South American Sparkling

Prior to our recent trip, different varieties of Argentinian Chandon were the only South American sparkling wines The Mister and I had sampled. We were, therefore, anxious to try more, despite the warnings of Happy Cricket and the Lonely Planet Guide ("Local wines are truly terrible and should not be experimented with,").

At the supermerket In Baños we discovered the Grand Duval line of Ecuadoran sparkling wine. For only $2.80 a bottle (Ecuador is dollarized, so US currency is in use), we could have either the Quinceañera Rosado or the 45th anniversary special. Of course we bought the pink bottle to celebrate a quinceañera. Prairie Dog made of point of commenting that if we ever throw him a quinceañera, we will not be serving that swill. It was very likely the worst sparkling wine we have ever consumed. One might reasonably ask what we would expect of a $2.80 wine that includes water, musto, and raisin concentrate as the first three ingredients drunk at room temperature from a plastic hotel cup, but we've drunk some awful stuff. Being the worst is saying something.

Towards the end of the trip we found a bottle of Chilean sparkling wine at a Spanish Deli in Quito. While it was not as good as many cavas or our house sparkling, the Mister commented that if it were available in the US for $6.95 a bottle, we'd drink the Concha y Toro Brut on occasion.

On our last night in Ecuador, we splurged and ate at Mare Nostrum, a gothic-themed seafood restaurant where the fireplace, stained glass windows and pewter plates actually added to the evening, rather than just looking silly. We drank a bottle of Navarro Correas Extra Brut, an Argentinian sparkling that complimented the perfectly grilled octopus (the best octopus either of us has eaten), as well as the garlicky shellfish, the grilled wahoo and the taxo (a type of passion fruit) ice cream.