From one of our finest travel reviewers:
As summer approaches I’m on the hunt for light cool drinks to serve pool side. While on a trip to New Zealand I recently discovered Villa Maria “lightly sparkling” sauvignon blanc. It’s a lovely crisp, clean wine – and bubbles are a fun touch. It is lightly sparkling, so not overwhelming on the bubbles like a champagne, more like a sparkling tea, allowing the characteristics of the sauvignon blanc to come through in the taste. The retail price point is around $15 – so perfect for a casual afternoon at the pool. Here’s a link to the vineyard website.
An added bonus – like most NZ wines it comes with a convenient screw cap! Right now it’s not available for Retail Sale in the US, but John Ferris with Villa Maria tells me US distribution is under consideration. In the mean time, you can buy this and any other New Zealand through MWT Wine Export at http://www.mwt-wine-export.com/ . They will buy the wine and ship directly to your door (be warned: the shipping cost is a bit pricey).
Go forth and sip!
Where are you going and what are you reading? (And what wine are you drinking?)
Thank you for the tip on “lightly sparkling”…I am enjoying sparkling wines more and more these days…Maybe the older I get, the more I appreciate having bubbles in my life.