Sparkling Report

A few of you have been wondering, "Is Sparkling Squirrel really falling behind on seeing rodents (I haven't seen a live one yet this month), writing groundhog cards (yours is not the only one that hasn't been sent), AND drinking sparkling wine?"
Fear not, dear friends, while the rodents are reclusive and post-work evening time very very short (I'm sleeping with the texts again), the wine is being drunk. Not all is amiss in the world.

While we were asleep at midnight on New Year's, we did have ample sparkling wine-laden frivolities in Lawrence on Jan. 3, consumed the Indiana sparkling on the way home, Sanity Saver (my friend and TA for the 101 labs) brought a bottle of Balletore to the GH party and we had a bottle of Domain St. Michelle Blanc de Noir (the house cham-pan-ya) sometime in between. Enough to keep us going in any case.

Beyond the basic, over the last month we kept a bottle of Chandon California Blanc de Noir in the 'fridge, awaiting a job offer for me. Last Wednesday, my department chair recommended that the college hire me. Technically, that's not a job offer, but it was Valentine's day, it was freezing and cold outside and the Mister and I needed to open a bottle.

It was tasty. Very tasty. Fine bubble structure. Beautiful color. Just plain really good. Better than our "house champagne." Mmmmmm.

Yesterday we were in the big city in yet another snowstorm. The warehouse store to which we belong had both lobster ravioli and Cordoniu Pinot Noir Brut Cava (Spanish) on special, and displayed a big sign mentioning that the sparkling wine was perfect with lobster. Ever suckers for marketing schemes pushing things we really enjoy, the Mister and I bought both pink cava and lobster ravioli and consumed them this evening. While I'm proud of the leek cava butter sauce I created for the ravioli, they were somewhat of a disappointment (I had lobster ravioli at one of the most innovative restaurants in France at age 12 and have been spoiled ever since*), but the mister and I were both impressed with the pinot noir cava.
The wine was definitely better than any pink Spanish wine we've had. While it was pinker than most blanc de noirs, it was distinctly dry and, comprised of 100% pinot noir, made in the same style. We'd both very happily drink it again. It wasn't as good as the Chandon, but at half the price ($10 for this bottle), something we're more likely to encounter again. I'd like to do a side by side tasting with the Domaine St. Michelle, to discern a definitive favorite, but in the absence of that I'd put them at the same level and choose based on price (unless you absolutely cannot handle the pink color in which case the Domaine St. Michelle is distinctly paler).


*Every once in a while my mother wonders what sort of food snob monsters she created by taking my brother and me to Europe and out to eat at nice restaurants while we were young and impressionable. Of course I have no idea what I'd be like without my love of good food any more than I can imagine myself not noticing the plants (I mean, I wouldn't be me), but I am eternally grateful to my parents for this (and many other things). Thank you mom and dad. I hope I'm not a monster, but if I am it's not because of those fabulous lobster ravioli, or rooster kidneys, or dark chocolate apricot souffle, or casis sorbet in France or wonderful pesto or cinnamon rolls or schnitzel at home . . . or . . .