As with many other festive holidays, Italians really know how to celebrate New Year's Eve and New Year's Day: with a big family dinner and a nice toast of spumante when the clock strikes midnight. As the king of sparkling wines, spumante is the drink of choice for major celebrations in Italy, and this tradition has been spreading around the world in recent years; the reason for choosing this wine over other bubbly options is that Italian winemakers really know how to produce a proper amount of fizz. In other words, if you really want your wine to sparkle, you can't wrong with spumante wine, just ask any sommelier.
Spumanti, in the plural form come in a few varieties:
Brut
This dry wine has a distinctive taste that is achieved with a slow process of fermentation and special kinds of yeast. It is perfect for toasting or enjoying with seafood entrees and gourmet cheese platters.
Brut Rosé
As its name suggests, this sparkling wine combines the lively taste of rose with the dry texture and finish of brut. When you choose brut rose for New Year's Eve, you get a toast that starts off sparkly and dry with hints of spice and citrus. The grapes used to make this lively wine provide its distinctive and festive color. It should be noted that Italians tend to associate reddish colors as good luck for the New Year, and thus this is a popular choice. The taste of this particular wine has hints of cherries and citrus; it pairs well with a plate of gourmet cold cuts, particularly salami.
Dolce
The fruity taste of this bubbly wine is not the only sweetness you get; the aroma is also very pleasant because the grapes are carefully handled to preserve their flavor. This is a popular wine for toasting in the Piedmont region as well as in parts of Argentina. The New Year's spumante toast in Italy is made after enjoying a meal of risotto, zampone e lenticchie.
Although the zampone, pig's trotter, is mostly used for sausage making and to add pork flavoring to traditional recipes, it is usually served whole for the New Year's Eve celebration.
Spumanti, in the plural form come in a few varieties:
Brut
This dry wine has a distinctive taste that is achieved with a slow process of fermentation and special kinds of yeast. It is perfect for toasting or enjoying with seafood entrees and gourmet cheese platters.
Brut Rosé
As its name suggests, this sparkling wine combines the lively taste of rose with the dry texture and finish of brut. When you choose brut rose for New Year's Eve, you get a toast that starts off sparkly and dry with hints of spice and citrus. The grapes used to make this lively wine provide its distinctive and festive color. It should be noted that Italians tend to associate reddish colors as good luck for the New Year, and thus this is a popular choice. The taste of this particular wine has hints of cherries and citrus; it pairs well with a plate of gourmet cold cuts, particularly salami.
Dolce
The fruity taste of this bubbly wine is not the only sweetness you get; the aroma is also very pleasant because the grapes are carefully handled to preserve their flavor. This is a popular wine for toasting in the Piedmont region as well as in parts of Argentina. The New Year's spumante toast in Italy is made after enjoying a meal of risotto, zampone e lenticchie.
Although the zampone, pig's trotter, is mostly used for sausage making and to add pork flavoring to traditional recipes, it is usually served whole for the New Year's Eve celebration.
