Still sparkling

Day two. Still sparkling.

While I love champagne and sparkling dry wines, they haven’t become an everyday staple for me. I haven’t concluded yet if that’s because they feel too fancy or because they feel like you’re committed to the bottle as soon it’s open. Once the cork is popped and the beautiful bubbles start to sing, it feels like the beginning of the end. The delight feels so short lived, the second glass never quite the same as the first, but I digress…

I still do love a good sparkling. Some evenings out on the porch I need a little fancy, with life on constant rinse-repeat these days, I’m welcoming some variety.  So I’ve been trying to get a little out of my comfort zone, which occasionally means bubbles.  

We have an elegant 100% Chardonnay sparkling wine that for me falls in the fancy category, so I generally save that for truly special occasions (like Sundays). Which opens the opportunity for me to explore other sparkling options, and while I say “out of my comfort zone” that generally means branching out from the Czech wines I love so dearly to the neighboring regions in Austria, Germany and sometimes even France or Italy (sometimes). 

I’ve learned over the years (with many thanks to Amanda), how to actually open a bottle of sparkling correctly without a triumphant pop! (and without taking anyone’s eye out - knock on wood).  There are also a number of delightful sparkling wines that have caps (the kind you need a bottle opener for) and there are also a number of ways to actually save the bubbles for later.

And by later I mean, for the next glass, to be just as good as the first. Or for the next day, to be just as good as the previous.  I found this fabulous, inexpensive little stopper on Amazon.  I wouldn’t have guessed, but the reviews were spot on. I’ve been quite happy to open a bottle and not feel the pressure (perhaps self-imposed), to consume the whole bottle.  

So, now that I’m drinking more dry sparkling wines - I’m looking for recommendations, please.

*If you purchase a stopper via one of our links, we may get a small referral fee in return. Thanks!