Bubbles & Fries

I must admit it... my guilty pleasure is a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Champagne paired with McDonald's french fries. Don't judge me until you've tried it! The pairing is sublime. In fact there are many things besides strawberries that pair nicely with champagne. But how often do we keep the real stuff in our fridge? In fact the top shelf of my wine fridge is filled with sparkling wines from the Finger Lakes, which is one of the reasons I'm here in New York to learn wine making, and the sparkling wine from Spain known as cava.

We often use the word champagne to describe any brut or blanc de blancs from anywhere, but actually, only sparkling wines that come from the Champagne region in France own the rights to use that name with few exceptions (those that have been grandfathered in such as two of our own Finger Lakes sparkling, New York's Great Western Champagne and Dr. Frank's Champagne). Not having the right to use the title champagne does not necessarily mean it's any less quality. True champagne can only be made from a combination of three grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The finest champagnes also employ the "methode Champenoise," or as those of us outside the region of Champagne, the "traditional Method" which means among other things that the sparkles are made from a secondary fermentation inside the bottle. Don't be fooled by the method of carbonating still wine, that leads to clunky bubbles like soda pop rather than effervescence that tickle your nose.

Cava happens to be an incredibly inexpensive alternative to champagne. It uses a few different varieties of grapes other than Chardonnay such as the Spanish varieties of Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo, but it still uses the traditional method. This makes a great week night sparkle on its own or a less expensive ingredient to add to dishes & other cocktails (or for the drive thru at McDonalds).

So here is a super easy and quick dessert to do with a bottle of sparkling wine from Spain or right around the corner in the Finger Lakes... Cantaloupe Sorbet.

If you have an ice cream maker, this couldn't be easier. If you don't have an ice cream maker, this is one reason to get one.

Simply cut up a fresh melon, peeled and seeded.

Throw it in a blender with the juice from 1 lime, 1/2 a cup of sugar, a pinch of salt and a splash of your favorite sparkling wine...

& blend!
This should first be chilled and then churned in your ice cream maker, and that's it!

In champagne coupe, I float a scoop of sorbet in my sparkling wine of choice with a chiffonade of fresh mint. An amazingly light and fresh dessert, or did someone say breakfast?

Or if you want to skip the whole freezing churning part how about our favorite summertime cocktail (ok we have it in the winter too, especially when grapefruits are in season!)

THE GEMINI!

I like to use fresh squeezed grapefruit because I love the chunks of pulp, I almost trick myself into it being healthier. Anyhow, it's as simple as counting backwards so you can make it for a single cocktail or a pitcher for friends...

4 parts grapefruit juice
3 parts vodka
2 parts St. Germain
1 splash of cava on top of each cocktail
finish with a twist of the grapefruit rind

I guarantee this will be your next favorite cocktail, but be careful or they will make you fall down... or as my sister says, "I'll just sit in the grass and drink them!"