Priced around $5 or below, this screw-capped Portuguese refresher may be the low-end wine value of the year.

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Light, crisp and gently fizzy, the “green wine” of Portugal makes a great summer quaff, but you should drink it fresh or not at all.

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AVA stands for American Viticultural Area, and refers to a designated geographical area that may be legally printed on a bottle of wine if 85% of the grapes that went into the wine were grown in that area. Sometimes these areas, like the Russian River Valley, for instance, are referred to by the generic (and French derived term) appellation.

AVAs are overseen at a national level by the Tax and Trade Bureau, which for the last few decades has been managing the process by which new AVAs are recognized and codified. This is a long, drawn out, and often political process through which many prospective wine regions in America have struggled, sometimes to triumph and sometimes with tragic frustration.

That is, until a couple of weeks ago, when the TTB basically pulled the parking brake on the moving car. You’d have to be in, or well connected, to the wine business to know, as this wasn’t exactly a piece of news that made front page headlines anywhere (except perhaps the pages of Wine Business Monthly and the Napa Valley Register) but when the TTB indefinitely suspended all AVA approvals until further notice, a shockwave rippled through the wine industry.

What’s going on? Well, there’s an interesting interview over at Appellation America that explains it through an interview with a couple of the consultants that fledgling wine regions often hire to help them through the AVA petition process. For those interested in the political and business side of the wine industry, or for those interested in rubbernecking at a (admittedly, slightly esoteric) fermenting scandal, it’s worth a read.

Thanks to Arthur over at Red Wine Buzz, who tipped me off to the interview.

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We had so much fun with Andalusian gazpacho last week, let’s stay in Spain to fashion a quick and easy version of paella.

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Simple and fresh, crisp and frothy, very good value in an under-$10 sparkling wine.

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A bit more complexity than low-end Cava, but a somewhat disjointed style doesn’t really encourage me to buy it by the case.

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Pop the cork on a bottle of Cava, the Spanish version of sparkling wine, and you’ll add three unusual and offbeat grapes to your “life list.”

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There was a time, I am not ashamed to admit, that I wasn’t really a fan of Champagne or sparkling wine. Frankly I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. People I knew, wine lovers especially, would rave about how amazing Champagne was. I would read quotes from famous epicures, chefs, and even wine critics, suggesting in not so many words that given the opportunity they’d drink Champagne every day with every meal without ever tiring of it.

“Man,” I thought to myself, “what is the big deal, here? It doesn’t taste that good!”

And then I found out one day that I had just never had a good Champagne.

Honestly? This revelation came only a couple of years ago, but I have never looked back since. And every time I meet someone like the old me who has really only had Champagne at weddings, Sunday brunch restaurants, and by the glass in an occasional fine restaurant, I throw my arm around their shoulder and send them off to buy what one enthusiastic importer has called Farmer Fizz.

The past few years have seen an upswing in interest and availability of these “grower champagnes,” as they are also known — smaller production bottlings by individual estates who grow and then bottle their own grapes. Combine this interest with the generally climbing demand for the great houses of Champagne in clubs, bars, and fine restaurants around the world, and we’ve got a Champagne renaissance on our hands.

This demand for bubbly means that many producers, big and small, never really need to bother themselves with putting on trade tastings in the United States. They sell their stuff just fine without ever stooping to the necessity of letting people actually taste the stuff. Which is why even very informed wine lovers, who may have tasted hundreds of Cabernets, Pinot Noirs, or Chardonnays, often only have experience with a dozen or so different Champagnes.

Well, the Institute for The Masters of Wine is out to change all that. You know the IMW, right? The people who run the non-profit educational foundation that after years of grueling study and testing let’s some extremely knowledgeable people put the initials “MW” after their name? Yeah, well, these folks (who know a thing or two about wine) have decided that people don’t know enough about Champagne, so they’re putting on a public tasting of over 100 different champagnes (from the $20 variety to the $300 variety) for the benefit of San Francisco wine lovers and to raise some funds for their organization.

I attended this event last year, and it was a phenomenal opportunity to taste some truly world-class Champagne in the company of some of the smartest wine people on the planet. How’s that for a value proposition?

So if you love Champagne, or perhaps more importantly, if you don’t, I seriously recommend spending the time, effort, and money to attend this tasting.

Institute for The Masters of Wine Champagne Tasting
Monday September 17th, 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Ferry Plaza Marketplace
Port Commissioners Meeting Room (2nd Floor)
The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA 94111

Tickets are $50 ($35 for MW, WSET and MS students) and can be purchased in advance online, or potentially at the door on the day of the tasting.

ALDER’S TIPS FOR TASTING CHAMPAGNE:
1. Taste on a full stomach
2. Sip far less liquid than you might ordinarily out of the glass, as it will foam up in your mouth
3. Don’t swish the bubbly as violently in your mouth as you might with wine
4. Spit, of course, but do so more carefully, as it is more difficult with the foam
5. Drink lots of water, rinsing out your mouth frequently

Really serious tasters/students may want to bring their own Pinot Noir/Burgundy glass to taste out of in order to get a better aromatic sense of the wines.

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