S.W AND RICH HERMANSEN
Staff Writers
wine@lbknews.com
Sparkling wine has a special role on Valetine’s Day. The rising bubbles in two
glasses reflect a shared expression of joy in a romantic evening.
The venues of romantic evenings depend on the locale. Favorite restaurants in the Sarasota area, for example, feature outdoor tables and fresh seafood. The ice and snow in the northern cities bring the occasion indoors to a cozy room with candles and a fireplace. Sparkling wines dispel the winter gloom.
So what sparkling wine do you order for Valentine’s Day?
In a chic French restaurant, choose a Champagne. For a memorable Champagne, say the Bruno Paillard, Rose Première Cuvée at Maison Blanche on Longboat Key Florida, expect to pay about twice the retail price ($80). Should price be no object and you have a yen to impress someone who knows Champagne, choose a vintage Champagne with a year next to it on the wine list. The Champagne houses usually blend Champagne from more than one vintage in the wine that they release in a vintage year, but when a vintage has all the virtues of a great wine, they bottle only the wine from that vintage and label it with the year. The Louis Roederer “Cristal” 2013 ($400) comes from a great vint
Due to the many quality standards of the Champagne region of France, other producers of sparkling wines offer much better deals. Close to Maison Blanche, Harry’s Continental Kitchen in addition to fine Champagne offers a Method Charmant sparkling wines; that is, a wine made fermented in tanks, similar to Italian Prosecco, with Colombard and other grapes from Burgundy or Bordeau. The Veuve du Vernay, Brut Sparkling Wine, France, has a fresh, fruit nose and a crisp taste that works well on Valentine’s Day as a less expensive alternative to Champagne (Chardonnay or Pinot Noir grapes fermented in the bottle).
Sparkling wines made in the same style as Champagne usually have Methode Champenoise on the label. The French Crémant, the Spanish Cava, and the USA sparling wines from French Champagne houses usually have the same varieties of grapes and use the same Methode Champenoise method for fermenting wine in the bottle, as do some of the Italian spumante wines. All of these will put the sparkle in your Valentine’s Day evening.
S. W. Hermansen has used his expertise in econometrics, data science and epidemiology to help develop research databases for the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Agriculture, and Health Resources and Services. He has visited premier vineyards and taste wines from major appellations in California, Oregon, New York State, and internationally from Tuscany and the Piedmont in Italy, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale in Australia, and the Otego Valley in New Zealand. Currently he splits time between residences in Chevy Chase, Maryland and St. Armand’s Circle in Florida.
Rich Hermansen selected has first wine list for a restaurant shortly after graduating from college with a degree in Mathematics. He has extensive service and management experience in the food and wine industry. Family and friends rate him as their favorite chef, bartender, and wine steward. He lives in Severna Park, Maryland.
