Champagne producers have done an impeccable job making Champagne seemingly mandatory for celebrations. However, after chatting with Sharon Little the Director of Marketing and Promotions for Nyarai Cellars in St. Davids, Ontario she advised me that the wine was crafted in gratitude of the struggle, sacrifices and hardships endured by our ancestors. It is a “tribute wine” there to remind us celebrations can have a serious side to them and Nyarai Cellars 2020 Folklore Sparkling Wine might be a wine of gratitude, contemplation and reflection.
The Nyarai Cellars 2020 Folklore Sparkling Wine is a multi-blend wine of Riesling, Vidal Blanc, Muscat Ottonel, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer. A ferocious congregation of bubbles in this light gold coloured wine. Lemon, lime, honey and apricot on the nose. On the palate there is good acidic bite as one expects in so many sparkling white wines that places us under the tyranny of Brut and Extra Brut. Yes that sharp bite of Brut and Extra Brut often is accompanied by a wave of harshness on the palate. No that is not bad but frankly it can be boring experiencing it time and time again. In this case the palate presents us with crispness but there is honey, apricot, tangerine with a bit of ginger.
Thank goodness there are winemakers like Steve Byfield at Nyarai to mix up and jostle snooty wine drinkers who scoff at anything less than Champagne. Yes we all like Champagne but its price range seems to warrant its consumption on the most special occasions. At $22.95 I’d rather take it over entry level Champagnes at $49.95 and let the Houston Astros celebrate their 2022 World Series with $388,000 worth of Chemin du Roi Champagne a label owned by rapper 50 Cent.
You will have to go online to order this wine (www.nyaraicellars.ca). 153 cases were made. The tech sheet states the wine pairs well with green salads with fresh herbs and goat cheese, steamed shellfish and asparagus risotto. Sharon added that it also pairs with nachos and oysters too! Moving ahead to Christmas considering it is not bone dry it just might pair well with turkey, capon or Cornish Hen.
(Nyarai Cellars 2020 Folklore Sparkling Wine, Nayari Cellars under license by West Avenue Cider House, $22.95, 750 mL, 11%, RKS Wine Rating 88/100).
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