Bottle Guides
Brunchy Bubbles You Can Use To Replace Mimosas Indefinitely
By Aimee Rizzo
I don’t know if anyone’s ever told you this, but it’s not actually mandatory to dilute sparkling wine with orange juice in order to drink bubbles at brunch. In fact, I’m here to postpone the mimosa indefinitely. Instead, let’s celebrate the following fruity fizzies, from hazy ones packed with zested grapefruit acidity to just a really excellent apple-y cava you’ll want with chicken and waffles. Next time you sit down on the weekend at around 10-noon for things like egg sandwiches, root vegetable hash, and triple-berry French toast, pop these bottles and don’t you dare slosh in so much as a drop of OJ. Tropicana, it’s nothing personal.
Even though it’s obviously made of just fermented and carbonated grape stuff, this muscat pet-nat could almost be mistaken for a proper Champagne cocktail, boozed-up to the brim with St. Germain alongside spritzes of orange blossom water and pressed melon. And if that’s what you’d like to pretend these bubbles are, hey, I have no qualms. Pair this overtly-floral sipper with something carb-based and fruity, but not candy-sweet (sorry, glazed lemon poppyseed muffin - you know you’re just cake, right?), like challah french toast soaked in an orange zest-spiked egg batter and topped with fresh strawberries, honey, and whipped butter.
Borachio’s zippy, brioche-y pét-nat has all of the cloudiness and pithy zap of an actual grapefruit mimosa, so while a full flute of Pash Rash would have a fairytale romance with virtually any plate-o-brunch, I’d slurp it between bites of avocado toast - buttery green mash dotted with drops of Sicilian olive oil, Maldon salt, chili flakes, a healthy squeeze from a lemon wedge, and a shake of earthy za’atar spice, all spread atop a crusty hunk of grilled sourdough. Oh, what was that? Add some burrata and crispy prosciutto on top? Hell yeah, let’s party.
There’s something about the sticky savory vibes layered throughout Swick’s ruby-ish Pet Natch that reminds me of balsamic glaze drizzled over red cherries and strawberries. And throughout my own research (a.k.a. eating food and drinking wine simultaneously), I’ve found that it’s an iconic match for smoked fish - so pop the crown cap and go in on an open-faced sesame bagel slathered with cream cheese schmear, snipped chives, and of course, paper-thin slices of lox. Or, an eggs benny with cured salmon subbed in for ham.
Blueberry pancakes. Salted butter brushstrokes. A side of bacon. Just enough maple syrup to take the edge off. That is, definitively, what you’re gonna munch on with a glass of this lambrusco di sorbara. Podere Il Saliceto’s rosé has a subtle raspberry-prickly pear sorbet tartness that refreshes you better than cold brew in the morning, especially after going to town on a buttermilk-infused short stack with some strips of peppered pork fat. These fuchsia bubbles aren’t so sour that they’ll ruin a sweet(er) breakfast either - and I am very much into the cute little smooch of crystallized tangerine peel that brightens up gooey berries that have burst in the batter.
This Spanish cava is always a stupendous standby to have in the fridge in the case of rich, salty brunches - like thyme-flecked fried chicken and waffles or nutty manchego biscuits with poached eggs and chorizo gravy - and if that doesn’t quite sound like your repertoire in the kitchen (don’t worry, it doesn’t sound like mine either), it’d also work wonders for a simple scramble or omelette with sausage, herbs, roasted potatoes, and aged cheddar folded in with an english muffin on the side. Embrace the mellow, Martinelli’s-like apple-lemon crispness cutting through all that decadence. It’s part of a balanced breakfast.
For a Mexican brunch involving dishes like chilaquiles topped with dollops of tomatillo salsa or a breakfast burrito roughly the size of an infant, it would probably behoove you to choose a bottle of sparkling wine that has all the thirst-quenching essence of an ice-cold agua fresca - and Wildman Wines Bunny fills that void. There’s a heap of juicy, yogurt-like watermelon tang, grapefruit, and a tiny twist of under ripe peach that I just want to sip with a tortilla-wrapped meal. Even if it’s coming from Taco Bell. Especially if it’s coming from Taco Bell.