Domaine Chandon -- Chandon Extra Dry Riche Sparkling Wine

Yesterday, I spent a little time at one of my new favorite places - Sepay Olive Oil Company. You can taste olive oils and vinegars, learn a TON about the industry, health benefits, etc., and shop to your heart's content. Truly a gem in Fairfield. Fresh off of that, I went grocery shopping. I knew I wanted to get some bread so I could dive right into my fabulous new assortment of oils and vinegars. As I was perusing the bakery selections, I spotted some fondue. Ah.....fondue. Dinner came together rather quickly after that.

When I was a kid, we had fondue with some sort of regularity. In other words, I don't see it as a special or extravagant thing. It is a fabulous rich and hearty winter time meal for any night. For our dinner, we had fresh bread cubes, a Bosc pear (cubed), a pink lady apple (cubed), and some leftover Thanksgiving ham. Somewhere in there, I decided we should have champagne with it. Why not class it up a bit?

I selected this sparkling wine because I've driven passed the winery numerous times and it was on sale. Yes, those really are the criteria. It was fantastic! We both enjoyed it tremendously. We don't like sweet wines, so I purposely chose the extra dry on this one. Top notch! I could drink this every day. It was crisp and flavorful and perfectly bubbly. It worked so well with the heaviness of the fondue. And, nothing says class like eating fondue out of a soup pot and drinking champagne out of cocktail glasses. (Somewhere I have a fondue pot and champagne glasses, but not in this house) Apparently the experts agree with me on this one -- it is a 92 pointer!

This sparkling wine is made in Napa, CA by the Domaine Chandon Winery. It retails for around $20. I bought it locally for $12.99.