LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES Welcome | 3 DISCOVER A WORLD OF WITH A BUBBLE CLUB MEMBERSHIP From the

• Taste delicious bubbles from around Founders the globe

• Boost your wine knowledge with our Welcome bubble lovers! members’ mag Bubble Club is for people just like you – people who love sparkling wine! • Savour specially chosen gourmet It’s our mission to change the BUBBLES! treats and other surprises way that people across the country Claim a fabulous 25% discount off your first box discover and enjoy new bubbles. We • Enjoy a 15% member discount off all when you use the code: are passionate about helping fizz fans cases in our Bubble Shop A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BUBBLEBOOK BUBBLES learn more about the wines they love, share the fun of drinking them with 5 How is sparkling wine like-minded people and move beyond made? the limited options on offer in the average supermarket. 6 How to taste sparkling We love Prosecco as much as anyone, but we also know that wine there are so many other kinds of amazing bubbles that don’t get 8 Prosecco the recognition they deserve (as well, it has to be said, as fabulous Proseccos from smaller producers that can be hard to seek out). 10 Cava From Crémant to Cap Classique, Sekt to Espumante, every 12 Crémant month our Bubble Boxes take our members on a voyage of discovery 14 Cap Classique around the world of all things fizz – as well as a whole host of gorgeous gourmet treats to enjoy alongside a glass of the good stuff! 16 Sparkling wine There’s also a copy of our monthly club magazine in each box, terminology telling the stories of the wines we’ve sent and the people behind 18 Glasses guide them, and helping our members boost their bubble knowledge in an entertaining and accessible way. COCKTAILS In the pages that follow, we’ve gathered together some of our most popular articles, recipes and tips to give you a taste of what the club’s 21 French Favourites about – and hopefully help you get to know your favourite fizzes a bit 20 Bubble Box Specials better too. 23 Something Different If all this has whet your appetite for some lovely bubbles, we would love to welcome you to the club! Claim a fabulous 25% when you sign up at bubbleclub.co.uk BUBBLE BITES discount off your first box using the code: BUBBLEBOOK 25 Goat’s Cheese What’s more, as a member you can also get 15% off all cases of Join today and get 25% off with the code: Feuilletés wine in our Bubble Shop. It’s a win-win situation! BUBBLE25 26 Burgundy on a Plate Cheers! www.bubbleclub.co.uk/join 28 Risotto alla Milanese JON & JOHN, CO-FOUNDERS LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK 4 | Bubble Knowledge Bubble Knowledge | 5

HOW IS SPARKLING WINE MADE? First things first: all sparkling wines will start off with the creation of a base wine. Sometimes this will be made using only a single grape variety (such as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir) but the majority of sparkling wines are based on blends of several kinds of grape – and also of grapes grown in different vineyards and different years. Such a blend is known in French as a ‘cuvée’. ‘Vintage’ wines are made from grapes all grown A in the same year, ‘single vineyard’ wines from grapes all grown in the same vineyard and wines labelled ‘cru’ will generally be from vineyards that are recognised for their superior quality. Both red and white grapes can be used to make sparkling wine, and the resulting wine can be white, rosé or red – and it doesn’t necessarily BEGINNER’S follow that red grapes only make red wine. Red grapes are white inside and produce clear juice, so you can make any colour wine with them. What determines whether it will be white, pink or rosé is the length of time that the coloured skins are left in the mix. GUIDE TO Sparkling wines tend to use younger grapes (i.e. picked earlier in the season) than normal wine as they have a higher acidity, which helps keep the wine nice and dry through the secondary only really need to get your head around the two fermentation process. most common ones in order to start opening those Whereas normal wine is fermented once, bubbly doors. BUBBLES sparkling wine undergoes a second fermentation to create its lovely bubbles. Since people started making fizzy wine (in Limoux, France in the Also called: Méthode Traditionelle, Metodo Classico, 1530s), different methods of tackling that second Méthode Champenoise, Méthode Cap Classique, fermentation have emerged, resulting in different Klassische Flaschengärung styles of sparkling wine. How the wine is made: Firstly, a base wine or wine In all, there are six main methods of producing blend (cuvée) is created. Sugars and live yeast are then sparkling wine, but let’s not over-complicate added to the wine to kick off the fermentation and the There’s a whole world of lovely bubbles out things where we don’t have to – to start with, you wines are bottled and capped. As the wine ferments there and here at Bubble Club, we’re making in the bottle, carbon dioxide becomes trapped, carbonating the wine and creating bubbles. it our mission to help fizz fans everywhere The bottle is slowly turned upside down, discover and enjoy new sparkling wines, bottle allowing the yeast to settle in the bottle as it dies. When the wine is ready, the neck of the bottle by bottle. As you can imagine, it’s quite a fun is turned upside down and frozen, allowing the mission to have! winemaker to eject the sediment in one go – this is called disgorgement. The bottle is then topped up with wine and recorked for sale. We know that the wine world can sometimes be an intimidating place How this affects the taste: The fact that the – but we’re assuming that, as you’re here reading this, you are interested in wine spends time fermenting in the bottle with yeast understanding a bit more about it. Well, the good news is, when it comes to (or lees) means that it takes on a range of flavours sparkling wine, it really doesn’t have to be all that complicated. from the yeast – and yes, those flavours can recall And the even better news is, just by arming yourself with a few key bits baked goods! of information, you will not only understand more about why you like what The longer the wine has been left to ferment in you do (and don’t like what you don’t), you’ll also help open the doors to the bottle, the stronger those flavours are. So a young many more delicious bubbles that you haven’t yet tried. Win-win! traditional method wine may have some yeasty notes, In the following pages, we aim to give you lowdown on how sparkling but will still be predominantly crisp, fresh and zingy. wine is made, what to look out for when tasting and also an overview of By contrast, a vintage or Gran Reserva some key sparkling wine types to help you begin navigating your very own Cava that may have been developing in the bottle for sparkling voyage of discovery. Cheers! many years will have developed very toasty, buttery, nutty and even savoury, mushroomy or leathery notes. Generally speaking, this method will produce the longest lasting bubbles. Examples of wines made this way: French Champagne, Spanish Cava, French Crémant, South African Cap Classique, some German and

