December 25, 2020
Recently (speaking here of just weeks ago, as opposed to minutes ago) here on the Spiked Punch blog, I had a drink called Far More Red, featuring Trentodoc sparkling wine, or wine crafted particularly finely within a particular spot within the Trentino region, if I have everything correctly. The drink was tasty (I say, without hopefully overly-tooting-my-own-horn), and I hope you try it. But today, just days before (well, nearly a week before as the calendar tells us), the bubbliest night of the year (New Year’s Eve, natch), and maybe then, too, I’m having sparkling wine in a non-cocktail-form. That’s right, straight up! But, I’m sticking the a Trentodoc sparkler, so if you haven’t read the Far More Red recipe, then do, cause it has more Trentodoc info, though here I’m having a different wine (that showed in the mail, also, probably from Santa) than there. Today, it’s: Monfort Riserva Brut. Made in the same classical method, sure, but here we have a grape combo of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Nero, grown in vineyards that lie between 400 and 600 meters above sea level on hills where lie the towns of Meano, Vigo Meano, Cortesano, Gazzadina, and other spots I need to visit. What’s it all mean? A full frizzante, a delicate but flavorsome wine, a mix of floral, strawberry, pear, Honeycrisp apples, and an echo of fresh pastry (well, that’s my take), a sparkling wine ideal for pre-dinner sipping, but also, to me, one that’s ideal for sipping with that special someone as one year ticks away into another. Try it next week and see! Also, happy holidays!
November 20, 2020
You know, 2020 hasn’t been overly-packed with good days. There have been some, I’m sure and I’m hoping, for everyone, some big-ish good days, and some small-ish good days, even within it all. I had one recently when some bubbly showed up here, which made the day more, well, bubbly. It was also bubby from Italy (you know I love Italy, right?), specifically Trentodoc sparkling wine – Trentodoc being from the Trentino region, which is in the far north of Italy, a mountain-alp-y region, one which also has some Mediterranean-ness on the lower slopes. I’ll admit that’s not the Italian area I know best, but after tasting the sparkling wine from there, I need to know more! Made in the Meted Classico, or classic method, Trentodoc sparklers are also made from picked-by-hands Trentino grapes. Sounds yummy, right? But the proof is in the bottle, as the saying goes, and the one I’m popping off now is Maso Martis Extra Brut Rose.
Starting with its pale pink-y coloring, and enticing effervescence, it’s a wine you’ll want to drink as you pour – which is what you want, right? The taste (pino nero grapes, if you’re interested) has a berry-centric-ness, raspberries, strawberries, and then some currants, with a few delicate herbal notes, too, and a creamy nature ideal for a sunny day, a date night around the appetizer course, or, really, almost anytime. It’s also a swell base for cocktails. Well, you wouldn’t think I wouldn’t try it in a cocktail, right? I do so love bubble mixes, and with a flavorsome rose like this, I had to see how it’d play with others. Starting with another delicious number (and by some crazy occurrence also showed on the porch), but from closer to US home: Clear Creek Pear brandy. Made with Bartlett pears grown in OR (where Clear Creek is), it has a phenomenal pear nature, from the small to the lingering pear echoes, while still maintaining a warming brandy undercurrent. Then, I traveled back to Italy (to help the wine feel at home), with bitter and beautiful classic Campari – which not only adds layers of taste, but a rich redness, which is further underlined by our last ingredient, homemade grenadine. Altogether, what a drink! Refreshing but bursting with delights, and one the showcases and perfectly utilizes the wine and brandy. Dive in.
Far More Red
Ice cubes
1 ounce Clear Creek Pear brandy
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce homemade grenadine (see grenadine recipe here, in the Note section)
3-1/2 ounces Maso Martis Extra Brut Rose sparkling wine
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Campari, and grenadine. Shake it.
2. Strain the mix from Step 1 into a Champagne flute or comparable glass. Top with the bubbly. Stir carefully to combine. Enjoy.
Tags: Campari, Champagne Cocktail, Clear Creek Pear brandy, cocktail, Cocktail Recipes, Far More Red, Friday Night Cocktail, grenadine, Maso Martis Extra Brut Rose sparkling wine, sparkling wine, Trentodoc, Trentodoc sparkling wine, What I’m Drinking, wine cocktail
Posted in: Brandy, Campari, Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
Recently (speaking here of just weeks ago, as opposed to minutes ago) here on the Spiked Punch blog, I had a drink called Far More Red, featuring Trentodoc sparkling wine, or wine crafted particularly finely within a particular spot within the Trentino region, if I have everything correctly. The drink was tasty (I say, without hopefully overly-tooting-my-own-horn), and I hope you try it. But today, just days before (well, nearly a week before as the calendar tells us), the bubbliest night of the year (New Year’s Eve, natch), and maybe then, too, I’m having sparkling wine in a non-cocktail-form. That’s right, straight up! But, I’m sticking the a Trentodoc sparkler, so if you haven’t read the Far More Red recipe, then do, cause it has more Trentodoc info, though here I’m having a different wine (that showed in the mail, also, probably from Santa) than there. Today, it’s: Monfort Riserva Brut. Made in the same classical method, sure, but here we have a grape combo of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Nero, grown in vineyards that lie between 400 and 600 meters above sea level on hills where lie the towns of Meano, Vigo Meano, Cortesano, Gazzadina, and other spots I need to visit. What’s it all mean? A full frizzante, a delicate but flavorsome wine, a mix of floral, strawberry, pear, Honeycrisp apples, and an echo of fresh pastry (well, that’s my take), a sparkling wine ideal for pre-dinner sipping, but also, to me, one that’s ideal for sipping with that special someone as one year ticks away into another. Try it next week and see! Also, happy holidays!
