Chappish!

It's from France, but it isn't Champagne. It also doesn't cost like Champagne. It is a cremante de Bourgogne, a sparkling chardonnay. It's quite good for the price, better than some sparkling wines costing half again or twice as much as this unpretentious offering. In the USA, this wine currently sells for about ten dollars a bottle. Pale gold in color, and bubbly, this wine has a nose of apples and lime with a whiff of yeast. The flavor follows the apples and bread profile typical of Champagne, but with a bit of pineapple in the background. There is a lack of the depth and resonance Champagne's mix of grape varietals gives, leaving this wine a bit one-dimensional, but it is tasty and well made. The finish is a trifle sour, but not unpleasantly so; think green apple skins, not vinegar. If you think of this as a white table wine that happens to sparkle, not a festive wine for special celebrations, you will find many things to pair it with. It's a natural

It's unusual, unconventional, surprising, and along with that, it's very good. Its color in the glass is a deep pink, tending toward dark fuschia. The nose is like the ambiance of barrels of aging wine, along with a vivid impression of cherry lollipop. The lollipop motif continues in the flavor, with an added dimension of pomegranate and an herbal hint: bison grass, or near enough. The finish is sweet, long, herbal and slightly floral. The grapes used to make this wine are touriga franca and tinta roriz, with none of the touriga nacional that is the usual mainstay in making Port. That contributes to the unique character. The wine, quite sweet, is fortified to an attention-getting 20%. Pairings: My first thought is that this wine is good enough, and peculiar enough, to merit serving on its own as a sipping wine and a conversation piece. Serving it with ice cream or custard would be good too. Experiment. This wine is not usual, so no usual rules apply.

This is an outstanding value, a well made, quite drinkable brut sparkling wine in the style of Champagne. It is from New Mexico, of all places, is made from chardonnay and pinot noir, and gets 24 months of bottle fermentation. The pale straw color and tiny bubbles are attractive in the glass. The nose is rather simple, tart apples and bread, and that combo is reiterated in the flavor. This wine is not complex but it is well harmonized, tasty and easy to like. The flavor on the finish lingers and is--once again--of a tart apples motif, with a mineral, wet stone hint. Serve this as you would any brut, as an aperitif or with hors-d'oeuvres, with shellfish, poultry or cream-sauced pasta, with egg dishes, or (brut is very versatile) with a seared steak. If you are fond of Champagne cocktails, such as the French 75,  ixnay on using the expensive stuff, for in a mixed drink Gruet will work quite well, while the greater sophistication of a costlier wine would be diluted and perhaps

Mostly I skip the chardonnay and serve something else, thinking the type too typical: It is popular because it is safe and nondescript. But there are some chardonnays that stand out for being particularly well-crafted and tasty, worth drinking because they are examples of winemaking excellence. Rombauer's is just such a one. It comes from Carneros, Napa Valley, California, and follows the usual pattern of California Chardonnays, fruity and oaky, but does it better than most. The wine shows a pale gold color and is lightly scented with melon and tropical fruit notes. The flavor is pleasingly complex, apple and peach, with grace note of butter, pineapple and vanilla. The finish is agreeably tart, with a mineral hint. My review is of the 2017 vintage, but this is a very reliable label: good every year, consistently fruity, smooth and rich. This wine cries out to be paired with seafood, but if you are having roasted fowl, I would never say you were wrong for siding it with this ch