Canon Félix Kir, a French Résistance hero and later mayor of Dijon, lent his name to this simple wine cocktail traditionally made with the rustic Burgundian variety called aligoté. When Champagne is used instead of white wine, the drink becomes a kir royale. Don’t be tempted to stint on the amount of crème de cassis—Burgundy’s famed blackcurrant liqueur—to yield a faint pink drink; both common and royal iterations should properly have a dark rosy hue.

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Cyrus Schultz thinks Champagne is always a good idea. Born and raised in Maui, Schultz cut his teeth serving wine in celebrated fine dining establishments throughout Hawaii and California, including Roy’s in Maui, Benu in San Francisco, and the French Laundry in Napa Valley. When the now-sommelier signed on to run the wine program at Sonoma County’s Cyrus (the shared name is a coincidence), he took great care to ensure that the restaurant’s aperitif service set the tone for the whole meal. That’s why, heading into year-end festivities, I reached out to him for advice on how to serve Champagne at home like a pro—from optimal glassware to perfect food pairings.

If ever there was a time for the Cyrus team to break out the Champagne, it’s now. The Northern California wine region’s most anticipated new restaurant of the year, Cyrus is actually about to embark on a new chapter. After a lease dispute in their intimate and widely loved original location, co-owners, chef Doug Keane and mâitre’d Nick Peyton abruptly closed up shop a decade ago. This September, after years of false starts and pandemic woes, the pair finally opened the doors on this second act. Barely three months later, reservations for the 17-course tasting menu are booked solid, and the team recently took home Cyrus 2.0’s first Michelin Star.

The morning before the Michelin news came through, I happened to be on the premises, scoping out the space and sipping a graciously poured glass of bubbles before dinner service. The room was designed as a reimagining of the famed pre-dinner Champagne and caviar cart guests had come to love at the original location. Diners begin their meal with bubbly and small bites overlooking acres of surrounding vineyards and, beyond that, the rolling hills of the Alexander Valley. Even in the daytime, an understated luxe permeates the room. “It’s hard to not fall for the space,” Schultz tells me. “We offer three seatings each night, and for each of those, we’ve built in a half an hour where you can just sit, get a glass of Champagne, and watch the seasons change over the vineyards.” 

Whether you’re hosting everyone you know this season, or are looking to make the most of a special bottle with your favorite dinner companion, your evening deserves just as much. Here are Schultz’s tips for bringing a little bit of Cyrus’ Champagne chic into your own home.

The Glassware:

At Cyrus, stemware is the first thing diners bring to their lips, so Schultz was acutely aware just how important it would be to choose the proper champagne glass. In the Lounge, he uses Zalto tulips to serve all effervescent pours. “You want something that doesn’t cage all the flavors,” he explains. “A more generous glass shape allows the wine to be more expressive and speak louder” than it might in a standard, straight-sided flute.

For elevating the Champagne experience at home, glassware is the clear place to start. If your space or budget demands that you streamline your options, though, Schultz finds that sparkling wines can shine just as brightly in an elegant, all-purpose white wine glass that “lets the bubbles breathe a little.” (He uses the Sophienwald brand at home.)

Feeling festive, or setting up a Champagne fountain? “I also do love a coupe,” he admits. “For the right time and occasion, with a wine that’s fresh and vibrant and super-cold, a coupe can make you feel like you’re in that Great Gatsby era.” In other words, the glass sets the mood. “Coupes may not be the most functional, but sometimes they make you feel great, and how you feel when you’re drinking something is so important, too.” 

Keep it Cold:

When it comes to Champagne, you’re going for cold—significantly colder than other white wines, but not freezing. “You don’t want your champagne so cold that its flavors start to close down,” Schultz warns; he suggests aiming for somewhere around 46 degrees Fahrenheit (or a touch colder for non-Champagne sparklers, like cremant or Prosecco). 

The reason for this chilly temp boils down to physics. With still wines, proper temperature is all about flavor and fragrance, but with bubbles, temperature also has an impact on texture. Rising temperatures cause carbonation to expand, resulting in a more open mousse (i.e. fatter bubbles). “Effervescence is a texture rather than a flavor,” Schultz explains, “and there’s a point where the mousse behaves on the palate in a way where the wine just sings. I usually like Champagne to be very finely, tightly wound, and have that really delicate bead, but depending on the wine, sometimes it can warm up a touch, and become much more expressive.”

How can you tell when a bottle is cold enough? After years in the business, Schultz relies on instinct and physical touch, but admits that, for most, this method is not precise. For a 750-milliliter bottle, three hours in the fridge is a safe minimum starting point. An ice bucket can be faster and convenient, but Schultz reminds us that when using one, the bottle should be fully submerged in order to chill evenly. (Also remember that magnums and larger bottles take substantially longer to chill than those standard 750s.)

