{"title":"Delicious alternatives to Champagne - Ideal for Easter drinking","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"franciacorta-extra-brut-faccoli-nv","title":"Franciacorta Extra Brut, Faccoli NV","description":"\u003cp\u003ePure class alternative to Champagne. With 60% of the blend being Chardonnay and the rest made up of 20% Pinot Blanc and 20% Pinot Noir, this shows an elegant and well-balanced richness, with apricots and ripe pear enlivened by zippy citrus and that classic crunchy fresh bread crust, evident from its time on lees, topped off with a long persistent finish. Very low added SO2 and at least 20 months in bottle pre release.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#Tasting#\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Faccoli family have been producing wine from their 10 ha of vines in the south-western corner of Franciacorta for generations.  Claudio Faccoli, a key Franciacorta winemaker, has passed on the family estate to his daughter Francesca. Farming Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Noir, with around 50% of the vines on terraces surrounded by dense woodland, their terroir is unique in Franciacorta, as they are in the foothills of Mount Orfano, a small mountain that is something of a geological anomaly, as it is the only area that comes from marine origin. \u003cspan\u003eThe northern side of the mountain is \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003einfluenced by cold and humid winds from the Iseo lake, whilst the southern side, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003ewhere Coccaglio is, has a Mediterranean climate.\u003c\/span\u003e The marine origin of the soils lends racy acidity to the wine, and even after prolonged aging, they retain a fresh, lemony profile.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"FACCOLI","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43222752788665,"sku":"IFAC01S75NV","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/GGXMNIoJQRmeE1PG4aS4kw_pb_x600_62de4a41-2501-47e1-969f-5d4ce66c65e9.jpg?v=1692892309"},{"product_id":"lambrusco-perfranco-bergianti-terrevive-nv","title":"Bergianti Perfranco, Terrevive NV","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeautiful red skinned apples, orange peel, spice, and salty stones. The palate has a fine mousse with lots of crunchy red apple, and even a little tannin, almost like the pips and skins. Grapefruit and lots of tangy, gentle herbal notes too. Really thrilling to drink. 100% \u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSalamino di Santa Croce, and from an ancient clone too.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGianluca Bergianti is a star of Lambrusco. His is the only one on the list at Massimo Bottura's 3 Michelin Star restaurant in Modena, and as well as being a superbly talented winemaker, he's also a keen beekeeper, farmer of heritage grains and producer of hyper-seasonal biodynamic vegetables. His first harvest was just 10 years ago, after intensely researching the two indigenous grapes Sorbara and Salamino, and searching for ancient clones. He spent time studying biodynamics with leaders of the scene in Italy: Stefano Bellotti at Carlo Noro and Michele Lorenzetti, and has worked biodynamically since day one. T\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ehe wines are thrilling to drink; nervy, tingly, incisive and exciting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"TERREVIVE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43268106649785,"sku":"IBER01S75NV","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/Bergianti-Perfranco-2020.jpg?v=1712056927"},{"product_id":"solstice-by-danbury-ridge-1st-edition-nv","title":"Solstice by Danbury Ridge, 1st Edition NV","description":"\u003cp\u003eA s\u003cspan\u003eensational small production release from Danbury Ridge. Just released, this first edition is absolutely gorgeous. Being fuller, more golden in colour and flavour, with notes of malt, and baked apple pie, buttery pastry, with layers of fruit and complexity, with some delicious oxidative notes, with a fine core of acidity, it is rather different from the other English fizzes we know, which are crisper. Although this is still completely dry. At just over 4g\/l dosage, that puts it in the extra brut category (if Champagne) and make it drier that most English sparklings. A triumph!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMulti-vintage, barrel-fermented Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier, a part of which passes through our perpetual solera. 4.8 g\/l dosage. This is a first edition from one of England's top still wine producers, Danbury Ridge, based in one of the warmest and driest corners of the UK, the Crouch Valley in Essex.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DANBURY RIDGE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54932101169538,"sku":"A56161NV","price":55.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/danbury_solstice_ed1_L_144ae197-a820-44b1-a4a5-e990d11dea1c.jpg?v=1742383337"},{"product_id":"cremant-de-limoux-a-la-volee-brut-nature-2022","title":"Cremant de Limoux A La Volee Brut Nature 2022","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe prefer the quality of this to the Champagnes you might be able to pick up at a similar price. Champagne-method sparkling wine - all of the sensory indulgence, for a fraction of the price, and made by an ex-Champagne producer. Who needs Champagne when you have Cremant this good! This has got it all! Utterly awesome champagne-method sparkling wine - all of the sensory indulgence, for a fraction of the price, and made by an ex Champagne producer. Delish bready notes - fresh baguettes smeared with good French unsalted butter and apricot jam. Apple compote, sugared almonds, ripe melon and delicately toasty notes that carry through to the palate with butterscotch and candied lemon and hint of vanilla cream, orange zest and long biscuit-accented finish. Zero dosage - a blend of 63% Chardonnay, 25% Chenin Blanc, 12% Pinot. