Effervesce Sense: Stateside fizz

“You won’t believe what I’ve been drinking.”

This SNL-style “cold open” – now available in the USA and UK – is inspired by my latest getaway, The Anderson, hotel, smokehouse, whisky bar and pub in Fortrose. Above the restaurant’s best booth a sign reads, “You won’t believe what Jim is drinking this week.”

So what have I been drinking?

One of the owners of The Anderson, Jim, along with Anne and their son Laing, moved here 23 years ago, trading in the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia for the idyll of the Scottish Highlands. Now offering the Highland’s greatest emporium of beers, The Anderson goes well beyond gastropub expectations on a daily basis. On the last weekend of every month, it whips up a feast with genuine ingredients of one world cuisine.

Another sign, this above the bar, says, “If we don’t have what you drink, drink what we have”. That means no sparkling. In a very Anderson flourish, a bottle of Schwach crémant d’Alsace Blanc de Blancs magically appeared, long Chardonnay sparkles suited to a long evening. This little patch of paradise is clean, pet friendly and cosy. It also has beach, sand, waves, fresh air, delicious water and all things good in food and drink. Get in there.

So what have I been drinking?

Well, as if you need a reason to fly United, The United Polaris lounge brims with Laurent Perrier. There is also a stock of canny rosé in their Speakeasy lounge. Standing for Legend Vineyard Exclusive, LVE Sparkling Rosé is peachy-pinky tingler with flavours of raspberries, red currant and a touch of grapefruit. It’s a jewel-like option for those who find Champagne too strict and serious.

A bottle brought from France by a good friend – L’Univers Brut Tradition by Champagne Paul Hazard – turned out to be a winner: light, sophisticated champagne tasting of all the best things: orchard and yellow fruit, almonds and brioche with an airy, “crunchy” texture, really delicious.

The United Polaris lounge

The family-owned Champagne Cattier has been around for 400 years but only now appearing in my glass. Cattier Rosé Brut Premier Cru offers long-lasting fine bubbles and extremely alluring pale pink with a hint of orange. Richer and more complex as it opens, you’ll find red berry aromas heading into blackcurrant and ripe strawberry opening to orange zest, ripe apricots, caramel, toffee and a hint of nut. Remarkably balanced, Cattier Rosé Brut Premier Cru is a generous, delectable bottle. It looks discreet but don’t be fooled: the flavours inside are astronomical. Don’t serve too cold or you’ll miss all the fireworks.

New Dom Pérignon releases are sophisticated bottles for those who really appreciate the house’s reductive style. It is said you can tell Dom in a blind tasting by its hint of smoke on the palate, the signature of oxygen-free wine making. Shifting now towards smaller, more frequent releases, new vintages will be appearing simultaneously alongside older P2 releases. Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 – “smallest blend ever” – is a perfect balance of sweet, bitter, acid, roundness and tension, with all the sparkling edge you would expect. Dom Pérignon Plénitude 2 2008 is an extremely evolved iteration of superior pinot noir blending: acidic and umami tones, unveiling candied citrus, bergamot, white peach and coffee flavours in silky freshness. To highlight the release of a new rosé in May, I also tasted Dom Pérignon Rosé Vintage 2010, one of the most remarkable rosés I’ve tasted this year – scintillatingly, sparklingly fruity and multi-layered.

Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008

A constant discussion in our house is which bottle of Bouvet Ladubay to choose: Saumur, Saphir or Trésor? All are delightful. You can chill them and enjoy them mindfully or mindlessly. Open them for friends or for yourself. Take a magnum to a party and be popular. Kept one hidden in a shoe box. These sparkling wines of Bouvet Ladubay are so consistent, they are France’s most award winning sparkling wine after Champagne. But which to buy? For a chic mood with all taste buds flashing, go for the luxury of Bouvet Ladubay Saphir 2023, with its pale, fine bubbles, wafts of white flowers, peach and acacia and oak-aged, soft white fruit harmonics thanks to 25 months on lees. Bouvet Ladubay Saphir spends 18 months on lees, is classically structured and certainly easy to drink if somewhat more thoughtful. The Saumur is a daily bottle, mainly Chenin Blanc with 12 months on lees. While Trésor, Saphir and Saumur are all Bouvet‑Ladubay sparkling wines from the Saumur appellation, each represents various levels in style. TLDR they’re all yummy.

Often coming across as fizzy and sweet or packing a nasty acid backlash, there are exceptions

Even now, American fizz is a real mixed bag. Often coming across as fizzy and sweet or packing a nasty acid backlash, there are exceptions. Two recommended bottles from the Pacific Northwest include Four Feathers Hue, Any Day, Sparkling Blanc Brut NV, a traditional-method Blanc de Blancs from Washington’s Columbia Valley which offers a rounded and slightly sweet zing of ripe orchard fruit, pear, jasmine, chalk with fine bubbles. Oregon Sokol Blosser (that’s the very swanky tasting room at the winery, pictured at the top of the page), Bluebird, Brut Sparkling, Willamette Valley is deliciously perfumed citrus, candied peel, lemon and orange with crisp green apple and pear on the palate. It’s brut-dry with fine bubbles. Both are good for “apero” as they are subtly complex yet refreshing and clean without unnecessary drama.

The Anderson Bar Fortrose. Photo: John Paul

I have written about Domaine Karanika before but it needs to be repeated. Regarded as one of the country’s top sparkling producers of delectable traditional-method wine, their entire range – sampled at the fabulous Maltby & Greek tasting in East London – it’s difficult to like just one. At a push, chase their citrus and red tasting long and deep Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvée Speciale (Black Label) and their extraordinarily layered and complex Extra Cuvée de Réserve. It’ll do wonders for your tasting palate as they are delicious, sophisticated and yet do not taste French or like any other terroir but their own. Their Cuvée Rosé is also fun, red and  fruity yet still linear and dry. If you do fancy opting for another Greek producer, get thee to Maltby & Greek. Opt to taste Mylonas Estate’s PetNat Savatiano, a welcoming sparkler made in the traditional method or Bosinakis Winery’s 2025 PetNat Rosé Moschofiléro which is a friendly and unpretentious crusty citrus with just a touch of tannin. Want to show off? Choose Anatolikos Vineyard’s PetNat Assyrtiko-Malagouzia, a natural sparkling rosé with flavours of fresh strawberries, pink grapefruit, lime, crisp acidity, light body, and a playful, dry finish in a slightly cloudy pet nat colour. Its impressive graphics – wrapped around clear glass – make this an eye popping bottle. Maltby & Greek also have seriously fantastic cheeses to pair with every single one of these bottles.

Finally, from a very large tasting of New Zealand and Australian wines, I swished every sparkler from 75 tables of mostly still wines from New Zealand and Oz. Like American sparklers, many were quite daring, like the succulent and cheery Wren Estates Heathcote Sparkling Malbec. The overall winner was Oz’s sparkling wine specialist House of Arras. With no fewer than eight sparkling wines, their “A by Arras” took the top mark. If you ever see this bottle – a multi-award winning wine – grab more than one. It has all the notes of good champagne with that touch of Australian territory. Serve it as you would Champagne and see. It really is that good.