Sparkling alternatives to traditional festive tipples
Sparkling alternatives have grown in popularity over the past decade, and for good cause: they’re fun, curious, and don’t necessarily leave you with Champagne breath.
And while for many people, Christmas is a time to splash the cash on Champagne for some celebratory sparkle, it’s not the only fizz in town.
Arthur Metz Crémant Brut, £11.61 from Ocado. If you have guests who insist on their fizz being French then display some savvy with a Crémant and save yourself a few pounds in the process. Its effervescent charms are akin to its more illustrious compatriots while the fresh, light and fruity flavours will suit whatever the festive season asks of it.
Ichnokura Brewery Suzune Wabi Premium Sparkling Sake 375ml, £26 from Harvey Nichols. Even if saké is not your preferred tipple, you’ll likely find sparkling saké delectably drinkable. It has a whisper of sweetness, but none of the cloying brassiness of prosecco. It’s less alcoholic than Champagne, making it perfect for drinking in abundance, and pairs beautifully with both savoury and sweet foods.
Once Upon a Tree, Chapel Pleck Sparkling Perry, £12.50. Naturally sweet, crisply tannic, light and fruity – you could make a strong case for perry being a better food-pairing bubbly than cider. Made using the traditional Champagne method, this perry has the best possible bubbles to go with the full-bodied flavour of fermented pears.
Hattingley Valley Brut Rosé, £37.75 from The Whiskey Exchange. This rosé will certainly keep you in the pink this Christmas. Creamy, bubbly and full of fruity flavours, with strawberry to the fore, it’s a classy English wine to savour.
Gosnells London Mead, £3.39 from Beerhawk. Mead is an ancient brew made by fermenting honey. The waft of honey immediately gets the senses twitching, while the taste buds will be treated to light citrus flavours that gently fade to a dry finish. Full of character and an excellent choice with which to welcome guests and create an impression.
Win-e Verdejo Sparkling White Wine, £7.99 from Drydrinker.com. This dealcoholised Spanish wine is an outstanding option, with acidic grape and peachy fruits flavours harmonising in a surprisingly vinous body that tricks you into thinking it contains alcohol. A drink that’s both fizzy and fun.
Real Kombucha Dry Dragon Sparkling Green
Tea, £8 from Drydrinker. com. Pop the cork, pour this pale, cloudy, fermented tea and your glass will quickly form a crescendo of bubbles. As they subside you’ll notice a fruity tea aroma and a flavour that starts slightly sweet and lemony and finishes crisp and dry. A fresh alcohol-free option.
Boon Oude Geuze, £5.89 from Beerwulf. If you’re a beer drinker who wants to join in with the cork-popping action then grab yourself a geuze. Fermented with wild yeasts in Belgium it’s naturally bubbly and has a slightly sour tang to it. Boon Oude Geuze is great!
Savyll Bellini, £11.99 for a six-can case from Savyll. It’s sweetly sparkling, pleasantly peachy, has a hint of musty grape in the background – and alcohol-free, so, unlike a boozy Bellini, you’re free to enjoy as many as you like.
Pilton Keeved Cider, from £8.49 from Pilton Cider. If you think cider lacks the sophistication for Christmas, then perhaps you’ve not come across keeved cider.
It’s made by a process that involves a secondary fermentation at a cold temperature and produces a drink that is naturally sweet and sparkling, without the boozy teeth of a strong farmhouse cider.
It’s quite an art, which Somerset’s Pilton Cider has perfected, and few things go so well with food as their delicious apple nectar.