Does it have to be Champagne...?

Well, sometimes it does - but not always. Being honest, I'm always going to pick a fine champagne, preferably a vintage offering or a prestige cuvee (think Dom Perignon or La Grande Dame), if I'm given a choice. But since the world is not beating down my door to pour me prestige cuvee and I can't afford to buy it myself on a regular basis, I'd rather make 'alternative' bubbly choices than drink mediocre Champagne. Now don't get me wrong, less expensive Champagnes can be wonderful, too. The odd supermarket bottle comes up trumps, such as Oudinot from Marks and Spencer or Waitrose Brut NV.

Winemakers around the world make sparkling wines that are wonderful - if not downright excellent - and I'd rather drink one of these any day of the week than suffer insipid champagne - or worse, never drink sparkling wine unless my budget allowed! Around the world styles differ; many climates for example allow for much riper fruit and therefore produce wines (if you will allow me to generalise) that are softer, more lush and less acidic. For many, this is perfect - my own other half much prefers sparkling wine like this. Some seek to emulate Champagne using the same grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) or using the same traditional winemaking methods (Methode Champenoise) and many have their own long(ish) traditions of making sparkling wine with various grapes and methods of production being employed: to name but a few, Prosecco or Asti (Italy), Cava (Spain), Cremant (some other non-Champagne regions in France), and even Sekt (Germany). The 'new world' gets in on the act, too and countries such as the US (California, mainly), Chile, Australia and New Zealand produce a dizzying array of sparklers to suit many budgets and tastes. Califonia makes some stellar sparkling wines, notably in wineries owned by French Champagne houses for the most part - if you ever see Roederer Quartet, available from Majestic and Waitrose, I'd stock up as it is an absolutely lovely wine. It has the most 'champagne-like' characteristics of any new world sparkler that I've tasted but does not lack it's own particular charm either.

So, what made me think about this today - surprisingly (or not) it isn't the arrival of Valentine's day and the need for pink bubbles - but rather it was the most wonderful glass of Prosecco that I had the other day. girl-e and I went to Nick's Italian Grill on Hyndland Road to celebrate payday and treat ourselves to lunch and we started with a glass of Prosecco that blew me away. It may have just been the right wine at the right time - but I found its fresh lemony-creaminess immensely enjoyable. As for our lunch, it was fine (read: unremarkable) and service was pleasant if a bit clumsy (we seemed to have at least 4 servers). They seem to be going for a New York kind of vibe - but there's no way to replicate the buzz of New York in leafy, west-end Hyndland. It was, however, a nice place for a drink - and probably a nice addition to the neighbourhood. I may not go out of my way again (it's a bit gluten heavy and lacks much in the way of veggie choices to truly please the likes of us)- unless I crave the Prosecco, that is!