The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper


Vol. 17 No. 9 - December 14, 2016

FEATURE

It's time for toasting

Anna Maria Island Sun News Story

submitted

Enjoy pomegranate and orange shrimp salad over the holiday.

 

There has always been a good reason for most of us to take a drink because it's hot or we're thirsty or maybe to wash down a bite to eat. There are occasions though that call for something special to drink – birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and, yes, New Years Eve. The beverage of choice for those special moments is more often than not going to be champagne or a close relative, sparkling wine.

The best sparkling wines are made in cool climates. It is said the best are made in Champagne, the most northerly wine growing region in France. The grapes grown there, pinot noir, chardonnay and petite meunier, have a difficult time fully ripening there, making them quite tart until they go through the champagne making process.

The skilled winemakers juggle the different fruit flavors, usually from different years, with yeasts and sugar in order to develop the subtle, unique flavors they develop while aging in the cellars. Each champagne house has its own style. Most of them produce vintage champagne in special years, varying in flavor with the vintage and making them more expensive to make.

Nonvintage champagnes can be blended to be more consistent in style from year to year. If you prefer a light and creamy style go for a blanc de blanc, made from 100 percent chardonnay. For more flavor look for more pinot in a rosé blend, or you can go for a blanc de noir, made from all black grapes.

Made in the traditional methode champenoise, the wines are first aged in barrels, tasted, blended, and then transferred to bottles with sugar and yeast for further aging. The bottles are then inverted and rotated to allow the sediment to settle, after which the necks will be frozen, the corks popped and sediment removed. The final dosage, a blend of reserved wine and sugar, is lastly added to determine the sweetness of the final wine. Most champagne is sold in the Brut style with 1.5 percent residual sugar. Drier still is extra brut or you can go sweeter with extra sec, sec or doux, each getting sweeter.

Made in the Champagne district, all of these wines can be labeled Champagne on the label. If made anywhere else by these methods, the wines can be labeled methode champenoise.

Sparkling wine can also be made by adding the yeast and sugar in a vat or barrel and allowing the bubbles to form in this method. These wines will be labeled charmat, but they will not be as good as wines produced in the traditional method. Sparkling wines produced elsewhere can't be called true Champagne, but some are still quite good and not nearly as expensive. California and New Zealand both produce several quality products, and you also can try sparkling shiraz from Australia. France also has Cremant de Loire and Cremant D'Alsace, made from different grapes. If you go Italian, you have the sweeter styles of Asti Spumante, Moscato d'Asti and prosecco. Spain offers some great cavas, some of the best values in sparkling wines. The choices go on and on.

We are proud to offer several of these wines from six different regions covering six distinct styles for your toasting pleasure. One of the best features of these wines is their ability to pair with a variety of foods. Depending on the style of the wine you can pair them with the most delicate seafood to a highly seasoned sausage stuffed mushroom. Please, try several, you might be pleasantly surprised. Until next time.

Pomegranate & Orange Shrimp Salad

Ingredients:

1 # 31-31 salad shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium shallot, small diced
1 celery stalk, small diced
1 green onion, minced
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp.  celery seed
2 Tbs. spicy yellow mustard
1/3 c. mayonnaise

Directions:

Season two cups of shrimp or chicken stock with salt and pepper, then bring to boil in a medium sauce pot. Once boiling, add shrimp and bring back to a boil. Let shrimp cook for 3-4 minutes, drain and cook. Toss shrimp with the rest of the ingredients. Chill for 30 minutes and serve with your favorite crackers or flatbreads.


AMISUN ~ The Island's Award-Winning Newspaper