It Came From Where?

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

If you have read this blog before you know that I appreciate wines from non traditional areas. These areas are usually in the United States, but not always. I love local wine, but believe that everywhere is local to someone.

So what do you do if you live in Russia and you want Champagne? Prior to Soviet control, French Champagne could be imported into Russia, but at great expense. It was Prince Leo Galitzine, who created the first factory for sparkling wines at his estates in the Crimea. These wines were called Soviet Champagne or Champagne for the people. After the revolution, these wines were still in production.

So when I saw this bottle? I knew that I had to try it.

This sparkling wine (not being from the Champagne Region of France, I won’t call it real Champagne) is not from the Crimea, but rather Kazan, which is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.

The taste was very apple. And the color very golden. I can fairly say that I have never had a sparkling wine like it before. The carbonation was very light, and while dry it was exceptionally fruity. If I hadn’t known better, I would have assumed it was cider rather than wine. It wasn’t what I was expecting, not by a long shot. But that doesn’t mean that it was bad. On the contrary. Just different. I also noted that this was the “dry” version. The store where I found this also carried the semi-dry and sweet varieties, which I am guessing can move into the cloying category. Luckily, I stuck with what I did. And we enjoyed the bottle, toasting my parents as they prepare to leave for a vacation to Egypt and Israel. Naturally, they have been asked to keep their eyes open for interesting wines and to report back to me!

This entry was posted on October 18, 2010 at 12:16 pm and is filed under Apple, Champagne, Marguerite Barrett, Russia, sparkling wine, wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.