This time of year I find myself doing a lot more visiting than normal, mostly because people are on holidays and also the friends and relatives who live interstate and overseas are usually here for Christmas, so it’s often back-to-back catch ups in those days between Christmas and New Year.

Dinner on this particular evening was with long time friends in a leafy Melbourne suburb. I was offered a glass of bubbly on arrival, which is always the perfect welcome. My friends had no idea I had started this blog, so were a bit perplexed when they went to toast, and I stopped them to photograph the full glasses and bottle! Note to self: take photos quickly in warm weather as sparkling wine needs to be enjoyed super chilled to be appreciated at its best.

They’re quite the art and wine connoisseurs, so I figured anything they served me would be pretty good. And this one was surprisingly good, and even more surprising given it’s at the lower end of the price points (between $7 and $11). So it’s clear they know what’s good at all price levels.

I sat on it a bit too long though, busy catching up chatting, so probably didn’t get to fully appreciate it at its best. A little stronger and fruitier in flavour than I would normally gravitate towards, but still enjoyable. If you’re having a party and need to buy up big, then this one will do the job nicely.

#bubbly #ilovechampagne #australiansparkling #australiansparklingwine #yarravalley #yarravalleywines #victoriansparklingwines #sparklingobsession

Montalto. Another gem in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula wine region. A nice easy drive from Melbourne and no bumpy gravel roads to get there either. 

We dropped in there after our lunch at Port Phillip Estate, and it was absolutely overflowing with people. At first we didn’t attempt to get a table, because our intention was to taste some wines, and purchase a glass to carry through on our walk through the huge sculpture park surrounding the vines.

Unfortunately their sparkling wasn’t available for tasting, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me on such a busy day. But it was available for purchase, so I ordered it at the bar and the person ahead of me in the queue finished a bottle, so I was lucky enough to try it as it should be sampled – freshly popped. 

It greeted me with an explosion of super-fast moving bubbles that danced around flute as though they were racing eachother. And the more sparkling I sample, the more I seem to gravitate towards the ones that are very pale in colour, as was this one. It was a beautiful balance of refreshment, dry to taste, and with plenty of flavour that was transported by the frenzy of bubbles.

Walking through the sculpture park with my guests was a beautiful way to spend a sunny afternoon, and it also made me want to savour the glass and not drink it too quickly, so that it would last right through our sculpture viewing trail.

After our sculpture viewing, we had to put our name on a list for coffee and sweets. Since we were at the tail end of our day, we were happy to wait. We waited 45 minutes for a table, after being told one would be ready in 20 minutes. And when we sat down, we were told they were out of all deserts bar one. Our order was simple, 3 coffees, a tea and some water. The water never came, until we asked and re-asked for it. The coffees took about 30 minutes and were cold by the time they came to us. The tea was completely forgotten. 

This was the worst experience I’ve had at Montalto, and I’ve been there quite a few times before, but never seen so much disorganisation. The staff were trying their best, but it simply wasn’t good enough.

The downside to this place : if you don’t show up at 11am, you’re not likely to get a table for quite some time. And when you do, the service may be friendly, but it’s too slow, even for something simple like coffee.

Thankfully I have discovered their sparkling which was definitely a winner.

http://montalto.com.au

#montalto #montaltosparkling #ilovesparklingwine #bubbly #ilovechampagne #australiansparkling #australiansparklingwine #victoriansparkling

#morningtonpeninsula #morningtonpeninsulawines #visitvictoria #sparklingobsession

Today I took some overseas guests and a family member to the lovely Mornington Peninsula wine region. So many to choose from, so today I took them to Port Phillip Estate Vineyard for some wine tasting and a fabulous lunch. I've been here many times before and it never lets me down.

Entry is through a large, heavy wooden door that opens as though you had just said “open sesame” to it. Quite an impressive start, and one that sure to impress any guests you bring.

Stunning architecture, spectacular view, gloriously long tasting bar and attentive staff.

On Sundays they have a fantastic fixed price lunch menu which gives you the choice of a “bite, smaller plate and larger plate”. As there were four of us, and four options under each course, we ordered the entire menu to share. And wow, what a menu it was. 

As the self-designated driver, I didn’t drink the sparkling on offer, as we were ordering a bottle for the table, which I did choose. It was Port Phillip Estate 2014 Chardonnay, and it was as stunning as the food we ate. Both food and drink, not just superb quality, but amazing value.

As this post is not about Sparkling wine, but an experience I had on my Sparkling Obsession, I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy!

http://www.portphillipestate.com.au

#chardonnay #portphillipestate #amazingfood #morningtonpeninsula #morningtonpeninsulawines #visitvictoria #sparklingobsession

With all the craziness leading up to Christmas, I totally forgot to make a dash to the bottle shop for some sparkling to share with the family at Christmas dinner. It’s fabulous. Everyone brings a (rather large) plate, and usually there’s somewhere from 35 to 50 people. 

So on Christmas Day, I found a local drive through bottle shop and went in search of some Prosecco. They only had two on offer, and because I hadn’t tried either of them, the store owner told me “this one has just been flying off the shelves”. I was a little wary of this, as wine in general is something so subjective – and he really didn't strike me as a sparkling wine kinda guy. But since I had to decide, I took his recommendation. 

Such a pretty bottle as you can see from the photos. I took many photos in anticipation of this being a real beauty. And then I tasted it.

When I poured it, it looked like it had lots of fabulous bubbles….but they were some kind of optical illusion designed to fool me, because they did not taste as fine as they looked. I actually wondered if it was close to spoiling – and I wondered if that’s why the shop owner recommended it to me – so he could move the stock off his shelves.

