I love sparkling wine in any season. I find I never tire of it and actually like to drink it throughout the whole meal. A dear friend with dreaded allergies to wine can only drink dry sparkling wines. We deduced that perhaps it is really an allergy to sugar. When fermented dry, some sparklers have very little residual sugar.

I enjoyed a lovely Cremant de Loire in the Tuileries in Paris yesterday. Pal mal.

I love Paris in the Springtime and every season of the year. Cremant de Loire is a nice alternative to Champagne and has made a bit of headway in the United States but not nearly enough for me.

I wrote this article on sparkling wines for Gourmet Retailer this month. The field is becoming crowded with many new alternatives but I am thrilled.