I hope you had a great new years, and that you had a chance to try one of the two great sparkling wines recommended before the holiday. To kick off the new year, I figured we should start where we left off- with a review of another sparkling wine. Like the previous recommendation, this review is contributed by Jen Benz- sparkling wine lover.
Ballatore Gran Spumante
I stocked up on under-$10 sparklings on a recent trip to BevMo. Seeing a whole wall of less-than-$10-sparking wine does make one a little suspicous of the quality, but I was wooed by the Ballatore Gran Spumante because of its claim to a "Double Gold Medal" at the 2005 California State Faire Wine Competition. Double Gold?!? It must be good! (And, only $7!)
I opened this bottle at a friend's fundraiser brunch, after a bottle of Cava (one of my all-time favorite sparkling wines--look for a future review) was used for my first mimosa of the morning. I only mention the Cava because it may have put the Spumante at a slight disadvantage from the start.
I opened the bottle and it looked nicely bubbly and at first had a pleasant aroma. After pouring a couple glasses and giving it a nice sniff, the wine seemed overly sweet and perfumy -- with quite a flowery aroma. And, it tasted the same. Very very sweet. One fellow taster called it "exceptionally sweet" and I don't think she meant in a good way. The wine does have a nice flavor, but is sweet enough to almost pass as a dessert wine.
What's a girl to do with less-than-perfect sparking wine? Turn it into a mimosa, of course. The Spumante was better with the orange juice but I much prefer a mixture of OJ and dry sparkling wine. This one is just too sweet for my tastes.
Recommendation: Unless you like super sweet, skip it.
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