In the Prosecco winemaking region, soils are more varied. Champagne experiences a cooler climate than Prosecco, which hinders the development of ripeness in grapes. While this sounds like a drawback, less ripe grapes have higher acidity, which makes them perfect for serious sparkling wine production. Pignoletto derives from ‘pigna’ meaning pinecone because of the tight grape clusters on the vine and has similarities with Prosecco. Made using the Grechetto grapes of Umbria, this is drier than a usual Prosecco and similar to the Crémant above, has the pear and apple combination alongside citrusy notes. Just like champagne, only prosecco can call its fizz prosecco,” explains Henderson. LCBO Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, $20, lcbo.com . “Punching well above its weight for quality and price, this was a sell-out at a rooftop wine party I hosted a few summers ago, and it’s still one of my go-tos.” —Erin Champagne Cocktail. 1 sugar cube. 1-2 dashes of bitters. 5-6oz Prosecco, or other Sparkling Wine. Saturate the sugar cube with bitters, about 1 or 2 dashes. Place bitters-soaked sugar cube in a Cremant de Loire, Burgundy, Jura, Alsace, etc Cremant means creamy in French and is the word used to denote sparkling wine made in the “Methode Champenoise” in any region other than Champagne Cremant means creamy in French and is the word used to denote sparkling wine made in the “Methode Champenoise” in any region other than Champagne – for example: Cremant de Loire, Cremant de QuVDj. Best budget sparkling wine for Christmas – Asda extra special Crémant d’Alsace brut: £11, Asda.com. Best sparkling wine for prosecco lovers – Della Vite Valdobbiadene prosecco superiore The Little James’ Basket Press Sauvignon Viognier ($12, purchased, 12.5%) is made by Chateau de Saint Cosme, a top-flight Rhone producer that seemed to understand great cheap wine better than most. The red and white made the Hall of Fame for a couple of years, but we all know that things happen in the wine business. In this case, it was a new $15.95 | Italy Prosecco generally feels like great value when you’re craving bubbles, and this bargain-priced bottle even more so. With complex aromas and flavours of white flour, melon and As a rule, I like to recommend the following cheese and sparkling wine pairings: Soft creamy white / goats cheese – Quality Prosecco (DOCG / Asolo) Hard dry cheese – Champagne / Trento Doc / Franciacorta. Soft creamy Blue cheese – Cremant Brut / Cava extra Brut. Strong Blue / Stilton – Red sparkling wine. With many, many different In short, crémant is earthier and richer than prosecco with a satiny fizz. Prosecco is a lighter, fruitier and sweeter drink on the whole. With prosecco, you get playfulness; with crémant,

is cremant better than prosecco