Tag: Bubbles

5 Good Bubbly’s for $15

5 Good Bubbly’s for $15

A Bubbly Sunday Experiment

I am not sure whether living on the same block as a bottle shop is a godsend or a problem. Either way, it makes a bad day a bit easier when you simply have to walk next door to make yourself feel better – albeit until tomorrow. Whilst we are lovers of fine wine, there is always those days when you just need a good drop of bubbly to put a little fizz back into your day.

So purely in the name of research, we toddled off next door and brought them out of bubbly, in order to give you the best 5 Bubbly’s for under $15. Paired with a nice Mezze plate, we sat on the balcony in the sun, enjoying a Sunday afternoon. Sometimes, the hard work just simply has to be done!

At $15 or less, all 5 of these lovely wines, will definitely cheer you up after a bad day at the office or make a Sunday afternoon with friends a bit of an occasion. Don’t get me wrong… I love the finer things in life! But sometimes the finer things don’t have to cost the earth. Let me prove it to you!

And while we did rate these bubbles from 1 to 5 (number 1 being our favourite of course!), do understand that there was half a point between each, so not a big difference in the love-factor overall.

Coming in at Number 5 is the Jacobs Creek Reserve Chardonnay Pinot Noir 2015. This beautiful and quite serious drop from a very affordable vineyard is a great “bad day wine”. It’s boldness lets you sink into it and relax after a hard day and would be great paired with some hot and spicy Thai food! This is a great Hump Day drop when you can’t be bothered to cook and get take-out and watch The Bachelor, laughing at all the silly girls!

Number 4 on our list is one of our all-time favourites! Henkell Trocken Sparkling Wine can be found in our fridge on any given day of the week and the lady at our local bottle shop even quietly lets us know when it’s going in special so we can buy up in bulk! Henkell is a zesty, fun, lively bubbly with an everlasting citrus flavour that is just too easy to drink! Really… A bloody nice wine!!!

Our Number 3 is one of the prettiest wines I have ever seen. The Yellowglen Vintage 2015 Bella Pink Moscato is decorated with beautiful packaging and makes it perfect for drinks with the girls on a Friday afternoon. This lovely wine is like a super-sweet nectar that tickles the end of your nose as you sip and is good old plain fun! If I have a night at home alone, you will find me on the couch with a bottle of Yellowglen Pink Moscato and a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with caramel topping. Paired with a great girly movie and Mr. George Clooney, it feels like a naughty night in. But don’t tell KAM!

Number 2 was a bit of a surprise package! Living with an Italian, I have enjoyed my fair-share of Prosecco’s, but the Porta Dante Prosecco in my opinion is one of the best (and one of the most inexpensive). This lovely wine is smooth, sophisticated, and gentle – just like a good Italian should be! I could easily sip a Sunday away with a bottle of this lovely bubbly with KAM. Although I do wonder…. Are two Italians too much to handle at the same time?!

And finally our favourite! As we were conducting this experiment we tried not to taint the results, however with a bottle of Bimbadgen Sparkling Semillon in the mix, it was hard not to be bias. The Bimbadgen Sparkling Semillon is pure sunshine in a glass and makes all your bad days disappear like the fizz that escapes from the bottle as you open it. This beautiful bubbly is summer at its best and showcases the Hunter Valley Semillon’s with class, style and grace. Happy songs start to play in my head as I sip a glass of this spectacular wine and I remember all of the beautiful meals KAM and I have shared with a bottle of Bimbadgen Sparkling Semillon on the side. This wine is simply the best money can buy at around $15 and in my opinion is worth much more – but don’t tell Bimbadgen I said that or they might up the price!

So there you have it! This list proves that for under $15 you can enjoy a little luxury at any time of the week without breaking the budget! But don’t take our word for it… Try them for yourselves. After all, life would be boring without a little experimentation, right?!

Hungerford Hill Wines

Hungerford Hill Wines

Fun flirtation or mortal sin?

If I was a wine, I would be a bubbly, full of fun flavours and a little bit of zest. If KAM were a bubbly, he would be a dark, brooding red, full of reliability and strong flavours – the kind of wine you want to snuggle up with on the couch in front of a fireplace in winter.

I guess that’s why when it comes to Bubbles, we happen to class the sparkling range of Hungerford Hill Winery one of the best. With only 2 bubbly’s, their range might not be large, but why do a lot of something, when you have reached perfection in just 2 bottles?!

The white variety is a Sparkling Chardonnay Pino Noir called the “Dalliance”. When looking up the dictionary, Dalliance is defined as a fun flirtation toying with the idea of procrastination. I can’t find a better reason to procrastinate than sitting with a beautiful bottle of Dalliance and a good meal, not wanting either of them to end. The Dalliance has won countless awards and at around $45 a bottle rivals any of the more expensive French bubbles on the market. This is a light, bright wine, with an exuberance that twinkles in the glass as your pour it. Perfect for a hot Summer afternoon in the sun with good friends – although you may find yourself not wanting to share!

In total complete contrast, is the NV Cardinal Sparkling Shiraz. If ever it was worth committing a mortal sin for all the right reasons – this is it! This is not a wine to be taken lightly, and as the name suggests, “The Cardinal” is in my opinion, paramount in a region with a number of comparative wines. This wine is sacred and should be saved for moments of utmost importance. Perfect for Christmas lunch, the spices in this wine go perfectly with a roast dinner or pudding afterwards. At around $30 you will definitely not be disappointed when you open a bottle of this!

So whether you are a bright white or a dark red drinker, I suggest you try both of these beautiful wines from Hungerford Hill. Even if you thought you knew what you liked – these bubbles will change your thinking. If the definition of Dalliance is to ‘hesitate’ and the definition of committing a Mortal Sin is to ‘deprive your soul’, why do either when Hungerford Hill bubbly range can give you the kick-start you need!

Hungerford Hill Wines

Hungerford Hill Wines
2450 Broke Road,
Pokolbin NSW
http://www.hungerfordhill.com.au/