Food Pairings:

For nibbles to pair with their Champagne, chef Keane sends guests dainty canapés—often featuring uber-luxe ingredients like wagyu and truffles—to tease the lengthy dinner to come. They may also choose to enjoy a serving of caviar. While the ingredients are lavish, the bites are intentionally petite. 

For a more casual—yet still elevated—home experience, Schultz likes to offer more generous portions of simple, fatty foods: think fried chicken or potato chips, or the occasional silky slice of foie gras. With fuller, fruitier rosé Champagnes, though, he prefers to veer in another direction, looking to his home state for inspiration: raw tuna, seasoned with scallion, soy sauce, sesame, and inamona salt. “Rosé has enough power to stand up to the rich, oily nature of ahi,” he tells me.  “Don’t sleep on rosé Champagne and ahi poke!”

The Main Event:

Schultz built Cyrus’s 800+ bottle wine menu from scratch; today, the restaurant’s cellar boasts just over a hundred Champagnes (and a handful of stand-out Sonoma sparklers). Rare vintages from well-known marquee houses are listed alongside niche grower-producers, and while many of the selects are near impossible to find outside of private collections and wine-focused restaurants, some of the somm’s favorites are available in stores. In the $40 to $60 price range, he suggests seeking out Chartogne-Taillet, Pierre Peters, or the consistently delicious Pol Roger. 

For folks looking to splurge, Schultz points to Krug or cult favorite Salon—an early pioneer of the Blanc de Blancs style which only produces wines in the most exceptional of vintages. “[Salon] only makes one wine, so you know it’s going to be delicious. You don’t have to do all this homework about, ‘was that a good vintage or a bad one?’ They’ve done it all for you—but it is a splurge!”

A Note on Gifting Champagne Like a Pro:

Schultz has thoughts on gifting Champagne, too. “The biggest thing I try to let people know is that if I’m giving them a bottle of Champagne, I’m saying, ‘Hey, this is something for you to drink and enjoy now.’” Recipients of wine gifts may instinctively save the bottle for another special occasion, but Schultz reminds us that the holidays are about enjoyment and fun. “Nothing does that like opening a bottle of Champagne.”

How To Open Champagne Like A Swashbuckling Sommelier

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The Chandelier Bar at Las Vegas’s Cosmopolitan Hotel (winner for Best Hotel Bar in the 2014 Saveur Culinary Travel Awards) serves this alluring concoction, the “Planet of the Grapes,” which blends Pavan, an orange blossom–infused liqueur, with vodka, chamomile syrup, and sparkling wine.

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If you’re a champagne drinker, you’ve likely encountered the not-so-sweet end of the sparkling wine spectrum. Over the course of the last century, palate preferences have leaned towards drier bubblies (mainly bruts), and in recent years, even more austere styles like brut nature have been all the rage. But it hasn’t always been this way—in fact, sweet champagnes were the height of fashion throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, somewhat by default as dry styles weren’t even introduced until the mid-1800s. As the holidays approach, and given that we’re all in need of a little extra sweetness in our lives these days, I believe that these more honeyed, classic versions are due for a revival.

Still today, most champagnes—even the dry ones—do contain some degree of added sugar. Known as “dosage,” this is introduced to the wine after disgorgement in order to counterbalance the wine’s signature high acidity levels. Depending on the amount of sugar added, this practice can also be leveraged as a means of imparting some level of actual sweetness to the finished product. A winemaker once put it to me this way: dosage is to champagne what butter is to bread. The bread (or, in this case, the bubbly), whether so-so or exceptional on its own, could be potentially made better with a touch of something rich.

How much dosage is the right amount? What matters most is the winemaker’s handiwork, and just as importantly, your personal preference. But whatever your tendencies, if you enjoy pairing wines with food, it’s worth staying open to champagne’s sugar-kissed styles—particularly demi-sec.

One of the more widespread styles of sweet champagne, demi-sec, by definition, contains a whopping 33 to 50 grams (around 3 tablespoons) of added sugar per liter; in comparison, bruts can contain no more than 12. But that doesn’t mean demi-secs are heavy or cloying, as their bright acidity brings balance and lift, making the style surprisingly versatile. As an apéritif, demi-sec shines brightly alongside funky blue cheeses, grilled octopus, and anything buttery and salty (such as popcorn). Most often, though, it’s a go-to pairing for desserts. Chicago-based wine and spirits educator Regine Rousseau recalls the golden rule taught to her by a mentor: However sweet the dessert, your wine must be sweeter. “Although demi-sec champagnes work well with delicious salty treats [like] mixed nuts, cod fish dips, and Chicago Mix popcorn, I reserve them for a little something sweet,” she explains. And Rousseau isn’t alone—sweet wines in general are known to render foods drier on the palate, which is why desserts benefit from balance in the form of a wine sweeter than the dish itself. If anything, venturing into the world of sweet sparklers is an opportunity to taste an excessive number of dishes with a variety of demi-sec champagnes, all in the name of “research”. Here are a few expert-recommended bottles to get you started.

