Though it has most definitely not felt like Spring lately, my editor Jane asked if I could write an article on the sparkly stuff which I hope will slam Winter up side the head and let the right weather through the door.

Now who does not like bubbles? If you raised your hand then you are suspect – like folks who can resist the smell of freshly baking bread or a hot pan of smok’n bacon. It is almost not human. But I will let you go this time and focus on you folks who do love bubbles.

What could be more festive than the sound of a cork going POP! and dosing out some flutes of the effervescent pink stuff?

As you may know, the stuff called Champagne can only come from Champagne in France, while that is as it should be as name, place and origin/territory do mean something in the world of wine (we would not want folks in California calling their wines Barossa Syrah would we?). But not for a minute does that mean our so-called ‘sparkling wines’ are in anyway inferior (though I do struggle with sparkling shiraz) as our winemakers have been hard at work refining their techniques and travelling to the French Holy Land to garner ancestral knowledge. And for Australia it seems pretty clear that the cool weather regions of Tasmania and New Zealand are and will be the primary sources for excellent (and affordable) sparkling wine. For this column I have opted to do something slightly different (review three wines instead of two) and recommend two rosé wines from Tasmania and one most lovely wine from Central Otago New Zealand – cheers!

Jansz Premium Rosé NV Tasmania

Jansz is the only Tasmanian winery completely dedicated to making sparkling wine and its vineyards are planted to essentially support that effort. Jansz winemaker Natalie Fryar is one of four folks nominated to be Gourmet Traveller Wine’s winemaker of the year and you do not get to that top spot without doing something especially grand for a wee bit of time. This particular bottle seems to please James Halliday’s palate as he gave it a score of 94, which placed it in his Best of the Best rankings with the following description - “flowery, strawberry blossom aromas; bready, toasty notes and a long, dry finish.” Great value for money so when the weather suits, pop a cork & drink pink. $23

Taltarni Brut Taché Tasmania & Victoria 2006/2007/2008

Taltarni makes this sparkling wine from fruit sourced from Tasmanian vineyards as well as its own specially selected vineyards in Pyrenees. Taché is French for ‘stain’, which in this case is created by adding Pinot Noir red wine to the blend & voilà a nice rosé. This is a vintage-dated bubbles and quite a few different vintages are floating around so if you get the chance just grab it! Personally I have always enjoyed the Taltarni bubbles (the regular Brut too) and featured them in my wine bar in New Zealand. Gourmet Traveller likes Taltarni too - “Quite complex and most appealing. Toast, brioche and nougat aromas; a fine, delicate, dry-finishing palate with good length and harmony in the mouth and a seamless texture!” $20 - $23

Quartz Reef Chauvet Methode Traditionelle NV

This is made by the wonderful and iconic character Rudi Bauer in association with and guidance of the French wine house Marc Chauve. I have had numerous renditions of the non-vintage sparkling as well as the first release (1998) of his vintage version and can comfortably attest to their quality. They are bottle fermented, aged on lees and riddled and disgorged by hand from 2008. Light yellow in colour, limey and creamy with a velvet palate, quite textural and refreshing. And a few folks seem to agree with me - Jo Burzynska (New Zealand Herald) “With immense finesse and poise, this is one of New Zealand's finest and most Champagne-like sparkling wines.” And Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate’s Neal Martin - “I doubt that you will find a better non-vintage New Zealand sparkler.” $28 - $33

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