Last evening I attended a sparkling wine tasting at a great restaurant in Chandler, AZ called Cork www.corkrestaurant.net. We tasted 4 different sparkling wines, although only one was Champagne.

You know that only sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France can be called Champagne, don't you? Italian sparkling wines are called Spumante, which is the Italian name for sparkling wine. The most famous Spumantes are called Prosecco, named for the grapes used in their production, which come from the Veneto region. Spanish sparkling wines are called Cava, regardless of the region they come from.

In America the technical name is just sparkling wine, but most sparkling wines here are called champagne. In America champagne is the generic name for sparkling wine. Most people use it to describe any sparkling wine, just as do many people refer it tissues as Kleenex, no what their brand name is.

The Cava we tasted was not memorable, but the 2 sparkling wines, one a rose and one a blanc, which came from Domaine Carneros were delicious. The Champagne we tasted was a Taittinger, and it was delicious as well. The best value was the Domaine Carneros blanc brut.

Taittinger is a 275 year old vintner, who used to be a partner in Domaine Carneros until they sold it 3 years ago. The Domaine Carneros building, in the Carneros region of Napa, is a replica of the Taittinger winery in France.

The wine rep who presented the tasting told us how toasts began. Two nobelmen would clink their glasses forcefully, spilling some of their Champagne into each other's glass. That way if the wine was poisoned, both would be affected.

Sparkling wines are worthy of being drunk at anytime of the year. But during the Holiday Season, people seem to consume a lot more than they do during the rest of the year. So take time out from your busy schedule and hoist a glass or 2 of "bubbles." You'll be glad you did.

Until next time, cheers.

Ted Pawlikowski