1. Beau Joie Sugar King Demi-Sec

If you’re a fan of a bottle as lovely as its contents, Beau Joie is always a safe bet—the handmade latticed metal detail is a hallmark of winemaker Bertrand Senecourt’s Special Cuvée collection, which is made up of a brut non-vintage, a brut rosé, and Sugar King Demi-Sec. In its limited edition black bottle, this golden-pink wine is a classic champagne blend of pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay. Lush and decadent with plenty of balancing acidity, it features prominent peach and dried apricot on both the nose and palate, along with generous pastry notes on the finish. Mercedes Cowper, an accredited sommelier and virtual wine tasting host in the Washington, D.C. area, shares some insight on pairing champagnes like this with savory dishes: “Personally, I love pairing a higher acid, off-dry to sweet wine with curries and spicy foods, especially if the ingredients have dried or preserved fruits in them.” According to Cowper, these ingredients are complemented by the sweet, dried fruit characteristics often found in this style of champagne. Note that pairing a demi-sec with a main course can easily carry you and your dining companion(s) into the dessert course.

2. Billecart-Salmon Champagne Demi-Sec

Billecart-Salmon

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For fans of Billecart-Salmon’s classic brut bottling, the natural segue into sweet champagne will be the house’s distinctive demi-sec. A high-dosage version of the brut blend, this demi-sec shares many of its drier cousin’s same notes, like ripe pears and buttery pastry. Jamie Ritchie, Worldwide Head of Sotheby’s Wine, shares what makes this demi-sec one of his personal favorite non-vintage champagnes: “It is full-flavored (think brioche, with the perfect balance of bubbles, acidity, and sweetness) so it is bright and refreshing, yet satisfying—and perfect with all types of pastries and desserts, from biscuits to chocolate cake.”

3. Laurent Perrier Harmony Demi-Sec Champagne

Courtesy Laurent-Perrier

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Delicate is one of many words one might use to describe Laurent-Perrier’s Harmony Demi-Sec Champagne, a bottle beloved by wine experts for its chardonnay-forward blend full of toasted nuts and dried fruit on both the nose and palate. If you have the willpower to cellar this bottle for a few years, it will reveal layers of honey and juniper, but nobody would blame you if you failed to let it get to that point. Whether you drink it young or not, Harmony is an insane value for the cost, perfectly creamy in texture yet light as a feather on the finish. It’s a true treat, whether on its own, sipped with an unctuous, salty triple-crème cheese, or paired with a rich (but not overly sweet) dessert. “Try Laurent-Perrier Demi-Sec with a sweet potato pie or a Chicago-style cheesecake,” says Rousseau, who assures SAVEUR that Chicago does, in fact, make the best cheesecake (and is not sorry, for the record). The jury’s still out on that regional dessert debate, but if there’s one thing we do know, it’s that this pairing will leave you wanting a second serving (if not more).

The post In Defense of Demi-Sec: The Best Sweet Champagnes to Drink This Holiday Season appeared first on Saveur.

This article originally appeared on JancisRobinson.com. 

There are three reasons why choosing wine for Thanksgiving should be as easy as pie: 
One, we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years—we’re not exactly new to the game.
Two, turkey goes with everything and anything—it’s the ultimate white-canvas food.
Three, it’s about family, friends, sharing, celebrating—the one day in the whole year when pretentiousness should be thrown out the window.

On the other hand, there are three reasons why choosing wine for Thanksgiving is fraught with danger:
One, it’s about family, friends—often a potentially explosive mix of religion, politics, cultures, values, generations, barely concealed ancient feuds (and fundamentally incompatible notions on appropriate beverages). 
Two, it’s not about the turkey—it’s everything else. The sides, oh the sides, oh my aching sides. Mashed potatoes or maple-syrup-glazed carrots? Stewed collard greens or bacon-fried brussels sprouts? Corn bread or corn pudding? Crab cakes or oysters? Pumpkin empanadas or Jell-O salad?
Three, we’ve been doing it for hundreds of years—that’s a dinner influenced by the Indigenous Americans, English, French, Irish, Scottish, Italians, Chinese, Polish, Russians, Ukrainians, West Africans, Moroccans, Thai, Mexicans, Caribbeans, Germans, Spanish, Greeks, Dutch… I could go on. The rich roll call of cultural influences on American Thanksgiving interpretations is as complex as it gets.

With this thankless gridlock on our hands, wine choices could be pared down to two broad approaches:

Option A: If your Thanksgiving table is a smorgasbord of dishes, a chaotic clash of cultures and cuisines, a potluck or a complete unknown (you’re in charge of the wine but who knows what the cook is going to come up with)—basically one in which it’s going to be nigh on impossible to “match” wines to food—then match wines to people.

