19 Dec Love Bubbles? Here Are Four Affordable Italian Sparkling Wines For Your Holiday Table

Sparkling wines are thought to be wines of celebration. While I am a huge proponent of drinking sparkling wine year round, there is more sparkling wine sold and consumed in the U.S. during the year-end holidays than the rest of the year combined. So, as you plan to head to the store to purchase your holiday gifts or the wines for your holiday parties, I suggest sparkling wines from Italy. From the top of Italy to the heel of the boot, Italy produces sparkling across the regions, made with different grape varieties. And I have four very affordable Italian sparkling wines I suggest for your holiday meals and gifts!

Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco DOCG, Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Everyone knows Prosecco, the delightful sparkling wine made from the Glera grape that is produced in the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions. But the most prestigious Prosecco is Prosecco Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG. A hilly area in northeast Italy, the Conegliano Valdobbiadene production area covers 15 communes and represents the heart of the world of Prosecco. While Conegliano Valdobbiadene is considered the most prestigious Prosecco, I have a great one for $26. It is the Adami 2022 “Vigneto Giardino” Valdobbiadene DOCG Rive di Colbertaldo Asciutto. Adami has been producing wine in Valdobbiadene since 1933 and today the winery is run by the third generation of the Adami family. The family owns land and has well-established relationships with growers of 34 different vineyards. Specializing in Prosecco, first-generation Abele Adami was the first to bottle a single vineyard wine, the Adami “Vigneto Giardino” Valdobbiadene Prosecco. Adami’s Vigneto Giardino Vineyard, which translates to Garden Vineyard, was the family’s first vineyard, purchased in 1920. It was this single vineyard bottling that helped elevate the overall perception of Prosecco. The Adami 2022 “Vigneto Giardino” Valdobbiadene DOCG Rive di Colbertaldo Asciutto undergoes extended lees contact for at least 3 months before secondary fermentation takes place in autoclaves. The wine is 11% alcohol with 6 g/l acidity and 18-21 g/l residual sugar. The nose of the wine is vibrant with aromas of citrus and apples. On the palate, the wine is fresh and crisp with a lovely depth of fruit. The wine finishes with mineral salinity and a touch of almond.

Alta Langhe DOCG, Piemonte

Located high in the hills of the provinces of Asti, Alessandria, and Cuneo, the Alta Langa is Piemontese brut sparkling wine. This small, somewhat unknown appellation is home to the first traditional method sparkling wine made in Italy in the mid-19th century. Alta Langa is always a vintage wine made in the traditional method with Pinot Noir and/or Chardonnay and aged for at least 30 months on the lees. A traditional method vintage sparkling wine sounds like it would be expensive, but I have one for $33. It is the Enrico Serafino 2019 “Oudeis” Alta Langhe DOCG Brut. Enrico Serafino is the oldest continuously operating producer in the Roero region of Piedmont in Northern Italy. In 1878 Enrico Serafino began to make Method Champenois sparkling wines using traditional Champagne grapes, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. When the EU tightened regulations on the labeling of Champagne, Enrico Serafino, along with six other producers of Alta Langa, created and lobbied for a new sparkling wine denomination for Traditional Method sparkling wines from the Langhe and Monferrato hills of southern Piedmont and the Alta Langa DOCG was born. The Enrico Serafino 2019 “Oudeis” Alta Langhe DOCG Brut is made from a base of 85% Pinot Noir for flavor and body, and 15% Chardonnay for elegance and complexity. The name Oudeis derives from the Greek term “Odysseus,” meaning no one, and is termed so because Enrico Serafino humbly acknowledges that no one but the terroir can so perfectly impart complexity into wines. The wine spends three years on lees prior to disgorgement. The wine is 12.5% alcohol with 7.5 g/l acidity and 6 g/l residual sugar. The wine is beautifully complex with aromas of yellow flowers, pears, and stone fruits, as well as toasty bread and mineral notes. The wine is elegant and structured on the palate with a rich texture and fresh acidity.

Lambrusco, Emilia Romagna

The sparkling wine found in Emilia Romagna is Lambrusco, a sparkling red wine. Lambrusco is the name of the grape, although there are different varieties of Lambrusco. Most commonly, Lambrusco wines are made in a frizzante (slightly sparkling) style and exhibit fruit-forwardness and bright acidy. The popularity of Lambrusco can be attributed to Cleto Chiarli and I have the Cleto Chiarli Rosé de Noir Brut Vino Spumante which retails for $18. Cleto Chiarli has been producing Lambrusco since the mid-1800s. Founder Cleto Chiarli began making wine with the native Lambrusco grapes for his popular restaurant in Modena, Osteria dell’Artigliere. The sparkling red wine became such a success that in 1860, Chiarli embarked on a new endeavor, opening Emilia Romagna’s first-ever official wine company. Today, the fourth and fifth generations of Chiarli oversee the winery’s Lambrusco production based in Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC. The family vineyards include 414 hectares of land, 131 of which are vineyards planted to Lambrusco Grasparossa, Lambrusco di Sorbara, and Grechetto Gentile vines. The Cleto Chiarli Rosé de Noir Brut Vino Spumante is a reinterpretation of an historic drink. In the olden days of Modena, to quench their thirst, vineyard workers would drink a pink, effervescent wine made from the runoff of grapes that were stacked into carts for delivery to local wineries. As an homage to this style, Cleto Chiarli family created the Brut de Noir Rosé, a sparkling wine primarily made with the full-bodied Lambrusco Grasparossa grapes and 15% of Pinot Nero. The sparkling rosé is produced in a single fermentation in an autoclave. The wine is 12% alcohol with 7 g/l acidity and 12 g/l residual sugar. A vibrant color, the wine offers intense aromas of strawberries and raspberries. On the palate, the wine is structured and lively and the residual sugar in the wine gives the wine a rich, textured mid-palate.

Vino Frizzante, Marche

Located between the Apennines and the Adriatic Sea, the Le Marche region in central Italy offers a diverse landscape characterized by mountains and hills. This might not be a region you think of for sparkling wine, but rather the region for the Verdicchio grape variety. But Verdicchio can be made in various styles from dry to sweet to sparkling. And at $14, why not try the Garofoli “Le Piccole Bollicine” Vino Frizzante.  Garofoli, one of the top family-owned wineries in Italy’s Marche region, has been producing wines for over 150 years. Garofoli’s four sustainably farmed vineyards cover 128 acres across the Ancona province in the denominations of Cònero, Rosso Cònero, Rosso Piceno, and the famous Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Garofoli is a trailblazing Verdicchio producer and is a well-known innovator in the region for leading the way in making 100% Verdicchio instead of blends, aging Verdicchio wines, and bottling single-vineyard Verdicchio. Le Piccole Bollicine Vino Frizzante is a lightly sparkling wine, an interpretation of the frizzante wines commonly enjoyed during the warm summer months in the coastal stretches of Le Marche. The name Piccole Bollicine means “little bubbles,” which refers to the wine’s delicate fizz as this wine is made with significantly less pressure than Charmat (tank) method wines. The wine is made with 90% Verdicchio and 10% Passerina. It is 11.5% alcohol with 5.3 g/l acidity and 5.3 g/l residual sugar. This wine is very approachable and at 11.5% alcohol, it is very easy to drink. The bubbles are subtle but the wine has pretty aromas and is light, bright, and fresh. All of these wines can be found in wine stores across the US and online. When looking for your next purchase of sparkling wines, look for sparkling wines from Italy for a variety of styles and tastes!