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Austrian Sekt, Italian Metodo Classico, to preserve the vibrancy and freshness your wine, how viscous it is and how the Portuguese Espumante. of more aromatic grapes, like the Glera bubbles look in the glass. Variations: The Transfer Method variety that goes into Prosecco. Start with colour. Sparkline wine Some sparkling wines are made using the Examples of wines made this can be white, pink or even red, but look Transfer Method, which is identical to way: In terms of overall global wine closer. Are there green tinges or is it the Traditional Method all the way to the production, this is in fact the most straw yellow? Bright pink or an elegant process of disgorgement. In the Transfer common method. Some familiar types of salmon tone? Method, the wine is emptied from the wine made this way include: Prosecco, Swirl the wine and notice how bottle into a pressurised tank, where it’s Lambrusco and Asti. viscous it is. The more viscous it is, the separated from the sediment in bulk. more alcohol or residual sugar the wine HOW TO TASTE will have in it. Charmat Method SPARKLING WINE Also note the bubbles. Are they sluggish, drifting lazily to the top of your Also called: Martinotti Method, Tank Tasting – and talking about – wine is glass, or do they march energetically Method, Cuve Close, Metodo Italiano deceptively simple. to the surface? How big are they? Are In this Before you start, make sure that How the wine is made: there many bubbles, or just a few? The method, the base wine goes through the wine you’re trying is cold. Sparkling smaller and more persistent the bubbles, its second fermentation in a steel tank wines are meant to be served at low rather than in the bottle. The wine is temperatures, and drinking them warm the more finesse the wine has. A high quality There are primary aromas, which come wines can be floral on the palate – for example, added to these tanks – built specially to will make the bubbles, aromas and wine’s bubbles will wind up to the surface in an withstand lots of pressure – with sugar flavours lacklustre. from the grape itself, and secondary aromas, some Proseccos have a dominant honeysuckle and yeast. The sugar and yeast interact, Also be sure to use the correct orderly thread. which come from the winemaking – these flavour, while certain Cavas can have producing carbon dioxide, but the gas glass. Traditional flutes can actually are the odd-sounding things, like leather and pronounced almond notes. has nowhere to go. It’s forced back suffocate the aroma of your wine, so Smell brioche. Smelling pear on a Prosecco would be Go slow, take your time, and see what you a primary aroma, while the baked bread smell can taste! into the wine, where it becomes lovely when you’re tasting it may be wise to Don’t worry about swirling a sparkling wine of a Champagne would be a secondary aroma. bubbles. When the fermentation process use a regular white wine glass to allow – the bubbles are doing the work for you is complete, the yeast is filtered out and the wine to breathe. and these effervescent little beads release the Repeat the wine is bottled for sale. When you’re ready to start, just wine’s aromas. Taste Don’t worry too much about taking exhaustive How this affects the taste: Wines follow four easy steps: look, smell, Hold the glass up to your nose and inhale; Start your tasting adventure by taking one long notes – just pay attention to what you’re made this way have much less contact taste and repeat. sparkling wines won’t be as aromatic as their sip, allowing the wine to coat your mouth, drinking and, most importantly, try lots of with the yeast – the lees – so you won’t still cousins, but there’s still a lot here to smell. followed by two shorter sips. Aim to pick out different wines! The more styles, regions taste the same toasty notes that come Look Wines that have been made by the traditional three fruit flavours and three other flavours. and winemakers you can test, the more through in wines that undergo their When you’re looking at a wine, hold it method will smell like dough, toast or even Some flavours to look out for are fruit – knowledgeable you’ll become. If you think second fermentation in the bottle. But up to a white backdrop and take a close cake thanks to their contact with the yeast. whether citrus like lemon and grapefruit or about what you’re drinking and try to pick out that doesn’t mean that your wine will be peek. You’ll be looking at the colour of Charmat wines tend to be more floral, fruity stone fruits like peach and apricot – and the six flavours, the knowledge will come naturally inferior. This method is a wonderful way and fresh. toasty flavours of bread and brioche. Some – so enjoy yourself, and start tasting!

