Italian bubbly a beauty of a drink | Business News

“Drink beauty” is written four times in stylish cursive on the foil around the elegantly tapered neck of the Gancia Prosecco Brut ($26) bottle.

It’s a simple and impactful two-word phrase that forewarns you that you are literally and figuratively about to “drink beauty.” And the contents of the bottle delivers with a fresh sparkling wine full of aromas and flavours of lemon and orange.

Gancia Prosecco’s quality means it’s the type of bubbly that’s apropos for a big celebration like a birthday, anniversary, christening, promotion or even New Year’s Eve.

However, priced at $26, it’s also the Prosecco you can drink to celebrate the end of the workday or with pizza or pasta on a Tuesday night.

It’s also the Prosecco you’ll be tempted to use in cocktails such as the classic bellini (Prosecco and peach puree), a flirtini (Prosecco, pineapple juice, vodka and orange liqueur) or love struck (Prosecco, grapefruit and lime juices and simple syrup).

Full cocktail recipes and more information at Gancia.com.

The Prosecco is also the legacy of Carlo Gancia, the first Italian sparkling wine creator in 1850.

The Prosecco is one of three Gancia of Italy wines sold at private liquor stores in BC.

Sipping any one of the three is like taking a little trip to Italy with your tastebuds.

The Gancia Pinot Grigio ($17) is quintessential of the Grigios made in the cool-climate region of Venezie in northeast Italy near the Alps.

Therefore, it has a fresh apple-lemon-hazelnut profile with good acidity.

The Gancia Chainti ($18) is from the famed red-wine region of Tuscany and is made using the traditional Sangiovese grape.

The result is a smooth vintage with aromas and flavours of plum, violet and sweet cherry.

2021 will be good year, Wine Growers promise

2021 is a remarkable vintage

Two weeks ago in this column, we broke the story of Blue Mountain Winery in Okanagan Falls making the heartbreaking decision not to release any wines from the 2021 vintage because grapes were smoke tainted from the summer wildfires.

Blue Mountains vineyards are amphitheatre-shaped and it trapped smoke for several days.

Other vineyards with better natural ventilation had completely different outcomes because the smoke didn’t settle and affect grapes.

Blue Mountain’s news prompted Wine Growers of BC to issue a statement.

The group, which represents BC wineries through marketing, communications, promotions and advocacy, wants to make sure the decision of one winery doesn’t impact consumer trust and quality perception of the entire 2021 BC wine vintage.

“2021 was a challenging year and yes there will be remarkable wines from the vintage,” said Wine Growers of BC president Miles Prodan.

“In terms of the 2021 wildfires, it was clear each winegrower’s experience varied and depended on many different factors; location of their vineyards (proximity to fire, length of time exposed); varieties planted; grape development stage; local weather patterns; vineyard management practices; harvesting techniques and more. It is clear that the decisions of any one B.C. winery for the 2021 vintage does not represent the entirety of the more than 280 grape wineries throughout the wine regions of British Columbia.”

BC Wine Growers backed its findings up with the release of the 2021 Vintage Report.

“Overall, winegrowers throughout British Columbia agree that despite the vagaries of Mother Nature, the 2021 vintage will be remembered for low yields, but intensely flavoured fruit resulting in wines of remarkable character, concentrated flavours and balanced acidity,” reads the summary of the report.

Steve MacNaull is an Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Email: [email protected].