Nearly as daunting as buying a nice present or suitably mushy card on Valentine’s is picking a good bottle of fizz. Let Mitchells Wines make things easier for you this year…
For the last two years the big boy on the block has been Prosecco. This Italian DOC wine is very inexpensive at around £7 a bottle for the full fizzy version, but be careful tas the labels with ‘frizzante’ are only half the fizz – which could burst your bubble a bit. Prosecco isn’t available as a rosé as it’s made from the glera (previously called Prosecco) grape. However, there are some splendid Italian sparkling rosés on offer.
Move over to Spain and we have their wonderful cava, which is much dryer than Prosecco and made the same way as Champagne. Many of the bodegas produce a demi-sec (medium dry) and fabulous rosés. Similar to Prosecco, cava is also offered in many different qualities at well over the starting price of £7.
If you are a Francophile and it must be Champagne why not take a look at a buyers-own label? The main players in Champagne start around £30 and range to well over £100. Plus, if we take into account the fluctuating exchange rate we are set to see prices increase. Looking at the lesser-known brands, you can pick up a bottle of Champagne for around £16.
Further to home we have Nyetimber – classic but expensive and the Sussex South Downs offer a very similar climate and soil structure to Reims. Not forgetting just up the road there is our local vineyard at Renishaw Hall who offer a great sparkling seyval blanc. This dry fizz made the national press when it won a Decanter Magazine award – a steal at only £21.
All of the above are available in-store. Head to www.mitchellswine.co.uk, call 0114 274 5587 or pop in: 354 Meadowhead, Sheffield S8 7UJ. Open 10am-8.30pm Monday-Saturday and 12pm-8pm Sunday.