Option B: If your Thanksgiving is a food-centered devotion, an homage of theme and style, then match wines to food.

As option B is fraught with a bewildering number of permutations and really only possible once one has a specific menu to hand, we’ve gone with the situation you’re most likely to find yourself in—option A.

Ignoring the patently obvious fact that I’m ignoring all shades of grey, the group gathering around your table may be defined, in relation to wine, as snobs, nerds, philistines, or all sorts, each requiring a different approach in the wine aisle. Here’s a quick guide to Thanksgiving dinner-matching success. 

Snobs—the wines should preferably be traditional, classic, prestigious, and, especially, expensive…

• Cocktail: dry martini made with Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin, a bare spritz of Martini Extra Dry vermouth and a lemon zest twist.
• Fizz: Champagne, obviously, preferably regal and magnificent; Krug or Bollinger.
• White: Burgundy, perhaps vintage 2014 or even 2002 (Comtes Lafon, Leflaive, or Roulot).
• Rosé: do snobs drink rosé? Perhaps not, but if there was going to be a rosé on the table, it would have to be Domaine Ott.
• Red: Bordeaux (Châteaux Lafite, Latour, or Mouton (Pichon Baron if you’re slumming it) or a bordeaux blend from Napa (Opus One, Shafer).
• Dessert: Sauternes (Châteaux  Suduiraut or d’Yquem) and vintage port (Taylor’s, Graham’s ).
• Post-prandial: Armagnac (Darroze, Labaude, or Laberdolive).

Nerds—you’re looking for insider wines, a little quirky, perhaps made with wild yeasts and skin contact, from little known or forgotten regions, ancient vines, unpronounceable grape varieties, or, maybe even fruits other than grapes…

• Cocktail: negroni (perhaps made with Mommenpop Blood Orange vermouth, Don Ciccio & Figli’s Luna Aperitivo, and Bluecoat American dry gin), though real wine nerds will be reaching for the fino or manzanilla sherry—an Equipo Navazos La Bota, perhaps.
• Fizz: what could be more off-beat but essentially American than a bone-dry sparkling wine made from blueberries, Bluet Champagne Method; or a US-grown apple cider such as Eve’s Cidery Dry Sparkling cider? If you’re sticking to wine, look to New York’s Finger Lakes for bubbly (Damiani, Dr Konstantin Frank, Hermann J. Wiemer).
• White: Jura, sous voile, vin jaune or ouillé (Domaine du Pélican, Tissot).
• Amber/orange: go for amphorae/qvevri-aged wines from Friuli or Georgia (Gravner, Gotsa, Chona’s Marani).
• Rosé: look for earthy, idiosyncratic pinks, such as Clos Cibonne’s Tibouren or the iconic, fully mature R Lopéz de Heredia Rioja Gran Reserva Viña Tondonia.
• Red: embrace the thrilling field blends from California’s heritage vineyards (Bedrock, Carlisle, Forlorn Hope, Turley) or search out rare Italian varieties (try Pelaverga Piccolo).
• Dessert: Madeira might be considered the most traditional of dessert wines and has a long history in the US—Thomas Jefferson and George Washington both had a lifelong love of the wine—but it’s also an insider wine. Blandy’s and Barbeito lead the way (look for the brilliant Ricardo Freitas’s Historic Wine Series).
• Post-prandial: Apple brandy from the historic Laird & Company Distillery in New Jersey, or maybe the walnut or wild quince liqueurs from Distillerie Cazottes in south-west France.

Philistines—going by the Oxford Dictionary definition (“a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts”) and applying it to wine, which is why we’re here, the hard reality for us wine lovers is that festive gatherings of loved ones can be defined by total disregard for what is in the glass. As a wine lover, this situation requires careful handling. You want a beverage that you want to drink, but also something with universal appeal. Do not break the bank.

• Cocktail: Punch-House Spritz.
• Fizz: Valdobbiadene Prosecco (Adami, Bellenda, Ruggeri).
• White: Oregon chardonnay (Adelsheim, Phelps Creek, and Wetzel).
• Rosé: Provence—just avoid the celebrity brands which tend to be overpriced and overproduced and look instead for wines such as Commanderie de la Bargemone, Bieler Père et Fils, Ch La Gordonne.
• Red: Bojo and its slim-tannin, bright-fruit ilk are the wines to look for here: Beaujolais (Guy Breton, Chapel, Dominique Piron), Oregon gamay (Brick House, Love & Squalor) or California Valdiguié, aka Napa gamay (Broc, Cruse Wine Co, J Lohr).
• Dessert: who can resist an island wine? Try Donnafugata Ben Ryé Passito from Pantelleria, or a Samos muscat.
• Post-prandial: Bourbon. 

