12 Summer Sparkling Wines, Because Who Needs a Reason

Here, then, are a dozen excellent summer sparklers, arranged in order of ascending price. Remember, these are just 12 of many worthy bottles. For additional options, please consult past articles on bottles under $20, cava or pétillant naturel.

Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

AT Roca Clàssic Penedès Reserva Brut Nature 2016 $22.50

AT Roca makes cava but does not use the official designation, believing that it has become an indication of mass production rather than of good quality. Instead, AT Roca uses the “Clàssic Penedès,” an identification for sparkling wines with strict regulations, including a requirement for organic viticulture. This new producer, founded in 2013, uses the classic trio of cava grapes, macabeu, parellada and xarello. The wine is lively, fine and maybe too austere to drink alone, so serve it with ham, oysters or, as they do everywhere in Catalonia, with pan con tomate. (José Pastor Selections/Llaurador Wines, Fairfax, Calif.)

Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Terres Dorées de Jean-Paul Brun FRV100 Rosé Sparkling Wine NV $22.99

Jean-Paul Brun is one of my favorite Beaujolais producers, rigorous in his methods yet playful in his manner. He’s got a light hand with sparkling wines, as well. This pet-nat is made entirely out of gamay. As the label says in the fine print, it’s “medium-dry,” meaning gently sweet, and just 7.5 percent alcohol. It’s well-balanced and perfectly refreshing, a joyful wine for a summer lunch out of doors. The name FRV100? If you give the individual letters and the number 100 their French pronunciations, it comes out “effervescent.” (Louis/Dressner Selections, New York)

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Raventós I Blanc Conca del Riu Anoia de Nit 2017 $23.99

Rosé sparkling wine is not that easy to make. Balance is hard to achieve and, as I was reminded in the course of selecting these 12 bottles, rosé sparklers can often seem overpowering, dull or fatiguing. But Raventós I Blanc manages, year after year, to nail it with its elegant, graceful de Nit, which offers just a hint of color and floral fruit to remind you it is a rosé. The wine is made with xarello, macabeu and parellada, with the addition of monastrell, also known as mourvèdre, which accounts for the color. Raventós, like AT Roca, no longer uses the cava designation. Instead, it uses Conca del Riu Anoia, which it hopes one day will signal top-quality sparkling wine from Catalonia. (Skurnik Wines, New York)

Credit…Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
source: nytimes.com