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h…Prosecco. It’s not surprise that this gorgeously easy-drinking light, A fruity fizz has won the hearts of bubble lovers all over the world. Around 150 million bottles of Prosecco are produced each year with Italy consuming around 35% itself and exporting 65%. In the UK alone, we buy one out of every five bottles produced. Despite our collective Prosecco is made from the grapes in the same Prosecco region as the fizzy love for these Italian bubbles, how much do version, but just, well, not fizzy. most of us really know about them? Well, Glera grape prepare to boost your wine wisdom with Along with the protection of the new Prosecco is made differently Prosecco DOC and DOCG regions in 2010, to Champagne these six nuggets of knowledge. the Prosecco grape was also renamed Glera. To be called Prosecco, the wine must not only Whereas Champagne undergoes a second come from one of the designated regions, fermentation in the bottle, Prosecco is but also contain a minimum 85% Glera. The usually made using a process known as the other grapes that are permitted to make up the Charmat or Martinotti method, with its other 85% are Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, second fermentation taking place in stainless Prosecco is a place, not a grape Perera, Glera Lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot steel tanks. This tends to mean that Prosecco Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. is lighter and refreshing compared to Up until 2010, Prosecco was in fact the name for both the Champagne’s yeastier, toastier flavours, and is grape and a place, but as the fizz grew massively in popularity, There are two levels of best drunk young rather than being aged. suddenly people were making Prosecco all over the place and While this is certainly true of most the original Prosecco producers were understandably a bit Prosecco fizziness Proseccos, the rules for the Superiore DOCG peeved. So the EU stepped in and granted the region protected Spumante, the most popular in the UK and also allow the use of something called metodo status and changed the name of the grape (see below). the one you’re most likely familiar with, is classico, which does involve a secondary There are now two main Prosecco regions protected the fizziest and can have up to four bars of fermentation in the bottle. by law. Prosecco DOC must be produced within one of pressure in the bottle – the same limit as nine provinces across the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia Champagne. Frizzante Prosecco is a semi- There’s a whole range from regions. Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore sparkling style and is allowed up to two bars. sweet to dry DOCG is even more limited and can only be made in the Treviso province of Veneto, on the hills between the There is such a thing as still While Prosecco is not a ‘sweet’ wine as such, towns of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. there are four basic categories which indicate There’s also a more obscure branch of the Superiore Prosecco the amount of residual sugar in the wine – DOCG family, produced near the town of Asolo. But the Now, we don’t want to blow your mind, and the corresponding degree of ‘dryness’ or most celebrated Proseccos come from the hillside vineyards but it’s true – there are Proseccos that have ‘sweetness’ of the wine. Moving from driest of Conegliano Valdobbiadene, the historical production no bubbles. Prosecco Fermo or Tranquillo to the sweetest is Brut, Extra Dry, Dry and area for Prosecco. is a still version, made with the same Glera Demi-Sec.

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CAVA APPRECIATION SOCIETY: 5 Reasons to Love this Spanish Sparkler

Cava is still produced using It’s closely related to Champagne Cava has had a hard traditional methods Cava isn’t Cava – quite literally – unless it’s It may have a different name, but for time of it in recent years, made using the méthodo traditional. This all intents and purposes the méthodo often being overlooked method is almost identical to the method traditional used to produce Cava is used to make Champagne across the border identical to the méthode classique, the in favour of Prosecco in France, though some producers have official EU designation for the method used and Champagne and adapted it slightly to better suit their needs. to produce Champagne. with a reputation tainted The Méthodo Traditional calls for the In addition, many Cava producers wine to undergo a second fermentation in add Chardonnay grapes, the traditional by cheap supermarket the bottle, which is filled with yeast, capped grape of Champagne, in addition to the offerings. But true fizz with a beer cap and tipped on its side. This three local grape varieties traditionally is called fermenting ‘on the lees’. associated with Cava. lovers – present company Tipping the bottle allows the dead yeast These similarities are no accident – included – know that to settle in the neck of the bottle. When Cava production began in earnest in the the wine is ready, the neck of the bottle is mid-1800s, when Josep Raventós returned this Spanish sparkler is submerged in a freezing solution, which from a trip to the Champagne region nothing to be scoffed at. traps the dead yeast in a block of ice; as the of France eager to bring the method of ice melts the pressure in the bottle pushes sparkling wine production he saw there to Here’s why. the cap out in a spectacular display of the his home country. wine’s carbonation. Once the cap is popped out, the winemakers top up the bottle’s contents and cork it. Because of these similarities, Cava can taste You’ll find a sweetness much closer to Champagne than other sparkling wines. In fact, Vintage Cavas, which level to suit you must be aged in cellars for a specified amount The average Brut sparkling wine boasts of time, develop a complexity to rival the 12g of sugar per litre. But Cava – like finest vintage Champagne. Champagne – comes in two much drier styles: Extra Brut and Brut Nature, like the Cava producers are bottle of Cava in this month’s Bubble Box. masters of mechanisation An Extra Brut Cava is classified as such Cava producers have preserved their when it has less than 6g of sugar per traditions, but they’ve also played an litre. A Brut Nature, on the other hand, important role in bringing winemaking will have less than 3g of sugar per litre. into the future. Looking to cut down on your sugar intake? It’s Cava producers, in fact, who first Skip the sweeter sparkling wines and go brought an important piece of equipment for a Brut Nature Cava. into common usage: the gyropallet. This massive piece of equipment makes the in- Few know how truly great bottle fermentation process much less labour intensive – where before each individual a bottle of Cava can be bottle would have to be twisted, shaken While cheap supermarket versions abound, slightly and moved progressively into a the true potential of Cava – especially vertical position over the course of several Vintage Cava like the Jaume Serra we sent weeks, a gyropalette performs the same task our members in June’s Bubble Box – is often automatically and in bulk. overlooked. So next time you sit back and While invented and patented by two enjoy a copa de Cava, do so secure in the Frenchmen in 1968, the gyropalette’s first knowledge that you’re partaking in one of big user was a Cava producer. sparkling wine’s finest forms.

LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK 12 | Bubble Knowledge https://jon-hulme.square- space.com/12month-christ- 6 reasonsmas-gift-membership-2 to fall in love with Crémant THERE ARE EIGHT DIFFERENT VARIETIES TO DISCOVER We’re sure you’re going love the gorgeous bottle of in your Like Champagne, the production of Crémant is box this month, but did you know that Crémant is a whole controlled geographically by an AOC designation. category of French fizz that can rival Champagne? Check out But whereas Champagne production is restricted to one French region, Crémant can be produced these six reasons we think Crémant deserves to be your new in any of eight: Crémant d’Alsace, Crémant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Die, BFF – Best Fizzy Friend! Crémant de Jura, Crémant de Limoux and Crémant de Loire and Crémant de Savoie. There is also one designated region outside France – Crémant de Luxembourg.. IT’S MADE JUST LIKE BUT IT’S MUCH BETTER While there are common regulations in place CHAMPAGNE VALUE THAN CHAMPAGNE across all the regions to protect the standard of As you may know, the production of what Champagne’s established status as a Crémant wines, each AOC has its own specific is allowed to be called Champagne is luxury product means that it comes with rules concerning permitted grape varieties and restricted to the Champagne region of a luxury price tag. Indeed, you can expect maximum yields, and of course each region has France by a certification called an AOC – to pay double or more the amount you’d its own climate and soil type. All in all, this means standing for appellation d’origine contrôlée pay for a comparable Crémant. that there’s a whole new world of top quality or ‘controlled designation of origin’. bubbles out there for you to explore! While there are obviously some Producers outside the Champagne region incredible out there who made sparkling wine using the same that may justify the price tag, if you’re IT’LL MAKE YOU LOOK methods used to use the term méthode choosing between spending around £15 WINE CLEVER champenoise on their labels to denote the on a low-end bottle of Champagne or Now, nobody likes to be a show off, but there is quality of production. However, this neither the same amount on a bottle of Crémant, something pretty satisfying about being a bit savvy sat well with Champagne producers nor you can pretty much guarantee that the when perusing a wine menu and being able to helped producers from those other regions Crémant is going to win in a taste-off. introduce your friends to something new. Plus, protect local standards and properly they’ll only thank you when they clock the price tag! promote their own products. DID WE MENTION IT After much wrangling and legislation, the TASTES GREAT? IT’S INCREASINGLY EASY TO GET term ‘Crémant’ (formerly a term to describe Following on from our last point, and HOLD OF OVER HERE slightly less fizzy Champagne) was granted probably the most important factor, there AOC status in certain select regions, and Our love for all things bubbles in the UK is well are some fantastic tasting Crémants out the use of the term méthode champenoise known (well, we are a nation of great taste) and there for you to discover. Of course, as to describe non-Champagne sparklers was 2016 saw sales of sparkling wine, excluding with any wine, there are good and bad banned EU-wide. Champagne, hit £1 billion. French Crémant examples, but the stringent regulation of producers are increasingly catching on to the The long and short of it is that today, quality means that you can be approach the fact that we’re open to trying great new fizz and what is called Crémant is top quality category with some degree of confidence. exports of the French bubbles to this country wine that is subject to the same stringent Added to which, the regional variations have been increasing rapidly over the past few production rules as Champagne, provide an interesting and delicious years. This means that Crémant is increasingly to including the use of high-quality, spectrum of flavours – from the creamy be found on wine lists up and down the country hand-picked grapes, and, crucially, the richness of Crémant de Bourgogne to the alongside the more familiar Cava and Prosecco, undertaking of a second fermentation crisper style of Crémant d’Alsace. Which Wine being created using in turn meaning more choice for bubbles lovers. the Champagne method. process in the bottle brings us nicely onto our next point… Now that’s worth raising a glass to!

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What’s Méthode Cap Classique?

The beautiful bottle of Simonsig Kaapse Vonkel Brut in your Bubble Box this month is made using the Méthode Cap Classique. But what is this mysterious method, and how does it differ from more common ways of making sparkling wine? Here are three things you need to know about this South African style.