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#Tasting#\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWinemaker-negociant Pierre is an energetic and entrepreneurial young man on a mission to shine light on many of the over-looked vineyards close to his hometown. He seeks out interesting plots of vines and growers who prioritise ecologically responsible farming and keeps winemaking simple, without fancy designer yeasts or new oak in his downtown cellar in the historic city of Carcassonne. We love his wines for their authenticity, honesty and how very delicious they are.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"PIERRE","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55239134544258,"sku":"A4400122","price":19.25,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_7f210e25-623a-4919-9c4a-9005272817a1.png?v=1748956228"},{"product_id":"the-trouble-with-dreams-sugrue-2020","title":"The Trouble with Dreams Sugrue 2020","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe 2020 has amazing finesse and purity. The nose makes me think of the most perfect white meringue, with a hint of sherbert, a touch of lemon syllabub, and then there's a depth of fruit, but dry, cool fruit like you get with classic Chablis, but then you find some riper more generous notes, and you feel the poised vinous texture and the tempering fine scintillating bubbles. The beautiful flavour held up by its tension and acidity lasts for a minute. It's such a delicious wine with such a wonderful sensation on the palate that you can't help but sip and appreciate its quality and beauty and finesse, again and again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTen years ago I met Dermot Sugrue for the first time. It was a tasting at Claridge's. All the producers present had a table except for Dermot, who was sitting outside the entrance to the ballroom clutching an unlabelled bottle, looking forlorn. Everyone scurried past, in their rush to taste the famous wines beyond. But it's precisely what other people overlook that I find the most interesting. Dermot poured me a taster and I could not believe how good it was. For a moment it was like the world stopped turning as I realised this was a seminal wine in the history of English wine. It was as if I'd been waiting my entire wine career to taste this wine. In a movie it would have been with an accompaniment of Ode to Joy. I put my hands up for all we could get. It was 25 dozen. I described it as my wine experience of the year. And it's that very same wine, The Trouble with Dreams 2009, but in magnum, that won Best in Show at the Decanter wine awards, picked among thousands of top wines from around the world, include famous Champagnes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sugrue","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55336702509442,"sku":"A6706120","price":49.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_448ea45b-e450-4902-9ab9-c9a6ef46300b.png?v=1751013085"},{"product_id":"riva-rinetti-pas-dose-calatroni-metodo-classico-docg-2019","title":"Riva Rinetti Calatroni 2019","description":"\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003eRiva Rinetti is a high-altitude love letter to Pinot Noir, rooted in the Rinetti family’s former vineyard in Montecalvo Versiggia. Planted just a decade ago, this next-gen vineyard blends cutting-edge clonal science with old-school passion to squeeze every drop of terroir into the bottle. After a gentle harvest and pressing, the juice takes its time, 48 months aging on the lees, no shortcuts, no sugar-dusted theatrics, just pure, vintage-matched finesse. The result? A sparkling wine that’s as elegant as it is grounded, proving that even the youngest vines can tell a timeless story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormal\"\u003e#Tasting#\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Aptos',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Aptos; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;\"\u003eSince 1964, the Calatroni family has grown from local wine producers into sparkling wine specialists. Now led by the third generation, Cristian and Stefano, the focus has shifted to Pinot Noir, especially for their white and rosé Metodo Classico wines. Today, they produce around 100,000 bottles a year, all proudly carrying the DOCG Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico label\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CALATRONI","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55527690895746,"sku":"A6796119","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/BC_Upload_4b04abf2-cca5-4513-9f2e-bdd8746668e7.png?v=1754399785"},{"product_id":"prosecco-colfondo-agricolo-bele-casel-2023","title":"ColFondo Agricolo Bele Casel 2023","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat is Prosecco Col Fondo? The term translates to \"with its bottom,\" meaning the wine is bottled with lees, completing fermentation in the bottle. This results in a nicely cloudy wine with crisp flavour and a delicate effervescence. The wine has a delicious, mouth-filling texture, best described as a gentle foam rather than a mousse. Its packed with notes of nashi pears and fresh, bready aromas, with a touch of savoury elements reminiscent of honey on toast, fennel, and a subtle salty finish.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e#Tasting#\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSituated in the Prosecco hills of Asolo, Bele Casel has significantly impacted the market by spearheading the ‘Colfondo Agricolo’ movement, dedicated to reviving the ancient method of producing sparkling wines in Veneto. Their straightforward goal is to create great wines, with every family member involved in each step of the process. From the vineyard to the winery, and from bottling to labelling, everything is done by hand, showcasing their dedication and passion in every glass. Bravo!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BELE CASEL","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55558609994114,"sku":"A3326123","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/2466\/1541\/files\/colfondobt2023scontIMG_0011.png?v=1756199962"}],"url":"https:\/\/swig.co.uk\/collections\/delicious-alternatives-to-champagne-ideal-for-easter-drinking\/grape-salamino-di-santa-croce.oembed","provider":"Swig Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}