Cheers is dedicated to delivering hospitality professionals the information, insights and data necessary to drive their beverage business by covering trends and innovations in operations, merchandising, service and training.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/422286
www.cheersonline.com 45 November / December 2014 • November / December 2014 • November / December 2014 • 45 November / December 2014 • EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT EFFERVESCENT ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS ELIXIRS Grower Champagnes, red bubblies and complex cocktails are just a few of the sparkling wine trends W hile sparkling wine's appeal as a toast-worthy, special-occasion beverage can't be denied, it is fi nally becoming accepted as, well, wine. Consumers have realized that sparklers can and should be uncorked and enjoyed equally and as often as a bottle of white or red wine. Its crisp acidity and refreshing, palate-scrubbing effervescence make sparkling wine easy to pair with food. And with styles ranging from soft and fruity to complex and yeasty, not to mention red, dry and tannic, there's a sparkling wine for every meal, taste and occasion. PROSECCO PREFERENCES When in comes to selling sparkling wine, "Price is usually the deciding factor in bubbles, knowledge is next," says Peter Kasperski, owner of Ciao Cowboy, a 177-seat modern American restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ. And prosecco outsells all other Italian sparklers combined because of its name recognition, he notes. Cowboy Ciao offers several, including the NV Col Fondo Ca'dei Zago prosecco ($37), a rare, biodynamic- produced wine with a deliberately cloudy appearance as it's bottled on the sediment. The restaurant offers three sparkling wines by the glass priced from $10 to $25, and 90 bottles, ranging from a $22 bottle of NV Sovetskoe semi-dry aligoté and chardonnay blend from Belarus, to a $750 bottle of 1997 Salon Blanc de Blancs Champagne. The 2011 Huber Brut rosé ($31 a bottle) from Austria, a blend of zweigelt and pinot noir, is a top seller, as is the NV Dr. Loosen Sekt, a riesling-based bottle from Germany's Mosel region. Kasperski calls the latter "a perfect transition wine for the sparkling novice: user-friendly, just a hint of sweetness, light and easy to drink." Seagar's Prime Steaks and Seafood, a New York-style steakhouse at the Hilton Sandestin in Miramar Beach, FL, offers fi ve sparkling wines by the glass, priced from $12 to $20, and 22 by the bottle priced $43 to $750. Sommelier Myres McDougal has witnessed the ebb and fl ow of sparkling wine trends during the past decade. "First it was prosecco; light on its feet and your wallet," he says. Seagar's stocks the NV Ruffi no prosecco, which it sells for $12 a glass and $45 a bottle. "Then consumers' palates strived for something more complex, and found cava at about the same price." Traditional-method cava boasts aged-derived notes of almond, crème brûlée and brioche, McDougal notes. Cava fans tend to eventually move to Champagne and other similar wines more quickly than guests who gravitate towards fruit-forward, lean prosecco produced via the Charmat method (tank vs. bottle fermentation), he adds. NV Torre Oria cava ($30 a bottle) is the top-selling sparkling wine at Commander's Palace in New Orleans. This is largely due to brunch sales of mimosas, according By Kelly A. Magyarics At Commander's Palace in New Orleans, the top- selling sparkling wine is the NV Torre Oria cava.