IT’S BASICALLY HOW South African winemakers decided in 1971 and contained the CHAMPAGNE IS MADE to find a similar name for their own same grape varieties used to traditionally produced wines. They make Champagne: pinot noir, The Méthode Cap Classique settled on Cap Classique Kaapse chardonnay and pinot meunier. approach to making sparkling Vonkel to describe their region’s While the grapes may be the wine has more in common with sparkling wines. same, South Africa’s warm climate the Méthode Champenoise than it bestows a uniquely fruity flavour has differences. In both production The term is a nod to the fact that to these delicious wines, setting methods, the grapes undergo a the classic art of winemaking second fermentation ‘on the lees’, was introduced to the Cape by them apart from their Old World or with yeast, in the same bottle French Huguenots, who fled to compatriots. you’ll eventually open. South Africa to escape religious Since then, a number of other persecution in the 17th century, This second period of fermentation wineries have started using the and that the first bottle-fermented can last for two years or longer, Méthode Cap Classique to produce sparkling wine produced at the and ends with disgorgement – the sparkling wines. In 1992 they cape was called Kaapse Vonkel. ejection of the yeast – followed by came together to form the Cap a rapid recorking. Can’t be bothered to say Méthode Classique Producers Association, Cap Classique over and over which strives to improve the THE TERM HAS ONLY BEEN IN again? Call these wines by their quality standards of its 60 member USE SINCE THE 1990S nickname: MCC. wineries. It’s serious business: the winemakers even meet once a year So why the different designations SIMONSIG WINERY IS BEHIND for two processes that appear so to taste each other’s base wines THE WHOLE THING similar? It’s simple: for a sparkling and blends, just to make sure the wine to be called Champagne, it The first bottle of sparkling resulting fizz will be up to scratch. must be produced in the French wine made using the Méthode The effort has paid off: MCC wines region with the same name. Cap Classique was produced by are now frequently judged to be of Simonsig Wine Estate. When it became clear that this rule equal or even greater quality than would come into force in the 1990s, Produced in 1968, it was released Champagnes in blind taste tests.

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WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOUR BUBBLES TASTE WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT THE KIND OF WINE YOU WANT AROMA: The wine’s primary all be elements of a wine’s smells, which arise from the bouquet. The opposite of ‘Brut’. grape itself. BLANC DE BLANCS SEC CRISP A term that describes A sparkling white wine A sec wine is a sweet BALANCE: When you’re a wine with good acidity and made from only white sparkling wine. tasting a wine, there are five a pleasant taste, without too grapes, usually Chardonnay SEKT The German word for factors at play: acid, sugar, much sweetness. or Pinot Blanc. tannin, alcohol and flavour. sparkling wine, regardless If they’re all in harmony, a FINISH The last impression BLANC DE NOIRS of where it’s made. A sparkling white wine made wine is said to be balanced. a wine leaves in your mouth. from black grapes, like Pinot SPUMANTE The Italian Talk This word refers to FLOWERY Wines that strike Noir, which have had their word for sparkling wine. BEAD: the size and texture of the you as especially aromatic, skins removed prior to the FRIZZANTE A semi- bubbles in your glass. Are or remind you of fresh winemaking process. sparkling style of they large and aggressive? garden flowers, can be BRUT A French term now . Are they gentle, or sluggish? described in this way. used widely to mean that a Describe your bubbles, and VINTAGE A vintage particular sparkling wine is you’re describing the bead. FRUITY If you’re tasting sparkling wine is a bottle not sweet. From least sweet a fresh flavour, this is whose contents come BOUQUET: The scents to sweetest, brut sparkling probably the fruitiness from grapes harvested that develop during the wines can be: Brut Reserve, left over from the original in a single year. Vintage post-fermentation and flavour of the grapes. Extra Brut, Brut. ‘DOC’ maturation process. The wines are perceived as bouquet will be where NOSE The smell of a wine, BRUT SANS ANNÉE, being higher-value and This classification things get really crazy; including the aroma and OR BSA better than non-vintage is used in France to smoke, truffle and dirt can bouquet. wines – perhaps because indicate that a wine is non- winemakers sometimes vintage, usually meaning combine wines to hide that it’s a particular flaws – but this isn’t house’s entry-level wine. necessarily true. In WHEN YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT CUVÉE A term indicating practice, producers tend HOW YOUR FIZZ IS MADE that a bottle is made to make vintage wines to Me from a blend of wines, the more carefully, which can specific details of which lead to a higher-quality BASE WINE The still wine MICROCLIMATE The are often kept secret. end result. that, after a second round climate in a very small of fermentation, will part of the larger region. A become sparkling wine. microclimate – which can CHARMAT A process of cover a whole vineyard or a producing sparkling wine single vine – can be caused where the wine’s second by the slope of the land, a brief guide to soil type, exposure, wind fermentation – which WHEN YOU’RE CURIOUS ABOUT makes it fizzy – takes place and other factors, and may A WINE’S QUALITY in large tanks rather than impact the way a grape individual bottles. ripens and, as a result, how CAVA RESERVA A step up in to an exacting set of the wine tastes. sparkling wine MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE Cava quality. Must be aged standards surrounding for at least 15 months. location, production The classic method of RESERVE WINE This is methods and grapes producing Champagne, in an older wine that can be CAVA GRAN RESERVA and are usually found on which the wine’s second blended with the current These high-quality Cavas are higher-quality wines. terminology fermentation takes place to make non- aged for a minimum of 30 in the very same bottle that vintage wines. months and vintage dated. DOCG A superior you’ll eventually open. denomination for Italian TERROIR Famously DO/DOC/AOC wines. Just 21 regions MÉTHODE TRADITIONELLE A government’s guarantee untranslatable, terroir is a have a DOCG label, and Another term to describe of a wine’s origins – DO French term that refers to wines produced there are the exact same production is Spanish, DOC is Italian Talking about wine can be totally terrifying, the special sense of ‘place’ examined by government- process. An EU ruling in 1985 and AOC is French, and that comes through in a appointed quality but it doesn’t have to be. All you need is a forbid any sparkling wine all are abbreviations for wine. It’s a combination inspectors. basic understanding of wine’s language to producers outside of the phrases roughly meaning of factors, from soil type start sounding like a native – and, with a Champagne region to use “controlled designation GRAND CRU A term the word ‘Champenoise’, so it to climate, that contribute little extra knowledge, a true sommelier. So of origin”. Wines bearing indicating that a wine came was replaced with the nifty – towards how a wine these initials are made from a prestigious vineyard. don’t be afraid! Let’s get a-learning with this and fitting! – traditionelle. ultimately tastes. summary of some key fizzy terms.

