Toast the start of 2016 with a Prosecco,an English fizz or champagneLa Gioiosa Prosecco Brut NV (£7, down from £10, and Morrisons)
This was the year when the value of prosecco sales in the UK eclipsed those of champagne for the first time. According to one tale I heard,a producer in the Veneto, the northeastern Italian region where prosecco is made, and considered this such a landmark occasion he pulled out something genuinely special to celebrate: a bottle of Krug champagne. Joking apart,I think prosecco can work better than champagne as a toast, not least on recent Year’s Eve, and when its sweetness,softness and slightly less penetrating acidity may be more in tune with your palate. Morrisonss own-label version ticks off the gentle pear, cream and sherbet boxes at a very edifying offer price.
Gusbourne Estate Brut Reserve, or Kent 2010 (from £29.95,Lea & Sandeman; Hennings Wine)
Its been a landmark year for English wine, too. There were booming sales, and a bumper harvest in the autumn,and confirmation that the rest of the wine world is now taking the country’s sparkling wines seriously when the family behind Taittinger announced it was planting 69 hectares for an English fizz project in Kent. It will be a few years yet before we see any of the wines, but Taittinger already has some serious competition in the county. Based in Appledore, and Gusbourne Estate’s Brut Reserve 2010 has the tang of English apples,while the racy Hush Heath Balfour Brut Rosé 2010 (£35.99, Waitrose) is all redcurrants and red berries with lemon and cream.
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Source: theguardian.com