Sommelier selections
The countdown’s on. Bid farewell to 2017 and celebrate the New Year in style with reds, whites and bubblies for every budget, starting with pétillant naturel, a natural sparkler dubbed pét-nat for short.
“It’s trendy. It’s an upand-coming sparkling wine. It’s the oldest style of sparkling wine, so it’s not new. People just forgot about it,” said sommelier Zach Morris, owner of Haverford’s Green Engine Coffee Co. and former edu- cation director at the Wine School of Philadelphia.
Another plus: “Most of them have an interesting name or label, so it makes more of a conversation piece.”
Wine specialist Robert Peters of Fine Wine & Good Spirits in Ardmore enjoys American sparklers with French roots like Gruet, made in New Mexico.
“Who would think you’d have sparkling wine from NewMexico?” he asked. “Everyone knows the big French names, but nobody knows these smaller pro- ducers.”
Also try Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut or Domaine Carneros Brut by Tattinger — both from California.
When it comes to champagne, “you can’t go wrong with Veuve Clicquot, Piper-Heidsieck, or Moët & Chandon,” described Ben de Saint Etienne, purchasing manager at Normandy Farm in Blue Bell.
Prefer a bottle of red or white?
“For the holidays and the colder weather, I re-