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What’s your favourite glass to drink your bubbles Another elegant design, the tulip from? Whether you opt for a flute, coupe, tulip, or is similar to the flute, but has a something more exotic – you might be surprised to know that the glassware you choose can have wider bowl that gently tapers to a significant impact on how the wine tastes. a narrower mouth – although generally not as narrow as a flute. And it’s not something that only expert wine tasters can detect. Try putting the same wine in different glasses and you’ll find that the difference can be remarkable. GOOD THINGS BAD THINGS IS IT FOR YOU? Luckily, we’ve got the lowdown on some of the most common p Similar to the flute, the tulip’s The tulip is actually a If you want a balance of glass types so you can decide which one suits you best. Tuli long stem helps to keep the pretty good choice for traditional elegance with wine cooler for longer and it’s enjoying your fizz, giving the functionality, the tulip pretty good at generating lots opportunity for both bubbles is a great bet, allowing of fizz. In addition, though, and flavour to develop. It more space than a flute Conjuring up images of the wider bowl gives the wine could be argued that the vintage lovelies and Great more space to breathe and shape is perhaps still a little for delicious aromas and Gatsby-style parties, this develop in flavour and aroma, narrow for really getting the flavours to develop while stylish glass shape was at which the tapered shape helps best out of some of the more preserving that familiar its most popular in the early to channel towards your nose. complex bubbles out there. elongated shape. Coupe or Saucer years of the 20th century. GOOD THINGS other drinks – specifically a kind of aromas vanish into the air, rather than sweet dessert Champagne that was being channelled towards your nose Aesthetics are important, and there’s no doubt that cradling a glamorous popular at the beginning of the last so you can enjoy them. coupe makes you feel at least a little century. When it comes to the bubbles bit like Marilyn Monroe. we enjoy nowadays, the shallow bowl IS IT FOR YOU? and wide mouth of a coupe mean that The coupe is a lot of fun for vintage it’s not very good at letting bubbles BAD THINGS parties, but it might be best reserved Definitely the most popular develop, or at retaining a drink’s fizz. Just as the glass evokes thoughts of for cocktails rather than bubbles if you option, the elegant flute other times, it was also designed for The very open shape also means that want to get the best from your fizz. shape is likely to be what springs to mind when you think of drinking bubbles. It’s all about celebration and indulgence.

GOOD THINGS somewhat limited. This might Flute not matter so much with The long stem helps to keep simple, younger wines, but if the liquid cooler for longer Conjuring up images of vintage lovelies and Great Gatsby-style parties, this stylish you’re drinking older or more (provided you actually hold that Whiteglass shape was at its mostWine popular in the earlyGlass years of the 20th century. complex wines, a more open part, not the bowl!). This shape shape may be better. is also good for ‘fizziness’, generating lots of bubbles and GOOD THINGS BAD THINGS the same sense of occasion trapping carbon dioxide in the IS IT FOR YOU? and fun as a more traditional Bubbles experts – from While connoisseurs are mov- mouth of the flute, giving an Just like you never feel like flute. Champagne producers to ing towards the regular wine effervescent, ‘nose-tingling’ you’re properly dressed up glass makers – are increas- glass for their fizz, younger, drinking experience. until you’ve got your lipstick on ingly suggesting that a nor- simpler wines may still be IS IT FOR YOU? (well, I don’t), there’s something about a flute that just says mal white wine glass is the better off in a narrower BAD THINGS If you’ve splashed out on ‘party time’. This undeniable best thing to drink quality fizz flute or tulip, as the most While the narrow flute shape some really special premi- classic is great for celebrations from. Why? Well, the more important thing is keeping helps retain the bubbles, it um or vintage bubbles, it and enjoying the fizz of younger rounded and slightly tapered them cool and allowing the also means the wine doesn’t might be worth forsaking bubbles. However, for vintage shape gives the flavours and have much room to breathe bubbles to develop. tradition and going with a tipples, or if you just really want aromas in more complex and develop. This means normal wine glass as you to appreciate the flavours and wines more room to develop We also have to bear in mind the flavours and aromas aromas of your wine, it’s maybe and really helps bring the that for many of us, a regular will really reap the benefits that you’ll experience will be best out of them. wine glass just doesn’t have when it comes to tasting. not the best choice.

LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK Cocktails | 21 French Favourites

French 75 A classic cocktail and Bubble Club favourite.

45ml Dry Gin 10ml freshly squeezed lemon juice 5ml sugar syrup (or a small teaspoon of superfine sugar) Sparkling wine

Combine the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a glass. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a lemon zest.

From the French 125 French 75 to the Cognac adds a sophisticated twist to this classic Midnight Kiss, recipe. there’s nothing 45ml Cognac as wonderfully 15ml Freshly squeezed lemon juice 10ml Sugar syrup (2 parts sugar to 1 part romantic as water) the perfect fizzy Sparkling wines cocktail. Here Shake the cognac, lemon juice and sugar syrup COCKTAILS are six of our with ice and strain into a glass. Top up with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon zest twist. favourites.

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Royale Picnic Midnight Kiss A chocolatey treat for when fizz alone just There’s nothing more fitting for a spot of al won’t do.. fresco drinking when the weather is fine. 25ml Amaretto 15ml Poetic License Strawberries 25ml chocolate liqueur and Cream Picnic Gin 115ml chilled sparkling wine Chilled sparkling wine Chocolate shavings, to garnish

P our the Picnic Gin into a glass and top with Fill a large glass with ice and pour in the Amaretto fizz. Garnish with a strawberry. and chocolate liqueur. Stir until cold and strain into a flute or Martini glass. Top up with sparkling wine and garnish with chocolate shavings, as desired.

Earl Grey Fizz A combination of vodka, cold earl grey tea and sparkling wine, this is your favourite fizz with a Elderflower Fizz subtle difference – and an extra kick! Simple but delicious. 25ml Vodka 15ml Cold Earl Grey Tea 25ml Edinburgh Gin Elderflower Liqueur 7ml sugar syrup Chilled Sparkling Wine Chilled sparkling wine Lemon twist, to garnish Add the Elderflower Liqueur to the glass and top up with bubbles! Combine the vodka, tea and sugar syrup, then shake with ice and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine.

LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK LITTLE BOOK OF BUBBLES • BUBBLECLUB.CO.UK Bubble Bites BubbleRecipes Bites | 25 Goat’s Cheese Feuilletés François Chainier, producer of the Clos de Nouys Vouvray Brut in our May Bubble Boxes, loved to enjoy his fizz with a little goat’s cheese on toast. It’s a delicious, tried and true combination, but if you like the thought of something just a little bit fancier, then why not give these delicious puff pastry parcels a whirl? They’re ever so simple to make and Bubble-BITES- make the perfect snacks to accompany your bubbles.

INGREDIENTS 1 Pre-heat your oven to 210 C little oregano and cover with 7 Feel free to experiment with 1 Sainte-Maure de Touraine (Fan 190 C) another pastry circle, sealing different additions in place What’s better than or other goat’s cheese log 2 Cut the goats cheese log into 8 the package together around of the oregano such as dried a bottle of bubbly? (approx. 250g) equal, round slices. the edges using the back of a basil, fresh chopped chives or fork. Brush the parcels with the 1 sheet ready-made puff 3 With a drinking glass or pastry chopped walnuts. Something yummy beaten egg. pastry cutter, cut 16 circles from the to go with it! These 1 egg, beaten pastry, making sure the circles 5 Bake in the oven for around amazing favourite Dried oregano are large enough to leave a 15 minutes, until the pastry is border around the cheese slices. golden brown. fizz-friendly recipes 4 Put each slice of cheese on 6 Delicious served on their own are perfect for a pastry circle, sprinkle with a or with a green salad. pairing with your sparkling wine.

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Crème de Cassis From luscious reds to sensational sparkling Crémant de Bourgogne (like the one from Vitteaut- The same soil and climate conditions that help vines to Alberti that we sent our members in July). But the thrive in the Burgundy region also allow blackcurrants, or BURGUNDY region also produces some pretty fabulous food cassis, to grow abundantly. as well. We explore just a few of the gastronomic The fruits are perhaps most famously used to make Crème de delights of this region, along with recipes for some Cassis, an alcoholic liqueur first made in Dijon in 1841 and which is now a French staple – no more so than as part of a Kir cocktail. fizz-friendly canapés. Bon appétit! ON A PLATE Named after a former mayor of Dijon, the Kir is a blend of Crème de Cassis with white wine, becoming a Kir Royale when paired with sparkling wine – traditionally Crèmant de Bourgogne. In Burgundy, this delicious aperitif is often paired with regional speciality, gougères: mouth-watering cheesy-choux puffs, made with local Comté or the very similar Gruyère cheese. Epoisses Cheese

