One of the wonderful things about sparkling wine and champagne is that it does evoke images of a festive nature, and recently I was invited to a friend’s occasion where the first thing offered to me was a glass of sparkling wine. And this was not because the person serving drinks knew I was a big fan of bubbles, but because it’s an excellent first drink when you arrive at an occasion, especially when you don’t know too many people.

There’s just something “smiley” and welcoming about this cold, pale, pale yellow beverage, isn’t there?

And was I particularly happy to see the sparkling on offer was one I’ve had a long relationship with.....Jansz. 

It’s one of my favourites. A friend introduced it to me many years ago as one he particularly liked. And I can see why. 

It’s light in colour, with beautifully fine, elegant bubbles (not those big gassy ones that a lot of the cheaper ones I’ve tried have) and it’s taste is neither sweet nor dry, just somewhere happily in the middle. It doesn’t have that “zingy” or acidy end that some have too. It’s just a beautifully light and refreshing drink, not particularly fruity, just “clean” and I think, particularly suited to summer time.

It certainly made my night a little bit brighter, and who could resist a second glass when in amongst lovely conversations and meeting new people, something goes down so, so well!

I’d also like to note that as friends of great style, Jansz was not the only sparkling on offer. Another very well known brand was being served as well, but I’ll leave that for another entry.

https://www.jansz.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/JanszTasmania

#Jansz #JanszSparkling #iloveJansz #TasmanianSparkling #sparklingwines  #sparklingobsession #ilovechampagne

This sparkling was excellent. More up my alley as it was that lovely place in the middle of sweet and dry, but probably a little more towards dry, which is my personal preference. It was crisp, had a lot of life to it. 

He did mention that they were one of the earliest vineyards in the Macedon ranges, and the experience really shows when you taste his sparkling that comes from vines grown in volcanic clay soil, giving their wines a distinctive and intense flavour.

No website (“worth looking at”) or facebook page. Feels that this is for the “next generation” to do. I think this is such a shame, because he has a lovely, quality product and should be promoting it as much as humanly possible.

They’re a small, family owned vineyard on Zig Zag Road (hence the name) in Drummond North, and there’s not much information on the website, so I guess the best way to find out more is to take a little drive if you’re a Victorian, and go meet and chat with the winemaker himself to learn more about his product.

http://www.zigzagwines.com.au

#zigzag wines
#2012blancdenoir
#drummond
#Malmsbury
#MacedonRanges 
#budburst 
#sparklingwines 
#sparklingobsession 
#VictorianSparkling
#ilovechampagne

What a fabulous time to start writing about sparkling wines...during Spring...and as good fortune would have it, there are quite a few food and wine festivals on at the moment..

In Victoria we are incredibly lucky to have spectacular vineyards that are within reach of the city of Melbourne. Whilst there are so many winemakers all around this glorious state, we are so spoiled to be able to jump in the car on a whim and within 60 minutes be so far removed from the hustle and bustle and be transported into the lush greenery and rolling hills.

Today I ventured out just for the afternoon to the Macedon Ranges on a little trail of discovery in search of these beautiful bubbly drinks that I love so, so much.

My first stop was in Romsey at a vineyard/art gallery/conference centre/concert venue called Cope-Williams. It’s a lovely oasis tucked away down a gravel road and when I got halfway down, I thought perhaps my GPS had taken me the wrong way, so I turned back, spoke to a local, and was told I was on the right track, just had to keep going down that gravel road and I’d see it soon enough.

Lots of carparking and a good sized tasting area enclosed by glass sliding doors that open out to a little courtyard with a few tables and some truly lovely flowers.

The people were lovely and guided me to two of their sparkling wines. These are the two I sampled. (insert pic)

The one on the left with the extra label was one of their award winners, and I could immediately see why. It was just so smooth to drink and went down so easily. It was quite a strong and distinct flavour, almost had a ‘wintery’ feel about it. What I mean by this is that many sparkling wines I’ve tasted over the years are light in flavour and it’s the bubbles that add the excitement. It didn’t have that acidic ‘zing’ to it, which is why it went down so well. 

The one on the right was their chardonnay sparkling, and it was nice enough, but didn’t have the wow factor that the first one did. One of the best things about it was that I was able to buy it in half bottles for just $5. These will be perfect chilled for those times when a whole bottle would just be wasted, so am looking forward to opening them or perhaps they will make excellent gifts.

http://www.copewilliams.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/copewilliamswinery

#cope-williams
#Romsey
#MacedonRanges
#budburst
#sparklingwines
#sparklingobsession
#VictorianSparkling
#ilovechampagne