Poppin’ Summer Suds

It was a poppin’ summer! Here are some suds that stuck out:

🍾 The Hervé Rafflin La Nature’l is bread dough spread on hot rocks—a warm bakery meets a fancy spa. It’s very comfortable, hits you with some citrus-infused sparks while flicks of white flower linger in the air. High acid boasts a toasty body with gingerly touches. Thank you for such a lovely thank you, dear Roberto Henriquez. A solid trifecta blend from 1er Cru Chigny les Roses. Don’t come at me saying you can’t make natural Champs. 

🍾 Overlooking Almalfi’s Marina di Praia beach with a warm, salty breeze set this one up for success. Yet the Antica Fratta Essence Nature bubbles would impress even on a cold, rainy day in the ugly part of town. The nose goes on and on with marshmallows, sweet yeasty apricots, cashed-out firewood, and yellow apples. High acid loves the long finish of frothy apricot sorbet. I wish the US got more Franciacorta. 

It paired beautifully alongside the “Il nostro crudo e le sue salse” starter at Ristorante Franchino. I hope to never again allow eight years to pass between meals at this wonderful spot in Praino!

🍾 Big thanks to Nicole Muscari for buzzing us up with the Arabalis Johan Vineyard Blanc de Noir. The mouth was all high acid and oyster shells with quinoa and raspberries. Felt quite Champagne, but ’twas Oregon doing that thing that Oregon can sometimes do when it comes to Pinot Noir. This wine embodies our dear friend Hannah Staab, a real Van Duzer Corridor. I’ll let the Oregon Wine Board explain this AVA: “Throughout the anomaly in the Coast Range known as the Van Duzer Corridor, buffering winds create the perfect paradigm to produce world-class Pinot noir wines that showcase mouthwatering acidity and tension in their tannin expression.”

There were many more bottles that night with my NYC Wine Ladies, but I made sure to save a sip of the above to pair with the below:

🍾 I know some special pockets throughout Prospect Park, to which my dear friend Emily paired with Champagne Clandestin. A one-hundo Pinot from Kimmeridgian in the Aube. Super tight, fleshy in all the right places, and welcomingly dry to the bone. I want another bottle.

🍾 When that first spritz of the season hitz. Even better when it’s at the highest point of a walled mountaintop village in Tuscany. Volterra, Italy. A great little gem to explore for a few hours.

🍾 Tasting amidst the roots of the source is what I ultimately seek in my wine life. I’ve worked with Pescaja Winery for years now, and am never not impressed with his newest endeavor. This time, bubbles from vines you don’t look for in Piemonte. Yet they’re there. The Langhe Chardonnay and Pinot Noir that make up this spumante sip beautifully. 

🍾 Basically, the Champagne A. Bergère Les Clos Extra Brut drinks as the best baguette—crispy on the outside with an indescribable gum-pleasing fluff dopamine-rush on the inside. From there, a honeyed white flower and orange-red-apple glaze with round, high acid, and raspberry tartlets. 

It’s a shame that Heroes closed so soon after opening, because I was feeling their vibe…plus they introduced me to the concept of Morcilla Spaghetti. I’m forever grateful.

🍾 It means a lot that my friends consider my “alternative” tastes when showing up to the table. My girl Mengyu brought a Sauvignon Blanc Pet Nat from Bordeaux to a recent tasting that I absolutely adored. It was spunky, funky, and a great palate-prepper for what was to come. Also, if you’re in the Upper East Side craving solid Italian, head to Altamirano’s on York between 78th and 79th!

🍾 In most of Europe, you can easily dine alone and order a bottle of wine with the understanding that you can also take it away as a responsible adult at whatever point you want. I hate BTG limitations. Let me order a bottle that I’m willing to drag around for the next few days to entertain and investigate how it develops/tastes when I get to my final resting place. On one such day during a recent solo adventure in Calabria, the crystal clear waters sparked a desire to sip something finer while dining over the sea. From there, I made dear friends from Madrid and got some travel tips instead of tasting notes.

🍾 Go to Calabria, to the gorgeous beach village of Chianalea Scilla. Swim all morning, get really hungry, and go have a meal at Nautilus Taverna del Borgo.

🍾 The Dom P2 2004 is a showgirl. I can’t just speak about it once. Think grilled almonds with pear, austere lemons, hay, white flowers, while being beautifully reductive, seductive. A flagrant finish on lengthy notes of lemon meringue pie doused in musky pheromones. Linear, structured, and GORGEOUS! 

🍾 The Cruse Tradition bubbly would host the game show, “WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE HERB?!” Chardonnay claims 2/3 while Pinot comes in with the last bit that ends the night’s notes with: “Niche: the wine lover’s dentist.” Also noted: nutty, savory, and spicy with an alpine, acid-driven spine. 

🍾 Champagne Ullens, a treat from Nacho and T Edward Imports at New York’s newest Peruvian gem, Nuyores. GO EAT THERE!!! A Petite Montagne of 80% Meunier and 20% Chardonnay. There are no notes, but a sentiment of hope…a lingering feeling that I should have taken a closer look. I should’ve…

Again, go eat at Nuyores!!

🍾 Keep it bone dry when life is so sweet. Balance. Lunch in Portofino. Whatever the waiter recommended with a zero dosage, a 100% Pinot Noir aged in the bottle for at least 40 months. In summary, the Farfalla Noir Collectionn Zero Dosage was Andrea Bocelli’s “Love in  Portofino.” 

🍾 The Julien Henin Jolie Promenade Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature was a smoked croissant with minerality and limeade. Yellow and green. Grilled lemons. Get itttt!

Bubbles lift you up to where you belong. They love food. They love you. They aren’t just for summer, so just because these are what tickled my fancy during the dog days doesn’t mean that they can’t sway you in the dead of winter. 

Really, this blog should just be called Bubble Mouthed….