In Vogue…Again
Good sparkling wine can make a celebration out of any occasion. The current vogue for cocktails has revived interest in the champagne cocktail, and new versions of this classic are appearing on bar menus all over Utah.
The Classic Champagne Cocktail:
3 oz. champagne or sparkling wine
1/3 oz. cognac
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 sugar cube
Place the sugar cube in a champagne glass. Saturate with Angostura bitters. Add champagne and cognac. Enjoy.
How to Be a Wrap Star:
Eliminate drips and punch up your presentation by wrapping wine like a pro. Here’s how to stylishly swaddle your bottle.
Fold a square napkin nearly in half diagonally, leaving the underside of the triangle taller than the top layer. Lay the bottle down in the center with its base slightly above the fold. 
Snuggly roll and wrap the bottle, ensuring the interior wrap is snug before covering with the exterior wrap. 
Stand bottle on end. While holding napkin wrap tightly in place, peel the two napkin points from the top downward much like peeling a banana. This will secure the loose end of the wrap in place.
Budget Bubbles:
Beloved Food Editor Mary Brown Malouf suggests three wallet-friendly bubblies when concocting a champagne cocktail.
1. Gruet Winery in New Mexico makes several styles of sparkling wine, but the flagship is the Gruet Brut, NV, a crisp but complex, classic wine; food-friendly, but great alone and a deal at $14.99.
2. Simonnet-Febvre produces several made in the methode champenoise but called Cremant de Bourgogne. One of my faves is the 100% pinot noir, with a food-friendly sturdiness sometimes lacking in less expensive bubblies. $18.99
3. Gloria Ferrer’s newish sparkler, Va de Vi Ultra Cuvee, is slightly sweet at first sip, but the sugar fades immediately to a tart fruit flavor with a toasty backbone. $17.99
If you want to expand your mixology, we have more award-winning cocktail recipes here.