Allsorts—the nightmare mix of wine-snobbish, teetotal, beverage-obsessed, glug-anything, brand-name-dependent, as-long-as-its-sweet-and-fizzy, big-spenders, and tight-as-ebenezer friends and relatives. Everyone is a martyr to compromise. You need easy-drinking, good-quality, crowd-pleaser wines that will have enough fruit and freshness to go with anything.

• Cocktail: DIY (a table laden with vodka, gin, random mixers—hide the fancy tonics—a jug of sugar syrup, a pile of lemons, mountains of ice and leave them to get on with it).
• Fizz: Cava (Gramona, Juvé y Camps, Mestres, Sumarroca).
• White: Alentejo whites—delicious, inexpensive (Herdade do Rocim, Quinta do Mouro, Susana Esteban).
• Rosé: Rioja knows how to make food-friendly rosado, packed with fruit at good-value prices (CVNE, Marqués de Cáceres, Muga).
• Red: Argentine malbec (Vistalba, Zorzal, Zuccardi).
• Dessert: a younger Australian stickie (Campbells, Chambers Rosewood Vineyards, De Bortoli).
• Post-prandial: Rye whiskey. 

Thanksgiving is a time to be with people. I don’t often say this, but let the wine take a step back. 

Tamlyn Currin is a sustainability editor, staff writer, and resident food maven at JancisRobinson.com. For more international wine coverage and expert pairing advice, become a member.

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When driving through rural Maine’s hilly countryside, most wouldn’t think twice about the unremarkable low-lying fields beyond the road. But step onto one of those stretches of green and you’ll notice red-tipped leaves alongside emerald-hued foliage, tall white flowers dancing in the breeze, and tight bunches of ripening blueberries huddled together against the bluster. What may have appeared at first glance to be a mere meadow is in fact a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. This is a wild blueberry field, the bedrock of a burgeoning wine industry in Maine that could help save one of the state’s most precious heritage crops.

Wild blueberries—smaller and more tart than the produce aisle’s hybrid varieties, and genetically distinct from them—are indigenous to this state. “Maine wild blueberries are not to be grouped with hybrid blueberries from other states, nations, and continents,” says winemaker Michael Terrien, co-owner of Obsidian Wine Company and founder of Terrien Wines in Northern California, as he confidently threads his way through a blueberry field. Stopping abruptly, the Maine native bends down to examine a cluster of fruit—‘wild blues,’ as they are affectionately called. His eyes, the same color as his prized berries, radiate enthusiasm as he explains that the wild fruit has grown naturally in Maine for more than 10,000 years. Bushes are never planted; rather, farmers establish their businesses around naturally occurring shrubs. “Therein lies the fruit’s sustainability bonafides; we haven’t messed with the genes,” says Terrien, which means wild blueberries are inherently more resilient against pests and disease. 

“Maine is the only state with wild blues in any significant quantity,” he explains. However, “precisely because they have never been bred, they are at a commercial disadvantage to hybrids.” Yields are low: on average, a field can only produce about 2 tons per acre, according to the USDA and National Agricultural Statistics Service, far less than the 10 tons per acre of commercially bred varieties, and wild blues can only be harvested every other year. Competition from Canada—the only other place that grows wild blueberries abundantly enough to be commercially viable—is also hurting Maine’s farmers. In recent years, the value and volume of the state’s wild blues have fluctuated wildly: in 2017, prices dipped to 25 cents per pound (2021 saw some relief, with prices reaching 70 cents per pound), and in 2020, the crop’s yield fell below 48 million pounds, the lowest haul since 2004. 

Baked into muffins, folded into pancake batter, or eaten by the juicy handful are how most people know and love wild blues. But Terrien saw the potential for something more. The winemaker realized he could apply his vintner skills to the fruit—and help revive the struggling crop by increasing demand, generating interest, and providing farmers with more opportunities. 

Fruit wines are not a new concept, but many are cloyingly sweet. Terrien knew blueberries had all the components to make a dry, vinous-like wine. Blueberries contain sugars that can be converted into alcohol—part of the standard winemaking process. Plus, the naturally occurring antioxidants allow wines to age slowly, protect them against oxidation, and help keep the beverage stable, meaning little to no sulfur needs to be added. The one thing missing is tannins, which provide body and texture to wine. Through trial and error, Terrien and his co-founder Eric Martin found that adding bubbles to blueberry wine gave it a texturally interesting mouthfeel that replicated the sensations created by tannins. Finally, in 2014, Bluet was born.

The first sip of a blueberry wine is tart, but distinctly redolent of the namesake fruit. What follows on the palate is an elegant spice, calling to mind black pepper. With its acidity and sparkling texture, the beverage is lively and refreshing, not heavy or syrupy. It is, dare I say, surprisingly wine-like. 

Like all sparkling wines, blueberry wine should be served chilled, and its low level of 7% alcohol by volume (ABV) makes it ideal for the warm summer months. For an extremely easy cocktail, Terrien recommends adding a splash of triple sec and a sprig of mint.

