Sparkling Wines – Perfect for Thanksgiving

Unless you didn’t know it, Thanksgiving is here. This column is to remind our readers of the wine mistakes that can be made at the thanksgiving dinner. The best example is to illustrate a mistake we made several years ago. The third Thursday in November is the time when the French release their first vintage of the year, the Beaujolais nouveau. We received a bottle and decided to serve it at our thanksgiving dinner. Huge mistake. That is not to say the wine was bad, it was not, but the choice of a dry wine to serve with the turkey and all of the sweet fixin’s not only didn’t work, but darned near ruined the meal.
Thanksgiving wines, whether served with turkey or ham should be on the sweeter side or sparkling rather than dry. Even the dry (brut) sparkling wines will not interfere or in any way work against the sweet condiments.
Our choice for this year’s celebration, are the sparkling wines of Barefoot. Not only are they affordable, they are also of super fine quality and will add a touch of elegance to any meal or celebration. This year Barefoot is offering six sparkling wines, which are enough styles to satisfy every wine lover’s choice from dry to sweet.
We will stick our necks way out and offer our opinion on Barefoot wines, all of them. There are few if any wineries that can offer so great a range of wines and have each and every one of them worth many times more than their extremely affordable price. To admit one of our failings, we are very price conscious. We are always searching out affordable wines that stand out. We are looking for five dollar wines that taste like a fifty dollar bottle rather than the reverse. We have succeeded with Barefoot.

Barefoot Bubbly California Pink Moscato ($10.99). This delightful new sweet addition to the Barefoot Bubbly line displays a delightful pink color which heralds the aromas of red fruit and summer berries. The flavor accents sweet cherries with a very positive background of sweet citrus. The wine ends in a burst of fruit flavors followed by the always pleasant creamy finish.

Barefoot Bubbly California Moscato Spumante ($10.99). This wine develops its sweetness from the grapes and not from the addition of sugar, so although the wine is sweet, it is not syrupy. The wine displays a light straw color and the bright aroma of summer wild flowers. The flavor is big and open and accents peaches and apricots with a raisin background. There is nothing pretentious about this wine, everything there is, is presented right up front to be enjoyed.

Barefoot Bubbly California Brut Cuvée ($10.99). Barefoot Cellars is famous for its very friendly, full fruit flavored and easy to drink wines. This wine, which has been produced from chardonnay grapes, displays the flavors and aromas associated with that grape variety. Pineapple and lemon mingle with ripe melon, roasted almonds, oak and the tell-tale yeasty bread-like sensation that marks a fine sparkling wine. This is a wine that can compete with the best from France or anyplace else for that matter.

Barefoot Bubbly California Extra Dry ($10.99). Someone, with a bizarre sense of humor back in antiquity, named a slightly sweet wine, extra dry. Barefoot Bubbly California Extra Dry carries on the tradition by using the same nomenclature for their off dry wine. This wine features green apple and citrus in the flavor and aroma and ending in a creamy, soft, toasty, summer fresh fruit finish and is a perfect Thanksgiving wine.

Barefoot Bubbly California Pinot Grigio ($10.99). The pinot grigio grape produces a wine with a positive acid bite, a trait required for a sparkling wine to have character. The Barefoot Bubbly California Pinot Grigio has plenty of that with some left over to spare. The aroma and flavor features bright golden apples and tangerine which continue on to the finish. This is a wine that you just have to love.