The design of the champagne flute is meant to hold more of the carbonation in, while leaving no space to capture the aromas of the wine.  So with a cheap bubbly that tends to go flat quickly, the champagne flute will increase its longevity .  With high end sparklers, the carbonation is well integrated, so it won’t go flat quickly.

One of the best ways to judge the quality of a sparkling wine is to look at the bubbles.  High quality bubbly will have many tiny bubbles, which usually form many intricate streams in the glass.  It should have so many bubbles, you couldn’t possibly count them.  The cheap stuff has large bubbles, usually because the wine is artificially carbonated.

SPARKLING WINE SERVICE TIPS:

• Get the sparkling wine ice cold, as it will retain its carbonation better
• Remove the foil, and twist the cage free (usually 6 turns) so it’s loose.  But DON’T completely remove the cage
• Using a small towel, cover the cage and use it for grip
• Hold the bottle at a 45° angle, pointed away from anyone
• Gripping the towel and cage tightly, slowly twist the bottle, not the cork
• As the cork begins to push out, let it out slowly.  The goal is to release the cork with absolutely no pop, only a little “hiss”

The 2006 MollyDooker “GooseBumps” sparkling Shiraz is one unique wine!  It’s a full blown Shiraz, done MollyDooker style (15% abv).  This robust, jammy fruit bomb is then treated to the “charmat method.”  Basically the wine does its secondary fermentation in large pressurized tanks.  The wine is then bottled under pressure, to preserve the carbonation.  This process is much cheaper than the more traditional Champagne method, where the wine goes through secondary fermentation in the bottle, producing finely integrated natural carbonation.

This wine should be served ice cold, as other sparkling wine would.  And pair it with heavier fare than you would pair with traditional sparklers.

The breakdown– this wine exudes aromas of dark chocolate, raisins, strawberry, blueberry and violet.  And the fruit on the palate matches the aromas well, exploding with effervescence.  Just keep in mind that this wine will do some damage at 15% abv, compared to most sparkling wines that weigh in around 12% alcohol.