I bought several bottles at a local wine shop not long ago and the owner was kind enough to add a free 50 cl. bottle of Sauternes (pictured) for me to try.
Seeing as it’s melon season here, and that melon, Parma ham, and Sauternes is a marriage made in heaven, I opened the bottle yesterday at lunch.
My eyes popped out when I saw friggin’ bubbles in the wine! Not just a few, or for a brief while. No, there were plenty there and they kept coming.
Well, needless to say I was rather suspicious. The wine had obviously refermented in bottle. Would it be OK to drink? The answer is: just about. There was clearly something off but, seeing as it was a small bottle, we went ahead and finished our glass. I’m not sure about the remaining wine…
Well, chalk that up to experience and add one to my repertoire of anecdotes J.
While on the subject, a friend in Cognac makes sparkling Pineau des Charentes. He cannot sell it as such because it doesn’t correspond to appellation laws. It is the sort of drink that sneaks up quickly and then hits you with a sledgehammer.