Sparkling RED wines?

Any comment?

I’ve had some sparkling shiraz that really surprised me—very tasty. I don’t have any specific recommendations, but I’m for sparkling wine in all colors (as long as it’s not overly sweet) !

I’ve come to adore sparkling roses’ (where does the apostrophe go?) Need to try these also. Thanks.

I’ve recently come to really love sparkling Lambrusco – it’s truly versatile and not at all sweet and cloying, as I might have imagined it to be. The one I’ve been enjoying is Francesco Vezzelli MoRosa, available at Moore Bros. in DE, NJ and NYC.

Thanks for the specific rec. I’ll try to find it out west.

That might be difficult because Moore Brothers works almost exclusively with small wine producers. That said, there are probably many other sparkling Lambruscos from the same region (Modena) that you’d enjoy. https://store.moorebrothers.com/inventory/10192/lambrusco-di-sorbara-morosa-francesco-vezzelli-nv/

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I had a great sparkling red back in Berlin many summers ago. A small wine store had recommended it as the perfect summer wine. Unusual? Yep. But mighty tasty.

And served chilled.

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I have had vinho verde in red and rose as well as white, from Conde Villar. Light and summery, so perhaps it might have to wait until next year (at least in my area!), but delicious.

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Really? Love white vinho verde. I’ll keep an eye out. Thanks.

I had the rose at La Fia, @CindyJ. Later found the red somewhere and the white at Hockessin Liquors.

I don’t think I’ve ever been to Hockessin Liquors. Is it a good place to shop for wine?

I mean the place on Yorklyn Rd., which is actually called Hockessin Wine & Liquors (Hockessin Spirits is the one on 41 in the little shopping center where 2 Fat Guys is). Sorry, my mistake. Anyway, the Yorklyn Rd. one is a good place for wine. The actual Hockessin Liquors is not as good, but not terrible.

@catholiver → not to be overly technical (or nit-picky) but it’s not an apostrophe, it’s an accent, as in “rosé” . . .

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There is a significant difference (IMHO) between sparkling red wines and those sparkling wines which are, in fact, rosés – techniques are different; results are different; the wines are totally different.

In terms of those wines produced in the U.S., the “original” (roughly) was Henri Marchant Cold Duck – see this 60-second TV commercial from the 1960s or '70s – which was a blend of “Sparkling Burgundy” and Extra Dry “Champagne,” both of which were produced in upstate New York. True (red) “Sparkling Burgundy” was also produced in California by Beaulieu Vineyards and Korbel (via the méthode champenoise, aka méthode traditionelle). Gallo under their “André” label (and others) capitalized on the popularity of Henri Marchant and produced Cold Duck, too, with Paul Masson taking it one step further by calling theirs Very Cold Duck. (Indeed, Korbel still produces their “Rouge,” which is a full red wine produced from Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon, with about 1% residual sugar.)

Then there were the Lambruscos popular here in the 1970s (Riunite and Cella), which were both candy-sweet and were frizzante rather than truly sparkling (true Lambrusco, which one can now find in the US, is MUCH better than those!), but these types of cloyingly sweet sparkling reds all but disappeared from the States – thankfully . . .

In the 1990s, Sparkling Shiraz from Australia hit the US shores, and was promoted as (among other things) the wine to serve with the American Thanksgiving turkey! Some of these wines can be quite wonderful, but these are full-blown red wines (definitely not rosés) and can be quite shocking when first experienced . . .

Unfortunately I was of drinking age during the reign of Cold Duck :slight_smile: Thanks for a great explanation. If one were looking for one of these today - I’m rather disinclined honestly - would it be the Shiraz that we’d be likely to find?

That depends upon where you live (which I do not know). I would guess you’d be more likely to find a real Lambrusco, however.

Jason – how do you define “real Lambrusco”?

i like the australian sparkling red called “the black chook.”
tasty wine at a good price.

Well, it’s certainly NOT Riunite or Cella! :wink: These were the candied, almost sugary-sweet Lambruscos popular in the US in the '60s and '70s. “Real” Lambrusco secco is a dry, earthy and slightly bitter wine yet joyful, refreshing, and – while never “serious” in the same way that people revere Barolo or Burgundy, say – is a lot more serious than those two brand names from the 20th century. As the WSJ put it, “[M]ost wine drinkers still think of Lambrusco as a sweet, fizzy red, which it can be (i.e. Riunite), though it can also be quite savory and dry. And it’s not only red—it can be white or rosé. It can also be totally sparkling or practically still, though fizzy (frizzante) is its most common style. A good Lambrusco gives good foam.”

Think of the difference as something akin to Sutter Home White Zin versus a Côtes du Rhône rosé, or even Gallo Spañada versus a sangria you get in Spain or one you make yourself!

Here are a random handful of suggestions . . .
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Semi Secco, Tenuta Pederzana
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Pruno Nero, Cleto Chiarli
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Monovitigno, Fattoria Moretto
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, Cantina Puianello
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce, Luciano Saetti
Lambrusco di Sorbara, Francesco Vezzelli
Lambrusco dell’Emilia, Albinea Canali

Thanks, Jason. It so happens, I’ve recently become a fan of Lambrusco di Sorbara, Francesco Vezzelli, and I’ve got a couple of bottles on hand as I write, so I guess I’m on the right track.