Stay Rad

The more I get into wine, the more I get in to the sparkles.

Why wouldn’t you?

They are complex.

They are delicious.

They pair with hella foods.

And they are celebratory.

If the bubbles are flowing, things must be goin’ good.

And if they ain’t?

Bubbles will make things better.

Speaking of bubbles, check out where Kara and I had dinner last Friday…

A view from the patio at Bubbles Wine Bar.

In celebration of the weekend, Kara and I walked down to Bubbles Wine Bar in Morgan Hill to have a little wine and food on the patio.

To start with, I ordered from their keen wine flight menu…

Bubbly and Brilliant... Like me!

I opted for the Bubbly and Brilliant flight.

Here’s what they looked like…

Here's the flight from left to right: Pol Clement Rose Sec, Marques de Gelida Cava, and Perrier Jouet Grand Brut.

And here’s how they tasted…

The Pol Clement Rose Sec is a pink French sparkling wine from the Loire valley.  It’s made from the Gamay, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, and Pinot d’Aunis grape varieties.

Color: Dull golden pink.

Nose: You can smell sweetness on this wine… like sugarfied candies.  There is a nice hint of toast and crushed rocks on the nose as well.

Taste: The fruit is very muted.  There’s a bit of peach skin and grapefruit.  The star of this wine is its long, dry finish.

Score: A solid 88 and a good buy for under 10 bucks a bottle (retail).

The Marques de Gelida Cava is a Spanish sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo.

Color: Pale gold.

Nose: The nose is an astringent mixture of lemon peel and chlorine.

Taste: Fruit of dried strawberries and peaches.  There is a very crisp, bread-like finish.  Something about this Cava reminded me of Zinfandel.  Aside from the bubbles, this wine almost drinks like a red… Almost.

Score: This wine is a decent 86+, but I probably wouldn’t buy it for 15 bucks a bottle (retail).

The Perrier Jouet Grand Brut was the only true Champagne in the flight.  At 15 bucks a glass, this is supposed to be the star of the bunch.

Color: Pale gold (very similar to the Marques de Gelida).

Nose: Yeasty toast, minerals, and fig.

Taste: On the palate, the Perrier Jouet brought some dope lemon peel and some fresh dancing acidity.  The finish was long, but subtle.

Score: You could call this 88+ a winner, but as far as deals go, I would stick with the Pol Clement Rose.

Though each of these wines can hold their own, I decided to see how they would pair with my most recent obsession…

OYSTERS!

The Pol Clement Rose Sec really helped to bring out the brininess of the oysters.

The oysters gave the Marques de Gelida a butterscotch type of finish.

In the Perrier Jouet, I noted a hint of cinnamon when paired with the chilled bivalves.  This was my favorite pairing.

As for the main course?

The grilled New Yorker sandwich was loaded with deliciously thin strips of raw steak and came with a dope green salad on the side.

The New Yorker sandwich was just fantastic!

So, how about that for a lazy Friday evening?

Great atmosphere…

Amazing food…

Rad sparklers…

Cheers to Bubbles Wine Bar!

I’ll drink to that!

Stay Rad,

Jeff

Tags: Bubbles Wine Bar, Cheers, Freakin' Weekend, Jeff, Marques de Gelida Cava, Morgan Hill, New Yorker Sandwich, Oyster, Perrier Jouet Grand Brut, Pol Clement Rose Sec, Rihanna, Stay Rad

This entry was posted on September 18, 2011 at 5:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.