The bottle says “Extra Dry”, which I thought would suit me perfectly, as I’m not the biggest fan of sweet wines (there are of course exceptions to this). But in Prosecco terms, “Extra Dry” is a slightly sweet version. It did not taste like a Prosecco at all, but more like a Champagne in colour and flavour. And not a great one either. This one over-promised and totally under-delivered for me. And just to check I was not being too critical, or that it wasn't just something my taste buds didn't go crazy over, I got someone else in the family to taste it – someone who has very different drinking taste to me – and I'm sad to report they winced when they tasted it too. 

I would equate it to a beautiful mirage in the desert....it looks so beautiful and enticing from afar, and then when you get there, it’s a total disappointment. 

Note to self : Make time to buy sparkling for Christmas ahead of time and buy one you've already tried and love because Christmas is not the time to drink bubbles that don't bring you pleasure!

#bubbly #christmasbubbly  #italianwines #prosecco #iloveprosecco #sparklingwines  #sparklingobsession 

I had a quick drink with a friend on Christmas Eve and with dinner ordered myself a glass of Domaine Chandon Brut NV sparkling wine.

I’m sure there are plenty of people out there thinking that Chandon is some kind of cliche. But the reality is, for me, that it’s one of my favourite sparkling wines. It’s priced reasonably, has a beautiful, sophisticated label, and never fails to please, no matter whether you’re serving it at a party, ordering it in a bar, or giving it as a gift. 

Those of you who live in or have been to Melbourne’s glorious #yarravalley would be all too familiar with their spectacular vineyard and premises with it’s stunning manicured gardens and awe-inspiring, almost majestic glass restaurant, cellar door and tasting house with the walls and windows that reach up to the heavens to let the light and almost fairy-tale like scenery into your sparkling wine experience.

Something else I love to do with it is make a stunning risotto with asparagus and oysters. Yes, cook with it. Aside from it tasting so beautiful and summery, adding just one cup of those bubbles adds to the theatre of the cooking, watching them all froth up in the heat of the pan. It also makes your guests feel incredibly special and sets the tone for what is hopefully going to be a dinner party people will talk about for a while.

#DomaineChandon #ChandonSparkling #iloveChandon #bubbly #christmasbubbly #yarravalley #visitvictoria #sparklingwines  #ilovechampagne #sparklingobsession  

Although I’m a lover of bubbly drinks all year round, you really can’t beat a super-chilled glass of prosecco on a hot summer’s day. And today Melbourne reached over 40 degrees, so whilst I was expecting to be at home with the airconditioner on, I had a friend call me for a catch up and we took ourselves off to Half Moon in Brighton. As I’ve been there many times before I knew they had one of my favourite proseccos on their drinks list. Dal Zotto ‘Pucino” Prosecco. It’s crisp, not sweet. It’s light, so pale in colour and with that lovely frost on the glass looks even more enticing. And it has those bubbles that start off larger, but soon dissepate into teeny tiny elegant trails, flowing fast in a vertical rhythym that’s almost mesmerising. It seriously just beckons you, and goes down smoothly...thus quickly!

My drinking buddy for the day is not big on bubbles, but once they tasted it, they have now been converted to Prosecco!

We coupled it with some lightly pan fried calamari and some amazing polenta chips with parmesan and truffle with an aioli that was simply the icing on the cake. Superb.

http://www.halfmoon.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/HalfMoonMelbourne

http://www.dalzotto.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/dalzotto.wines/

#dalzottowines #dalzottoprosecco #dalzotto #pucinoprosecco #italiansparkling #kingvalley #italianwines #prosecco #iloveprosecco #kingvalleyprosecco #kingvalleywines #australianprosecco #sparklingwines  #sparklingobsession #ilovechampagne

Today I had the pleasure of showing some overseas guests some parts of our beautiful city of Melbourne. After walking around the Big Design Market at our glorious Royal Exhibition Buildings in Carlton, we were ready for an afternoon beverage. They suggested coffee. I suggested Prosecco. 

So off we went hoping to get to Grossi Florentino’s fab Cellar Bar. But alas, it was closed. The good news was that Ombra, their salumi bar next door was open so we grabbed a table outside as it was a warm afternoon.

We ordered our glass of prosecco each and by the time I had made a quick dash into the venue, my lovely guests had ordered me some elegant, tasty small plates to accompany the bubbles. Pork Terrine, Olives Ascolane (stuffed green olives coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried) and two different types of bread.

The prosecco on offer by the glass was Gusto D'Oro NV, Canella, Veneto, Italy.

It was served to us in glasses I’d never seen before....small, yet tall glasses with no stem. I would liken them to a miniature beer glass with a slightly different shape. I enjoyed this fine drop, but have to say the vessel of choice made it feel more like a soft drink, or perhaps something less ‘celebratory’. I can see the practical side of these glasses : most likely less breakage as there’s no fine stem to deal with, and also perhaps a little safer for the uneven footpath. It made for a totally different visual and mouth-taste experience. I would be interested to try this beverage again in a thinner, long stemmed glass to see if it tastes any different.

http://www.ombrabar.com.au

https://www.facebook.com/ombrasalumibar/

#ombra #ombrabar #ombrasalumibar #iloveombra #gustodoro #gustodoroprosecco #italiansparkling #veneto #italianwines #prosecco #iloveprosecco #sparklingwines  #sparklingobsession #ilovechampagne