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Sparkling Wine, Wine Reviews
Wine Review: Va de Vi from Gloria Ferrer

People often ask me to name my favorite bubbly. And my answer is always the same: it depends. I appreciate sparkling wines ranging from the crisp brut nature champagne to the deep dark sparkling shiraz from Australia to the sparkling ice wine from Canada. What I want depends on what food I’m eating. I found that the right food made all the difference with VA\a de Vi, a dry (read slightly sweet) sparkling wine that’s a recent release from Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma. The first time I tried it, we didn’t connect. But when I tried it with a variety of Asian foods that might be challenging for other wines, Va de Vi charmed me with its versatility. Va de Vi is a golden méthode champenoise sparkling wine with persistent medium-fine bubbles. The winery calls it an “ultra cuvée” crafted from a blend of 89% pinot noir, 8% chardonnay plus…
October 18, 2011
Cocktail Recipes, Drinks
Bubbly Girl Drink of the Week: Have a Pleasant Evening at Rickhouse

I’ve been to Rickhouse several times for special events, but I recently got to hang out there while showing around a bartender visiting from Chicago. And now it’s become my favorite bar in San Francisco. Once the door closes behind you, I like the way it feels like you’re in a different place. With its rough wood paneling, dim light and chicken wire detailing, the bar is set up to look like a rick house, a warehouse out in the country where barrels of whiskey are stored. Even the bathrooms are kind of like visiting an outhouse, sans the aroma. Rickhouse is well-known for its punch bowls, like the popular Pimm’s Berry Punch. But we were impressed with the creative cocktails on the menu, most of which were just $8. We slid into the open seats at the end of the bar and immediately started chatting with a friendly couple…
September 30, 2011
Drinks
Sparkling Grape Harvest in Sonoma & the Tiziano Cocktail Recipe

The sparkling grape harvest is under way in Sonoma wine country, and of course that means it’s time for harvest parties. Saturday was the Flavors of Fall Festival at Korbel Winery in Guerneville, which is the largest sparkling wine producer in the United States. The history of the winery dates back more than 100 years when three brothers from Bohemia started a farm in Guernville. They found that nothing grew that well, except for wine grapes. They made their first vintage of sparkling wine in 1882, using grapes that were readily available locally and the same fermentation method as used in Champagne region of France. If you’ve never been to Korbel, you’ll find it’s a very picturesque property that spreads out among majestic redwood trees. The garden tour takes guests behind a ornate wrought iron gate that’s usually locked and into pathways lined with creeping hydrangea, heirloom roses, elderberry, dahlias,…
September 20, 2011
Cocktail Recipes, Drinks
Pimm’s Cup 3 Ways: Sparkling, Updated & Classic Recipes

I’ve been ignoring all the back-to-school sales and mentally trying to turn this into an endless summer. Sadly, the weather is making it quite apparent that autumn is on its way. But I’ve been savoring some flavors of summer this month. While I never made it to a tennis or polo match this summer, I did indulge in the classic English summer drink at The Bubble Lounge SF: The Pimm’s Cup. The Pimm’s Cup cocktail has a rather convoluted history–even for the drinking world–where so many tales are fuzzy because the people telling them are slightly fuzzy-headed. We do know it was created in 1823 by a man named James Pimm who ran the popular Oyster Bar in London, according to the official site, fetchingly named Anyone For Pimms. The custom was slurping oysters and slugging back London dry gin, which was a bracing 90-proof spirit that didn’t necessarily enhance…
August 28, 2011
Sparkling Wine, Travel
Eating Like a Native in Barcelona

As slender and stylish as most of the people in Barcelona are, it might come as a surprise that they spend most of their leisure time eating and drinking. During a whirlwind trip through Barcelona and the environs around St. Sadurni d’Anoia where the sparkling wine cava is made, I was felt I was in danger of being fed to within an inch of my life. Breakfasts here are simple, perhaps because they all know lunch will be a multi-course affair with fried seafood, cheese, cured pork and wine. But dinner – which often doesn’t begin until 10 p.m. – is the main meal here. This is when they unwind with a glass of cava – always cava – before moving into martinis and a parade of dishes that capture the flavor of the region. Pan tomaquet is the Catalan dish that’s on the table at every meal. Crusty bread…
August 24, 2011