Cognizant of the challenges facing wild blueberry farmers, the state introduced a bill in March to make the state’s Down East area, which is home to a dense population of blueberry fields, a National Heritage Area. If the bill passes, the resulting job opportunities and increased tourism will provide much-needed funding for the region’s agricultural industry.

Small farmers make up about 40 percent of the wild blueberry industry, and Terrien sources blueberries exclusively from these boutique farms to help them increase production and ultimately revenue. But one winemaker can’t shoulder an industry alone, which is why Terrien is encouraging other entrepreneurial souls to start their own wineries.

One protege is R.A.S., founded by Joe Appel, Dan Roche, and Emily Smith. The winery recently released the second vintage of its Arkadia blueberry sparkling wine. R.A.S.’s fruit, sourced from organic farms, goes through a longer maceration period than Bluet’s, which gives the wine a deeper color and more intense flavors. The makers also use naturally occurring yeast to kickstart fermentation. The result is a wine with an earthy and savory quality, and intense herbal notes reminiscent of pomegranate and rhubarb. And the company is not limiting itself to sparkling wine. The makers have also produced an aromatized wine called A7 Americano that infuses wild blueberry wine with organic herbs, spices, and fruit, then fortifies it with brandy. The resulting beverage can be used in vermouth-based cocktails such as Manhattans and Negronis, or enjoyed on the rocks. “We wanted to make a fortified/aromatized wine that could be used creatively as a mixer, but could also provide lots of pleasure when sipped on its own,” says Appel.

In this nascent industry, there’s plenty of room for experimentation. Terrien’s assistant winemaker, Davis Martinec, plans to harvest his first crop of blueberries this year for his own yet-to-be-named label. While he’s still figuring out his style, he knows one thing is clear: the quality will be there. “[In Maine] we don’t have to try and force something into a box, like trying to grow grapes where they don’t want to grow. Here, you’re taking a fruit that loves being here, that wants to be here, and making wine out of it.”

The post The Future of This Berry Is at Risk—Could a Burgeoning Wine Industry Come to Its Rescue? appeared first on Saveur.

New York City is arguably one of the toughest places in the world to open a brick-and-mortar business, let alone during the late-stage pandemic era with both commercial and residential rent prices skyrocketing despite tenants fighting tooth-and-nail. Right now, success stories in the cities can seem few and far between—but they taste that much sweeter when they do happen.

On June 28th, wine entrepreneur and Brooklyn native Marvina Robinson celebrated a major milestone for B. Stuyvesant—the first Brooklyn-based, Black-owned Champagne company—with the opening of her new tasting room in the heart of the borough’s historic Navy Yard. The brand, which Robinson launched in February 2020 after extensive research and tasting trips to France, endured countless challenges in the face of COVID-19. Ultimately, she was forced to relocate the business in the wake of the real estate market’s surge in prices, which (perhaps serendipitously) brought B. Stuyvesant to its current location. “The Navy Yard chose me,” Robinson shares. (A trip to the area’s grocery store inspired her to put in an inquiry on a listing, and, over the following days, things came together much more quickly than she’d anticipated.)

Housed inside one of the neighborhood’s industrial warehouse buildings, the chic open-concept space is a fitting juxtaposition of fine bubbles and city grit that could also mirror Robinson’s own journey into the wine scene. The energetic entrepreneur, who holds an undergraduate degree in biology from Norfolk State University and a Master’s degree in statistics from Columbia, spent years working in finance before a company downsize inspired her to pivot to a career in a totally different industry, inspired by a longtime affinity for drinking bubbles in her hometown.

Today, B. Stuyvesant’s core three cuvées—a classic brut Reserve, a traditional-blend rosé Champagne, and (our personal favorite) a Grand Reserve—are quickly gaining recognition in their new pied-à-terre, thousands of miles away from their somewhat buttoned-up home region. Also lining the shelves (and available online) are several limited-edition releases.

 A big part of Robinson’s vision with the space is to make the effervescent drink more approachable and fun (see that expertise on full display as she shows how to saber Champagne alongside fellow New Yorkers the Wine Migos). While sabrage likely won’t be one of the activities on offer inside the newly-renovated tasting room, it’s that joie de vivre and ease that defines the brand—and, not to worry, there will be plenty of other ways to get acquainted with the Champagnes. 

Currently, Robinson is starting to import grower Champagnes not yet available stateside, which she plans to incorporate into the tasting menu as a means of exposing visitors to the region’s diversity. “Every time I go to Champagne, I find a new grower champagne that is divine, and I want to bring more awareness to these brands,” she shares. In addition to the tastings, which are offered on an individual basis and in a class format, “We are beginning to host curated dinners—it is an amazing experience!” she tells us. 

