A Spring Sparkling Offer

Although authentic, high quality and downright delicious sparkling wine is not inexpensive to produce, it doesn’t need to cost the earth. Nor does it need to hail exclusively from the Champagne region. So, in honour of a certain upcoming horse race, that will once again stop the nation, we thought it timely to highlight a collection of some of our finest sparkling wines. Hailing from the finest growers in the Loire Valley, Beaujolais, Piemonte, and with only one from Champagne, all the wines below have an individual style and quality that reflect their terroirs. What’s more, these are wines that comfortably hold their own against many of the more recognizable (big brand) Champagne available. All things being equal, (and they often aren’t when it comes to wine) few of the big name Champagne houses can produce wines with the kind of refreshment, excitement and sense of place that is expressed in, say, a hand-made Montlouis Brut from Francois Chidaine. The main reason for this is that all the wines offered here grown with the kind of care and attention your average Chef de Cave could only dream of.

The wines below come from two of the Loire Valley’s most celebrated... read more