Happy New Year! It’s time to hide the old so you can start purchasing the new. It’s also time to ignore the foibles of 2015 and create a list of good intentions that masquerade as New Year’s Resolutions.
This year I am going to disregard the standard “I am going to eat less and exercise more,” and “I am going to clean my house for the first time in a decade,” and “I am going to chuck from my closet anything not worn this millennium“ and get right to the important resolutions: improve my blogging skills and enrich my life by always seeing the glass as “half full” by keeping the bottle close by for refills.
To properly start the New Year celebration, a sparkling wine is de rigueur. From my perspective, sparkling wine mixes with about anything and I have tried many combinations. But just today I added a new cocktail to my list of favorites: the Sandeman Sparkler. This recipe features your favorite sparkling wine and Sandeman Porto Reserve. The result is a festive cocktail with a beautiful garnet color that is not too sweet and makes for a great aperitif. I love Sandeman Porto Reserve as a digestif but had not given much thought to it as a preprandial libation. The Sandeman Sparkler has opened my eyes to the versatility of this port and reconfirmed the eminence of sparkling wine as a cocktail platform.
When making a sparkling wine cocktail, I like to use Veuve Ambal Blanc de Blanc. It is crisp and dry and retails for approximately $11 at Dan’s Wine Shop in Palm Desert. I also use this sparkling wine when entertaining crowds – it is a great value for the quality.
Cheers!
- Sandeman Founders Reserve Porto
- Veuve Ambal Blanc de Blanc or your favorite sparkling wine
- Pour about 1 ounce Sandeman Founders Reserve Porto in bottom of champagne flute, top with sparkling wine and enjoy!