Economic obstacles aside, Robinson is poised to become a source of inspiration for other budding entrepreneurs in the wine business—especially those who want to challenge industry norms. Her words of advice? “Don’t try and fit in—make your own waves to find your niche. Stick to your goals and visions and leave the fears behind.”

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Sangria, a wine-based cocktail spiked with fruit juice and brandy, and topped with seltzer water, is a summer mainstay for a reason. Just like the warmest season, it’s low-maintenance and high-reward: light and refreshing, easy to mix up by the pitcher, and excellent at using up scraps (overripe strawberries here, half an apple there).

The effervescent drink is also relatively low-alcohol, so you can sip any of our recipes all afternoon. (Because a big part of enjoying sangria is being transported to some Mediterranean terrace.) But you don’t need an inexpensive bottle of wine to find your place in the sun. Use those half-finished bottles from the night before and liven them up with summer fruits, sweet liqueurs like St. Germaine or Grand Marnier, and even grilled citrus. Like any good party, sangria is up for anything. And to keep the good times rolling, fix up a plate of barbecue filled with all of the grill essentials.

El Quitjote

This recipe starts with a base of light and fruity garnacha wine, which is then spiked with Spanish brandy and Bonanto, a bitter, white-wine-based aperitif flavored with 30 Mediterranean botanicals, sweet cherry, and orange peel. A few drops of store-bought balsamic reduction and a splash of cinnamon syrup enhances the sweetness, body, and complexity of the iced cocktail. Get the recipe >

Memorial Day White Sangria

Choose a high-acid, no-oak sauvignon blanc or similar white for this sophisticated version of the party wine drink from bartender Jon Santer of Prizefighter in Emeryville, California. Get the recipe >

Red Sangria

For his riff on the classic Spanish wine-based drink, Jon Santer of Prizefighter in Emeryville, California, layers on more fruity flavors with French apéritif Lillet Rouge and the orange cognac-based liqueur Grand Marnier. Get the recipe for Red Sangria »

Book Club Sangria

This sweet-tart wine punch was invented by members of the Junior League of Houston book club in the 1970s featuring a citrus forward base with ginger ale. Get the recipe >

Punch House Spritz

Everyone should have a house spritz, whose proportions are known by heart and ingredients are stocked easily, like this one from Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau of PUNCH. Get the recipe >

The Best Plastic Wine Glasses for Stress-Free Sipping

No more breakages >

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On the ground floor of Manhattan’s iconic Hotel Chelsea, neighborhood barflies—including many of New York City’s great creative minds—have long holed up in the kitchy El Quijote bar. Alongside massive helpings of lobster, paella, and chorizo, pitchers of vibrant red sangria were by far the drink pairing of choice from the time the restaurant opened in 1930 until it shuttered in 2018. 

This spring, the beloved El Quijote reopened, now under new management, and bar manager Brian Evans felt it was important to honor the establishment’s storied history with a similar sangria recipe, albeit refreshed and updated for the contemporary palate. His recipe starts with a base of light and fruity garnacha wine, which he spikes with Spanish brandy and Bonanto, a bitter, white-wine-based aperitif flavored with 30 Mediterranean botanicals, sweet cherry, and orange peel. A few drops of store-bought balsamic reduction and a splash of cinnamon syrup enhances the sweetness, body, and complexity of the iced cocktail. Evans batches the drink out by the gallon ahead of time, and just before serving, he transfers the mix into a pitcher of ice and fresh, sliced citrus, then tops everything off with lemon juice and a froth of effervescent Cava. The result is at once thoroughly retro and deliciously current.

Featured in “Pitcher-Perfect Sangria Recipes to Sip Through All Season.”

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When you look around Portugal’s Vinho Verde region, which is blanketed with emerald vineyards, it will seem obvious how the area got its name. But verde (Portuguese for green) refers to the style of wine—meant to be enjoyed soon after bottling—for which the region is best known: light, fresh, and quaffable, with just a hint of spritz to tease the tongue. It would be a shame to pigeonhole Vinho Verde, though, as just a place for picnic wines. Throughout the years, a focus on single-varietal bottlings such as Alvarinho, Loueiro, and other native grapes began to reveal a more complex side to Vinho Verde. Quinta de Santiago is among the wineries ushering in a renaissance.

Vinho Verde—including its especially celebrated winemaking subregion of Monçao e Melgaço—is nestled in the northwestern part of the country, where Spain winks at you from just a couple of miles away. This area is renowned for Alvarinho, a distinctive style of wine with bright citrus and tropical notes, not to mention salinity and minerality, that can be attributed to the location’s granitic soils and warmer climate. Bordered by the Minho River, and still relatively close to the ocean, the volley of sea and land provides some of the most soulful cuisine in all of Portugal, and Spain’s influence kisses many of the dishes. (Bacalhau, or cod, is popular—instigated by the Bacalhau Campaign, a mandate set in 1934 to expand the cod fishing industry in Portugal—and the abundance of livestock farms means lamb and pork weigh heavily into the diet.) It’s here in Monçao e Melgaço where Quinta de Santiago got its start.

