This review was contributed by Budget Vino alumni Jen Benz. It's pretty darn funny.
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Loyal Budget Vino readers:
I have a confession. I've been holding out on you. I've been holding
out on reviewing my favorite budget sparkling wine. You know when
something is so good you're afraid that if everyone knew about it, it
might not be as appealing? Like your fav indie band that is now
over-played and doing a stadium tour? Or, that great "underground"
author who's now doing the talk show circuit? It's no excuse, I know.
I'm ashamed and I'm sorry. But, once you try Rotari, you won't blame me
for wanting to keep things quiet.
Rotari Brut Arte Italiana is across the board one of the
tastiest most-drinkable sparkling wines out there. It is on the dry
side, but light and refreshing. It's good for brunch or as a mimosa.
It's good for a picnic. It's good for a fancy meal. It is good with
food. It is good without food. And if, like me, you think there's an
excuse to drink sparkling wine pretty much any day of the week, Rotari
will leave you relaxed and cheerful and maybe even inspired--and
definitely not broke (at about $8 a bottle).
I discovered Rotari after a friend did the leg work to taste
nearly every bottle of under-$10 sparkling available in the San
Francisco area (if only there was a lasting record of all that budget
wine tasting!). At the time he was dating a girl who insisted on
drinking Veuve Clicquot every time they got together. At $35-40 a
bottle and a somewhat lengthy courtship, that was getting expensive.
So, he set out to find a suitable replacement for Veuve. (No comment on
the sensibilities of continuing to date a woman
high-maintenance enough to require a $40 bottle of champagne on every
date, that's another blog all together).
Anyway, after a
series of very unscientific taste tests, he determined that Rotari is
the closest you can get to Veuve for under ten bucks. It even has a
nice yellow label to match. Proud of his new discovery, we all quickly
learned of Rotari and have never looked back.
I actually much prefer Rotari to Veuve and you can find a
bottle (or more) in my fridge at almost any time. For New Year's Eve,
we purchased about 25 bottles, which seemed completely rational for a
party of about 25 people. Most people brought their own bottles and
Rotari was the hands-down fav, even with a few over-$50 bottles thrown
in the mix. For further credentials, The Bellagio in Vegas sells
Rotari for about $45 a bottle -- even in their VIP rooms, according to
my sources.
Definitely buy it. But, please, save me a bottle.
(And, no, that girl is no longer in the picture. Lucky for us, Rotari is still around.)
Recommendation: Definitely buy it
