wine
text
Peter Tilly
Behind the
Bubbles
”I drink it when I’m happy and
when I’m sad. Sometimes, I drink
it when I’m alone. When I have
company I consider it obligatory. I
trifle with it if I’m not hungry and
drink it if I am; otherwise I never
touch it - unless I’m thirsty.”
Madame Bollinger, one of the “grande dames”
of French champagne (1884 - 1977).
quickly discover. To avoid litigation
other countries label their sparkling
wines in variety of ways. In South
Africa, Méthode Cap Classique, or
simply abbreviated as MCC, is used
to denote sparkling wines that are
bottle-fermented. In Germany, Sekt
is the generic name for sparkling
wines. Cava is the name of a
Spanish wine producing area in the
Penedés region and has become
synonymous with sparkling wines
from that country. Italy produces
more sparkling wines, or as they
call them Spumante, than any other
country. Metodo classico on the label
denotes a sparkling wine made in
the traditional method including
secondary bottle fermentation.
In Kenya we are lucky because
we have available sparkling wines
from many different countries. The
famous Champagne house wines
are now available here, including
from Mumm, Taittinger, Veuve
Clicquot, Laurent-Perrier and Moet &
Chandon. They all cost between KSh
6, 000 and KSh 10, 000 per bottle.
From Spain we have Cava from
the two giant companies making
sparkling wine in the traditional
method: Freixenet and Codorníu,
which cost between KSh 2, 500 and
KSh 3, 500 a bottle. From Italy, a
large number of Prosecco’s can be
found on supermarket shelves, some
costing less than KSh1, 000 a bottle.
From South Africa there are many
MCC’s and other sparkling wines
available starting at less than KSh 1,
000 to over KSh 6, 000 a bottle. If
you want something with a Kenyan
flavour as well as excellent quality
then try the Mara Celebration MCC
wines available for about KSh 6, 000
a bottle.
Peter is a wine educator and
consultant. He teaches accredited
courses from the Cape Wine Academy
South Africa including certificate and
diploma levels. He has lived in many
African countries including Uganda,
Zambia, Mozambique, Sudan and
South Africa. His motto is, “wine is
about pleasure and not to be taken
too seriously!”.
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