The land on which this winery sits was purchased in 1899 by the great-grandfather of current proprietor Joana Santiago. Grapes were an afterthought on the family estate; fruit, livestock, and grains were the heart of the farm. The recognition of VinhoVerde as an official wine region in 1908—and the potential for a new agricultural industry—didn’t sway the polyculture on the estate either. It wasn’t until the 1970s, when growers in the region noticed that the Alvarinho grape variety was thriving more than the red grapes, that this type of wine saw a renaissance in Melgaço and began to supplant many of the less profitable red grapes. Joana’s grandmother, Maria de Lima Esteves Santiago, began to take an interest in viticulture—and quietly transformed the estate.

Affectionately called Mariazinha by her family, she was what one might now call a garagiste winemaker (someone who makes wine casually at home). She lacked formal wine training but built upon the rudimentary winemaking knowledge that was freely shared among neighbors to produce small amounts of wine. Flouting government regulations, Maria sold her back-of-house wines through the front door of the family home, while keeping up a legitimate business selling grapes.

The moon and its cycles influenced her work. She followed its rhythms, letting it dictate when to prune and plant. (For example, when the moon is in a descending phase in the sky, energy is directed towards roots and soils; this is the time to prune vines and spread compost.) A focus on natural composting to limit chemical fertilizers helped nurture the soils and the vines. Although her practices weren’t given any particular name at the time, she essentially followed what would today be considered biodynamic farming. 

As a young girl, Joana spent every vacation at her grandmother’s property working alongside Mariazinha in the vineyards and fields. Although Joana says the family was fairly aristocratic, the farm and the winery were Maria’s domain. “I never even saw my grandpa enter the winery,” Joana recalls with a laugh. And when Joana and Maria would retire for the day, they would head to the kitchen. Like her winemaking, Maria’s cooking was also guided by her intuition. Although she had collections of recipes, she still let her senses make the final decision when it came to adding a pinch of salt or extra dash of spice. Joana attributes her love of both cooking and winemaking to Maria. 

It might seem strange to make a life change at the age of 86, but when stars align, certain choices become inevitable. Not only was Monçao e Melgaço gaining popularity for its wines, Joana was then pregnant with her first child and ready to quit her job as a lawyer to build a business. “My grandmother challenged me not to start anything else,” Joana recalls. Maria pointed to the beautiful fruit on her vines and the popularity of her garagiste wines—and announced it was time to stop selling grapes and start making wine under the family name.

Joana’s father joined the ambitious women in the endeavor, and the Quinta de Santiago label instantly became a multigenerational affair. But Maria spearheaded the operation. She was the one to name the estate and put the now-signature hearts—inspired by embroidery styles of the region—on the label. She also worked with a trained winemaker to further refine the operation’s techniques.

Sadly, Maria passed away two years later. “2010 was the only vintage she ever saw in the market,” says Joana. But her legacy lives on through the estate’s winemaking techniques. Quinta de Santiago uses native yeasts for fermentation, which is not a very common practice in the region. Instead of immediately pressing and separating the juice from the skins, the winemakers put the wine through a short period of maceration to give it a bit of texture. And they continue to work as sustainably as possible in the winery and the vineyards, prioritizing water conservation, especially when it comes to irrigating vineyards, and limiting chemical use. The winery also actively participates in the Porto Protocol, an international non-profit organization focused on combating climate change in the wine industry. Joana’s grandmother’s presence still lingers in the estate, with Joana constantly pushing and evolving what is possible with their wines. And because bright acidity runs through all the bottles, the wines seem to channel the very energy of Maria herself. 

Given the estate’s focus on single-varietal whites, especially Alvarinho, it’s no surprise that white wines grace the table more often than reds in Joana’s home. Fermentation in oak barrels and judicious use of malolactic fermentation provides a roundness and structure to the citrus fruits that enable the whites to pair well with Maria’s rich or even unctuous dishes, some of which are preserved in her worn, dog-eared handwritten cookbooks, which are some of Joana’s most cherished possessions. Octopus rice is a must-have during the holidays, while lamb Monção roasted in the estate’s wood-burning oven always fills the kitchen with toasty aromas. One of Joana’s particular favorites is ham pudim, which reminds her of her grandmother’s sweet tooth.

Maria set in motion a new identity for the family—as winemakers. She taught them to take risks, to prioritize sustainability and low-intervention winemaking, and to make drinkers rethink what they know about wines from the Vinho Verde region. Today, Quinta de Santiago has graduated from a backyard project to a full-fledged winery—and Maria’s vision continues to be the guiding light.

Recipes

Foda à Moda de Monção (Portuguese-Style Leg of Lamb with Saffron Rice)

Tomato and Octopus Rice

Bacalao a Monção

Pudim Abade de Priscos

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