Back 10 Cellars Smitten Sparkling – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Back 10 Cellars Smitten Sparkling! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see…     The Smitten Sparkling is produced by Back 10 Cellars in Ontario, Canada. Back 10 began as dream in a cafe in 1999 – how romantic is that? As luck would have it, the future owners came across a plot of land in quaint Beamsville and founded the winery. Not only that, but they founded Crush on Niagara Wine Tours, which just so happened …

Pommery Brut Royal Champagne – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Pommery Brut Royal Champagne! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see… The Pommery Brut Royal Champagne is produced by Champagne Pommery in Reims. We all know a certain Veuve that took control of a major champagne house, but did you know that another Veuve – the Veuve Jeanne Alexandrine Louise Mélin Pommery – took control of the Champagne Pommery house in 1860? Louise was an early #GirlPower pioneer, not only because she ran a business at …

Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut Champagne! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see…     The Grand Brut Champagne is one of the signature wines of Épernay’s Perrier-Jouët and you may recognize it from its Art Nouveau label. Don’t know much about Art Nouveau? Nouveau problem! This style of art was inspired by organic forms, like the curved lines of flowers, and was popularized in Paris in the late 1800’s. The floral motif, indicating both delicacy and craftsmanship, …

Foss Maraï Extra Dry Prosecco – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Foss Maraï Extra Dry Prosecco! With its non-Italian sounding name and distinctive blue bottle, how could we not give this sparkling a go? 😁 Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see…     E, come se dice … ? “Foss,” in the local Venetian dialect, means ditch and “Maraï” is the name of a valley in Guia, Italy where Foss Maraï Extra Dry Prosecco is produced by the Biasiotto family. Wine production on the Foss …

A Sparkling Niagara Icewine Festival

Icewine is the crown jewel of the Ontario wine industry, and is celebrated every January at the Niagara Icewine Festival! Thanks to Wine Country Ontario we had the pleasure of attending this year’s spectacular kick off event – the Xerox Icewine Gala – which left an absolutely sparkling impression on us! 😍

Château des Charmes Brut Sparkling – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’ve got Château des Charmes Brut Sparkling in our flutes! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Read on to find out…     We love Ontario sparkling wines for many reasons. One being the fact that they’re crafted right here in our own backyard, and another being the fact that they’re freaking GREAT! Here in Southern Ontario growing conditions mirror that of the Champagne in France, and many wine makers take an “old world” approach to crafting their wines. [eltd_separator class_name=”” type=”normal” …

Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésimé 2006 Champagne – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’ve got Laurent-Perrier Brut Millésimé (Vintage Brut) 2006 in our glasses! Is this vintage Champagne a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see! [eltd_separator class_name=”” type=”normal” position=”center” color=”” border_style=”” width=”” thickness=”” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=””] [eltd_separator class_name=”” type=”normal” position=”center” color=”” border_style=”” width=”” thickness=”” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=””] Laurent-Perrier was founded in 1812 by André Michel Pierlot in Tours-sur-Marne. The village of Tours-sur-Marne is located at the crossroads of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, three big deal wine …

Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava! This popular Spanish sparkling is known the world over for it’s distinct black label bottle – but, is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see… Freixenet (pronounced “fresh-eh-net”) is a large winery from Catalonia, located just to the north of Barcelona in the Penedès region of Spain. Cordon Negro Brut, introduced in 1974, is Freixenet’s most popular cava and is often referred to as the …

Juvé y Camps Brut Rosé Cava – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’re sipping Juvé & Camps Brut Rosé Cava! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see…   [eltd_separator class_name=”” type=”normal” position=”center” color=”” border_style=”” width=”” thickness=”” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=””] Juvé y Camps is a family-owned winery located in the Penedès region of Catalonia (just outside of Barcelona). Founded in 1921 by Joan Juvé Baqués and his wife Teresa Camps Farré, they have been producing beautiful wines for three generations and have solidified themselves as one of the top quality …

Pannier Sélection E.V. Brut Champagne – Review

This is “POP or FLOP”, where we taste test sparkling wines so you don’t have to! This week we’ve got Pannier Sélection Brut Champagne in our flutes! Is this a bottle of bubbles you should POP? 💁 Or is it a FLOP? 🙅 Let’s see shall we?   [eltd_separator class_name=”” type=”normal” position=”center” color=”” border_style=”” width=”” thickness=”” top_margin=”” bottom_margin=””] Pannier Champagne was founded in 1899 by Louis-Eugène Pannier. Pannier cellars are located in ancient stone quarries dating back to the 12th century in the Marne Valley of France (just an hour north east of Paris).  There is a carving of an archer in one of the …