Sparkling Brut ($30) from Tasmania.

Sky's the limit

If you want something im- pressive that screams luxury from the rooftops, try Nicolas Feuillatte's Cuvee Palmes d'Or 1997 ($130), which looks like an over-size hand grenade and explodes in your mouth. Or Piper-Heidsieck's Jean-Paul Gaultier Cuvee Rare Brut ($116) in its sinuous red vinyl garment with suggestive lacing that barely contains the bottle's heaving bodice. If awe is what you aim to inspire, show up bear- ing the stunning Armand de Brignac Ace of Spades Brut Gold NV ($300). Designed by the fashion house of Andre Courreges, each gold-plated bottle, with its four hand-applied pewter plaques, comes wrapped in an embroidered velvet bag and nestled inside the velvet lining of a wooden box with the black lacquered finish of a concert Steinway. The wine is delicious, too - if you can bear to uncork it.

Sparkling red

Suppose Cabernet is more your thing and you believe a wine's first duty is to be red. They even make sparklers for you. Australia's sparkling shiraz offers all the dry, full-bodied structure you require, along with the festive bubbles you secretly crave. Try Black Chook ($20), Shingleback Black Bubbles ($20), Majella Coonawarra ($30) or Rumball ($25). If you prefer your red with a hint of sweetness, check out Italy's juicy-fizzy Lambrusco - for instance, Concerto Ermete ($20) and Umberto Cesari Lambrusco "Amabile" ($10). And recent graduates from the world of soda pop will enjoy Ballatore Cellars Rosso Red Spumante ($7).

Nonalcoholic

You don't have to be a drinker to join the fun. Teetotalers, kids and designated drivers will all appreciate sparkling fruit juice or cider in a festive champagne bottle. Meier's sparkling juices and the ubiquitous Martinelli's sparkling cider ($4) are tasty. Kedem sparkling cider and grape juices are kosher, as well.

Virgin sparklers from well-known wineries include Sutter Home Fre Brut ($9), Inglenook St Regis Brut ($6), J. Lohr's Ariel Brut Cuvee ($10) and Weibe's "Chateau de Fleur" ($9).