Sparkling wines for New Year's Eve

This year, leave the champagne behind and try a fun, and sometimes fruity, sparkling wine for your New Year's Eve celebration instead. Here are a few suggestions for sparkling wines made by local Lehigh Valley Wine Trail wineries:

Amore Vineyards

• White Mist - Slightly dry, tingly and sparkling.
• Celebration - Pink, sparkling, spicy fun.
• Blueberry Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural blueberry flavor.
• Peach Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural peach flavor. Blend it with orange juice  to make a great mimosa.
• Strawberry Mist - Sweet and bubbly with natural strawberry flavor.

Clover Hill Winery

• Blackberry Sparkler - A sweet, sparkling wine made with blackberry
• Brut - Produced in the traditional method of making sparkling wine, Méthode Champenoise, our Brut has no perceivable sweetness, showcasing yeasty and fruity flavors.
• Generations Sparkling Pinot Noir - Made in the Méthode Champenoise fashion, this sparkling wine is produced from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from our Broxspen Vineyard. This dry sparkler shows delicate flavors of strawberry mingling with a classic yeasty flavor.

Pinnacle Ridge

• Brut Rosé
• Blanc de Blanc 

Franklin Hill

• Brut (Methode Champenoise)

Keep in mind that at this time of year supplies may be limited for some sparkling wines.  So we suggest calling ahead to the winery you plan to visit to verify they still have the one you want in stock.

Here are a few tips for your sparkling wine, courtesy of Clover Hill:

* Always have your bubbly well chilled prior to opening. We suggest putting the bottle in the refrigerator for a couple hours and then the freezer for 20 minutes prior to opening.
*As much fun as it is to shake the bottle and shoot the cork, you do lose most of the wine when you do so!  Remove the wire hood on the bottle and keep your thumb on top of the cork. Hold the cork in one hand and slowly twist the bottle. Always have a towel and a champagne flute close by.
*Sparkling wines always add a festive feel to any celebration, but they are also great food wines. Some of our favorite bubbly pairings include a creamy brie with quince paste, steamed Cape Cod lobsters, crab stuffed mushrooms or smoked salmon.
 
Happy New Year!