BROTHERS BULLETIN: SPRING EDITION
a little “Add sparkle to
your palette. are still many examples of red sparkling wines available such as our very own Australian sparkling Shiraz which is starting to catch on around the world. celebrations and special occasions. For a while, it became the term to describe just about every wine produced with bubbles in it. But the people from the Champagne region of France got upset and put a stop to that. Now, unless it’s their gear, done their way, you can’t put Champagne on the label, although a few cheeky buggers get around this by making a slight adjustment to the spelling or using a lower case c. It’s actually ironic the Frenchies became so precious because in the Middle Ages, the tendency of still wine from the Champagne region to lightly sparkle was considered to be a fault. It also had a bad habit of making bottles explode, leading some of the harsher critics to call it “The Devil’s Wine”. It wasn’t until the British took a shine to it in the 17th Century, figured out how it worked, put it in stronger bottles and jammed a cork in it that it started to take off and become the most popular of the sparkling wines worldwide. While Champagne is undoubtedly still number one, there are plenty of other regions around the world that produce their own version of sparkling wine too, like Espumante from Portugal, Cava from Spain and Prosecco from Italy. As per usual, us Aussies are up to our necks in it too with some of the best examples of traditional and modern styles available. And although it is most common in white or rosé varieties, there
Here at Brothers we have a few sparklers that go pretty well. Our most popular is the Angas Brut Premium NV (non vintage). It was created in the mid 1980’s and since then has forged a reputation for providing maximum flavour and quality at an affordable price. It uses the classic Champagne grape varieties of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and is bottle fermented to give it a complexity and freshness with a fine bead of creaminess on the palate. There are heaps of others available through our bottle shop, including a few of the less common varieties that are well worth checking out. You may have heard people tell you that the bubbles in sparkling wine will go straight to your head and get you a bit wobbly faster. As with most things, the truth is a bit more complicated. There is evidence that some people are affected this way. In one of the larger studies (how do you volunteer for these things?), most of the people who took part initially absorbed on average 50% more alcohol into their blood stream with bubbles than without. But a handful produced the opposite result and for some it made no difference at all. However, within an hour, the levels all evened out. So whatever effect there apparently is for some people, it is only short-lived. The bottom line is a drink is a drink so keep an eye on how many you have but don’t be afraid to try something new. There’s sure to be a variety of bubbles for you.
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