Credit article, Kate Dingwall
Le Blanc
Crisp & Balanced - 0.0%
From £29Credit article, Kate Dingwall
Founded by model Constance Jablonski and the Michelin Guide’s international development manager Maggie Frerejean-Taittinger (who also has her own ties to Champagne), French Bloom is an elegant alternative to Champagne for when the occasion calls for more than soda. (It’s even carried in Le Ritz-Paris and The Carlyle in New York.)
The blanc starts with Chardonnay grapes, turned into wine, then dealcoholized using a cold vacuum distillation process — the winemaker slowly heats the wine to burn off the alcohol while preserving the flavor. Additional ingredients, like lemon juice, build out the aromatics, before the wine is topped up with French sparkling spring water for big bubbles. Serve it well-chilled and in your nicest glassware. For those who like their bubbles in a rosier hue, there’s also a rosé.
This sparkling Verdejo is part of a second launch from Null wines, a thoughtful line of no-proof wines made with craft producers around the world. It joins a zippy red and a mineral-driven white to round out your table, but the sparkling wine is particularly yummy: clean, bright, and fizzy, with a lovely acidity and fresh notes of green apple. The Verdejo is made by Diez Siglos, who harvests vineyards high up in the Rueda region.
Lili’s line of sparkling wines suits every kind of drinker. Start with a more classic blanc de blanc(ish) white — bone-dry, floral, and citrus-driven. (Think fancy sparklers for people who like nice drinks.) Each iteration starts with a verjus, then Lili builds on flavors with a botanist’s arsenal of teas, fruits, and spices.
For pet-nat or lambrusco lovers, there’s also a strawberry-hued rose bottle and a deeper rouge ruby sparkling wine. The former is fizzy and floral, with notes of ripe strawberry and hibiscus while the latter has richer red fruit notes of cranberry and plum. Both offer bright, bold bubbles and are also available in single-serve cans (less committal than a bottle!).