Proclaimed as “king of all cheeses” by famous French gastronome Brillat- Severin in the early 1800s, Epoisses has been made in the Burgundy village of the same name since local monks began producing it in the 16th century. This pungent, soft cows-milk cheese has an edible orange rind, created by ‘washing’ in brine and marc de Bourgogne – a kind of brandy. The round cheese is sold in wooden boxes and often served with a spoon due to its extreme squidgyness (not a technical term). Similar to fellow soft French cheese, Camembert, Epoisses is delicious when warmed up in its wooden box and served like a mini-fondue, as in the following recipe GOUGÈRES should be smooth and satiny and just hold its shape when a small amount is scooped onto the tip of a spoon. BAKED EPOISSES WITH 70g plain flour • ½ tsp salt • ½ tsp freshly ASPARAGUS & BREAD ground black pepper • ½ tsp thyme • 5. Add the cheese to the dough and beat in thoroughly. Dijon Mustard Pinch cayenne pepper • ½ cup water • 1 box Epoisses cheese 60g unsalted butter cut into small cubes 6. Using two teaspoons or a piping bag, The Burgundy town of Dijon has 12 asparagus spears, trimmed shape balls about 2 cm in diameter been a centre of mustard-making • 2 large eggs at room temperature • 75g Sea salt for seasoning onto buttered baking sheets, around since the early Middle Ages. It Comté or Gruyère cheese, grated 4 cm apart. Bake for 10 minutes, wasn’t until 1756, however, that Crusty bread to serve rotating the baking sheets halfway Dijon mustard as we know it 1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. through, until the gougères reach a today emerged, when mustard- 1. Preheat oven to 200C/390F. Dijon devilled quail eggs 2. Mix the flour with the salt, black rich golden brown. Serve warm. maker, Jean Naigeon, replaced 2. Take the cheese out of its box, pepper, thyme and cayenne in a the vinegar in the recipe with remove all the inner packaging, medium-sized bowl. Combine the 6 quail’s eggs KIR ROYALE verjuice – a liquid extracted from eggs under cold running water, then put it back in the box and replace water and butter in a large heavy wine grapes which are still green at 1½ tbsp sour cream peel them. the lid. saucepan and bring to the boil over a harvest time. Today, it’s common 15ml Crème de ½ tsp Dijon mustard 3. Cut each egg in half lengthways. high heat, stirring as the butter melts. for white wine to be used in place 3. Place onto a baking tray and bake Cassis Smoked paprika, to taste Carefully scoop out the yolks put of verjuice, but the effect is the for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese 3. Remove the pan from the heat and them in a bowl, putting the emptied Chilled sparkling same: a smoothly delicious, less Salt and black pepper, to taste inside has melted. immediately add the seasoned flour mix whites to one side. wine in one go. Stir vigorously with a wooden acidic form of mustard. Dill sprigs, to garnish 4. To cook the asparagus, bring a 4. Mix the sour cream, mustard, paprika, spoon, until the dough clumps into a ball Delicious Burgundian Dijon large pan of salted water to the Pour the Crème 1. Fill a pan with cold water and gently salt and pepper with the egg yolks. and stops clinging to the side of the pan. mustard has a vast array of culinary boil, add the spears and simmer de Cassis into lower in the eggs. Cover with a lid Stir until well combined then gently uses – from salad dressings for around 3 minutes or until al 4. Transfer the dough to large mixing bowl. the bottom of and bring to a boil. spoon the mixture back into the to marinades and sauces. In dente. Sprinkle with a little sea salt. Using a mixer on a medium speed, a Champagne hollowed egg whites. the following recipe, it works 2. Once boiling, remove from the heat 5. Dip the warm asparagus and crusty beat in the eggs, one at a time, stirring flute and simply beautifully to create a tasty (and and leave the eggs in the hot water 5. Sprinkle with paprika and dill and bread into the cheese and enjoy! after each until the egg has been fully top up with pretty) platter of party snacks. for 2 minutes. Drain and cool the serve immediately. absorbed. When finished, the dough sparkling wine.

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Risotto alla Milanese SERVES 6-8 This gorgeous saffron-infused dish is the pride of Milan, northern Italy – just a stones-throw from the Conte Vistarino estate, which produced one of our June Fizzes of the Month. This dish pairs beautifully with the Vigna del Castello Pinot Nero bubbles we sent our members, but is a great accompaniment to nearly any bubbles.

60g butter 1 Melt 25g of the butter with until it almost completely Remove from the heat and stir 1 tbsp olive oil the olive oil in a large heavy- disappears. Add the stock in the rest of the butter and based saucepan and fry the a ladleful at a time, stirring season to taste (remember 1 onion, very finely chopped onion over a gentle heat until constantly and only adding you’ll be adding salty cheese 1.2 litres chicken or it softens - but don’t let it more once the previous ladle in a moment). Cover and leave vegetable stock colour. has been absorbed. It should to rest for a few minutes. the take about 25 minutes in all Good pinch of saffron 2 Meanwhile bring the stock to 5 Stir in the parmesan and to add the liquid and for the 500g arborio risotto rice the boil, add the saffron and serve in warmed bowls, keep on a gentle simmer. risotto to cook. 50ml dry white wine sprinkled with a little extra 3 Add the rice to the onion, 4 When it’s done, it should parmesan. 25g grated parmesan, plus stirring or a couple of minutes be soft and creamy extra to serve until it looks glossy. Add but with a very slight the wine to the pan and stir bite to each rice grain. Bubble Shop is now open! Crazy about Cava? Potty for Prosecco? Craving Crémant?

Stock up on the bubbles you love, with cases of the featured wines from our monthly Bubble Boxes.

All with a fabulous 15% discount for Bubble Club members.

Shop now at: www.bubbleclub.co.uk/shop

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