Other European Sparkling Wine
This section of SWA varies massively – uninspiring one year, exciting the next. And after a couple of questionable years in 2018 and 2019, this was one of our best. We saw a huge variety of Euro fizz come in this year – from bargain basement Spaniards to aristocratic Franciacortas, serious Germans to playful Moscato, all backed up by a heartening entry of bustling French crémants.
From cheap to champagne prices, classical to somewhat odd, this is like a giant vinous lucky dip for the buy-curious sommelier. If you’re aiming to pep up your sparkling offering with something a bit different, this is a fantastic place to go looking.
From The Tasting Teams
‘The birch sap had good individual character at a price point for experimentation. The nearest thing I can compare it to is a sparkling saké.’ Tim Handley, Royal Automobile Club
‘There’s a world of Italian sparkling wine outside of prosecco.’ Tom Forrest, team leader
‘French sparklers are better at the value end. As a sommelier you want to steer away from prosecco, and this tends to hit that spot.’ Timothy Connor, Heddon Street Kitchen
‘The best quality in the French flight probably lay with the cheapest ones.’ Olivier Marie, team leader
‘I enjoyed the Loire wines here. For restaurants they work really well as aperitifs, or by the glass.’ Salvatore Russo, The Hippodrome Casino
‘In the Italian flight there were wines that stood out in every price bracket. Not your typical prosecco that everyone is familiar with, but different flavours, in an interesting way.’ Savvas Symeonidis, Goodman Restaurant Mayfair
‘There’s a lot of [Italian] sparkling out there that’s way better than prosecco. It’s good because people might think that sparkling wine from Italy is all one thing.’ Immacolata Cannavo, Hakkasan Mayfair
‘The German sparkling was absolutely great, really serious and could easily compete with anything at the champagne price point.’ Tim Handley, Royal Automobile Club