Hi,
I finally have a bit time to finish the choosing sparkling wine series. Although the first part is exclusively for sparkling wines, second part and third part can also be applied to non-sparkling wines. The third part is about the most apparent of properties – sparkling wine colour.

Sparkling wine colour

Sparkling wine comes in three colours – white, red and rose. Those colours come in different shades. So we have a wide selection of wines. Unfortunately usually sparkling wine comes in green thick bottles thus the colour of the wine isn’t visible until you open the bottle. Only after we pour the wine into the glass we can see a whole array of colours.

Wine food pairing considering colour

With wine there is a simple rule – deeper the colour, stronger the taste. So this should be easy to pair with the food. Red wines go with dark meats and blue fish – food with strong flavours. While white wines go with white meats and white fish – food with mild flavours. Simple as that may be some more rules apply here. With charcuterie I suggest white wine. Even though the taste of charcuterie is strong, red wine would not complement it. It would not compliment the spices, and taste of meat would fight with taste of wine.

Rose is somewhat in the middle, but even though is more related to red wine I like to use it more as a white wine. Couple it with light meats and pork. This wine I would also serve with charcuterie and salmon. It also goes very well with smoked salmon. Since it is considered a romantic wine because of its colour I would use it for a romantic dinner that includes salmon or trout.

What about dessert wines?

Desert wines are usually strong in colour. If it’s white wine, then it can have a honey like colour. But you should still use it as you would white wine. I wouldn’t suggest serving it with dark deserts that are filled with chocolate. But deserts with honey or butter would go very well with dessert white sparkling wine. And you can serve it instead of the dessert.

Conclusion

Choosing sparkling wine according to it’s colour is not difficult. Sparkling wine colour isn’t always apparent from the bottle, so read the label. There is at least information if this is white, red or rose. Rose wines are usually sold in white glass bottles, so you should be able to see their colour before purchase.

A little plea at the end of our series – even though we like to say “champagne” for sparkling wine, please stop. Champagne is a sparkling wine that comes from French region Champagne. Here in EU, ONLY sparkling wine from that province can be called champagne. The rest are our beloved sparkling or bubbly wines, sparkles or bubblies, and all of them are delicious!