Prosecco is another Italian sparkling wine along with Asti Spumante. Like Asti Spumante, Prosecco tends to be on the sweet end of the flavor spectrum - not necessarily the Wine Witch’s preference. Surprisingly the Lunetta Prosecco is quite dry. Even more surprising it is produced by Cavit whose other wines are fair to middling.
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Pink champagne is just fun, happy, bubbly stuff. There is a lot of a really bad, cheap sparkling pink wine out there. However, the Korbel Brut Rose is a very nice wine.
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If you want a reliable “Champagne” to celebrate your pizza or any other of life’s daily triumphs, Korbel Brut is the one. This sparkler is widely available and often on sale.
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Let’s start with a confession - the Wine Witch is not the biggest fan of Asti Spumante. Most of it is just a slight, fizzy step above a wine cooler. These sparklers tend to be quite sweet, which may be exactly what you are looking for.
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OK - the first thing that needs to be cleared up is the use of the word Champagne. All Champagne is sparkling wine, but very little sparkling wine is Champagne. You may recall from other posts that the French name their wines after where they are grown and not the grape in the bottle. Champagne is a rather small wine region in France, and technically only wines that come from there have the right to be called Champagne. Wine makers outside of France (especially the U.S. and Southern Hemishpere) hoping to cash in on Champagne’s mystic often call their sparkling wines Champagne. They shouldn’t, but they do and the Wine Witch is not going to start swimming against the tide here. If you see sparkling wines in this post or other reviews called Champagne when they are not, just relax and go with it. We all know what we are talking about here.
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Fume Blanc is a great varietal to introduce to Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc drinkers 
who want to branch out. Fume Blancs tend to be on the drier side with good acidity which makes them a good match with a variety of dishes.
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The 2006 Placido Pinot Grigio is a reliable, widely available Pinot that will appeal to those who do not like their wine too assertive. It is also available in 1.5 bottles which makes it a good choice for holiday parties.
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The Maso Canali Pinot Grigio is a super wine. You do need to know upfront that this is not a typical Pinot Grigio. The Wine Witch considers this a good thing, but diehard Pinot drinkers may have a different opinion. This one is also a splurge at $30 and may take a little work to find.
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The Wine Witch needs to make a confession here. Pinot Grigio is not my go to white wine. Basically Pinot Grigio is seldom offensive, but all too often it does not excite. This offering from Kris has a little something going on in the glass and is more interesting than most. At less than $15, it is good value.
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Cavit Collection is a widely available, value priced producer from Italy. The Pinot Grigio is probably the best known of their offerings.
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Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio is probably the most recognized producer of this varietal. Most restaurants that offer wine that does not come out of a cardboard box have this one on the menu. It is one of those absolutely “safe” wine choices.
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The wine suggestion posts include a “safe” choice for your gifting. Merlot in general is a “safe” choice for the red wine drinker on you list. The good news is that it seldom offends - the wines tend to be soft and round with no prickly edges. The bad news is that although it seldom offends, it often bores. The following are some Wine Witch recommendation all of which have been reviewed here.
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Sebastiani is one of the iconic names of California winemaking. The 2004 Sonoma County Merlot is one of their best.
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The price tag on this one is certainly above the usually Wine Witch limit. The basic manifesto of Wine Witch is that you do not need to spend more than $15 for a bottle of wine 90-95% of the time. However, you do need some direction for the 5-10% of the time you want to splurge or impress a bit. If Merlot is involved the 2004 from Franciscan is worth your consideration.
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The 2006 Blackstone Merlot is a Wine Witch favorite for this varietal. As often said in this blog, there is a lot of boring Merlot out there, but this one delivers a little more zip than most.
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Yellow Tail is an Australian producer that has taken the U.S. by storm. They cover most of the major varietals and their wines are widely available.
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Trapiche is a widely available, value producer of wines from Argentina. The 2006 Merlot is a good example of their product.
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Chardonnay is probably the premier white varietal - certainly in the U.S.. There is almost a limitless range of Chardonnay styles and almost every wine producing country or region has Charonnay. One of the biggest factors impacting the final result is the age old question - To Oak, or Not to Oak. If you have a dedicated Chardonnay drinker on your gift list, the Wine Witch is going to guess that they fall on the “to oak” side of the question. While there are some lovely unoaked Chardonnays out there, most Chardonnay has seen some wood.
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The 2005 Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay is another party in a glass which also comes with some serious alcohol content - 14.4%. Make sure it is savored under controlled conditions.
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The Wine Witch’s mission is to promote wines under $15. The theory being that 95% of the time it is all you need to spend. However for holidays, gift giving, or other special occasions it is certainly OK to treat yourself or your giftee.
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This famous filmaker may ultimately be known for his wines as much as the director of the Godfather movies. This is no hobby for Mr. Coppola. He makes some very serious wine out of the old Inglenook winery he bought some years back. He never does any thing half-way.
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The 2005 Clos du Bois Chardonnay is a good choice for those who like rock-em, sock-em Chardonnay. Nothing shy about this one.
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Rosemount is one of the larger and better makers of value priced Australian wine. The 2006 Diamond Label Chardonnay is a very good example of what they can do.
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Another great value from the Southern Hemisphere - the Mendoza region of Argentina to be exact. May be a little harder to find, but definitely worth seeking out. At less than $10 how can you go wrong.
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Chardonnay is probably the world’s premier white varietal and among at least U.S. consumers, Kendall Jackson is probably the best known. Almost any wine list has it, and it is certainly an old, reliable friend if there is nothing else you recognize.
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