Sparkling Wine and a Sonnet to Show My Love

My first Wine Blogging Wednesday was especially appropriate for me since the theme was sparkling wine: one of my favorite all-purpose wines. It just has that ability to make a good mood better or cheer you up when you’re down. Maybe it’s something about the bubbles and whether they make the alcohol hit you faster… But the feeling of festivity gets me every time. Some people think they need a special occasion to open a bottle, but that just isn’t the case. I always say, “Let the wine be occasion enough.”

I’ll even show just how much I truly appreciate this stuff with a poem I wrote two summers ago..

A Sonnet That Sparkles

So many reasons to drink sparkling wine:
One, when a baby is finally born
or also when a family is torn
apart and the woman, alone, is fine.
Perhaps with the meal on which you dine
even if it’s just crawfish and corn.
Maybe after a graduation gown is worn
then when finding a job that’s not part time.

And it doesn’t have to be Champagne,
made in that region of France
miles below Europe’s northern coast…
because the French overcharge and feign
perfection. Give Cava or Prosecco a chance,
filling your flute and raising it in a toast.
————————————-

Some friends and I had visited Mumm in Napa, and for Wine Blogging Wednesday I opened up my sparkling Pinot Meunier, the third grape that makes Champagne and the least well-known. This one was quite enjoyable, reminiscent of the shortbread crust for cheesecake cookies I once made, along with lemon zest, and slight hints of minerality or stone. It was good by itself and also with the thrown-together dinner I made out of sausaged sweet potatoes.

The Pinot Meunier runs about $30 a bottle and is only available at the winery, so it’s not one for every day. However, if you’re drving along the Silverado Trail, stop by Mumm and pick up one or two. And a few others as well, as you can never have too many bottles of sparkling wine. Always be prepared to celebrate….the reasons will follow.