Sparkling Wine —Perfect for Dining in the Garden
If you are lucky enough to have a yard, or garden, that allows you to set up a table and chairs for dining al fresco, voilà, it’s a party! Al fresco is an Italian phrase for dining in the fresh air with cultivated tablescapes, comfortable seating, and a party-like atmosphere, and what’s better than sparkling wine to set it alight? No matter what you’re celebrating, Champagne or sparkling wine is always acceptable, particularly if you’re celebrating outdoors. Which makes sparkling wine perfect for dining in the garden.
Types of Sparkling Wine
We are all familiar with the name, Champagne, which is truly the most celebrated type of sparkling wine, but the name only means it comes from the region of Champagne, France, and can be made from Champagne, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Petit Meslier, and Arbane grapes. Where Cava, is a popular sparkling wine from a famous town in Spain called Catalonia. Cava is made from Parellada, Macabeo, or Xarelto grapes, which gives it a fruity/lemony taste, with undertones of citrus and pear. Cava has more of a floral aroma and is a bit sweeter than Champagne.
Sekt is a popular sparkling wine from Germany, with low alcohol content and fruity and floral aromas, and Prosecco is a sparkling wine from Prosecco, Italy. It’s made from sweet Glera grapes that give it a lemony sweet flavor. This sparkling wine is made using traditional tank methods, which gives it a distinct bubbliness that makes it a great addition to cocktails.
Sparkling Wine for Better Health
In general, drinking wine (in moderation) can be good for your health, but the winner is sparkling wine. Drinking a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine can help with gut health and is often referred to as, “the most digestible alcohol.” Sparkling wine contains polyphenols, which promote the growth of good gut bacteria, and the bubbles can ease digestion. It also contains resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant, and an anti-inflammatory compound. The bubbles in champagne are created by the natural fermentation process of the wine, which gives it its unique flavor and effervescence, but the carbon dioxide (bubbles) in sparkling wine can help rejuvenate the skin.
Sparkling wines also contain high phenolic acid content, a compound that helps to regulate the transmission of signals in the cortex parts of the brain as well as the hippocampus, the main areas of the brain associated with memory and learning. Which means it can help improve your spatial awareness, memory, attention span, and overall brain health. There are even studies that show sparkling wine can help prevent the onset of dementia as well as some brain debilitating conditions. There’s a reason Champagne or sparkling wine is often used for celebrations. Just holding a glass of bubbly can help to lift your spirits, and the taste is often described as refreshing, luminous, radiant, and shimmering. The very mention of Champagne conjures up images of romance, celebration, love, and extravagance. Whenever and wherever bubbly is served there is a welcoming atmosphere of graciousness, charm, and acceptance by the host(s) as well as the guests.
Ways to Serve Sparkling Wine in the Garden
Traditionally Champagne is served tableside in a bucket of ice, this is because sparkling wine needs to be cold. If you’ve ever opened a bottle and had the cork explode from the bottle, this is because the bottle was not properly chilled. Keeping it cold will help to keep the effervescent bubbles and clean tastes fresh on the palate, but there are many creative ways to serve your bubbles! Search ‘Serving Champagne Ideas’ on Pinterest and you will find hundreds of ideas. Some of my favorites are the all-time classic tower of glasses, which is often done with Champagne Coupes, also ideal for serving martinis, but you can also use the traditional flutes and arrange them in any sort of graduating presentation.
There are also custom ice buckets, made by adding fresh flowers, plants, or fruit to an ice mold, or creating decorative ice cubes. Custom glasses, decorated glasses, colored glasses, fluted, round, and uniquely stemmed glasses.
You can add fluffs of cotton candy, rock candy sticks, or sorbet, or sprinkle in edible glitter, fruit, fruit peels, edible flowers, or herbs. You can make bubbly Jell-o shots or add a sugar cube to the glass before pouring, causing a fountain of sparkling bubbles.
Champagne Cocktails
Champagne and sparkling wines do not need to be served alone. The ideas for cocktails using a glass of bubbles as your base is literally endless. You’ve probably heard of the ubiquitous Mimosa, which adds orange juice, but you can literally add any type of juice to make it a Mimosa. If your wedding venue doesn’t allow for hard alcohol, a champagne cocktail buffet can take your event to a new level. Providing a variety of mixers to create the ultimate festive cocktails. Note, the best bubbly for mixing is Prosecco, due to its lemony sweetness. You can also add hard alcohol to sparkling combinations for another level of creativity.
Dining in the Garden
Sparkling wine is perfect for dining in the garden because of all the creative ways you can incorporate your garden into your glass. Finding out which flowers or herbs from your garden are edible is a great place to start. Like rose petals, calendula or marigolds, carnations, lavender, snapdragons, fennel, borage, or butterfly pea flower (for a delightful blue color). You can make ice teas from flowers and herbs that can be added, or incorporate herbal liqueurs, honey, or tinctures. You can serve with floral swizzle sticks, create centerpieces that include decorative bottles of bubbly, the aforementioned ice buckets or towers, or create custom pairings from foods you’ve prepared that incorporate fruits or vegetables from your garden.
The ideas are endless. In fact, there are destination vacations and restaurants built around experiencing sparkling wine. There has also been an explosion of sparkling wine websites featuring custom wine blends, mixers designed for adding to sparkling wine, and event-planning ideas —all dedicated to the festive bubbles.
Here are a few suggestions you might enjoy!
Get more information from The Garden.