Pop! Goes Prosecco

Spinato comes in a cute mini bottle, Tim Pawsey photo

From the ‘everything old is new again’ department comes this nifty little (200 ml.) bottle of Prosecco that has us thinking back a decade, to when Pommery Champagne launched Pop!—the cute mini-bottle that came complete with a straw, so you could look really trendy. (Of course the fact that sucking bubble through a straw was probably not a good idea—let alone that it did nothing for the taste—never entered into it. But we digress.)

Now, just in time for the holidays, here comes Anna Spinato, a nifty little non-vintage DOC Prosecco, in a snappy, plastic wrapped bottle adorned with a stylized cartoon of frolicking, partying sylph-like (mainly women) characters. They’re calling it ‘a new way to drink young’…

We like this newbie for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it tastes good: In the glass there’s a lasting stream of fine bubbles; it’s drier than you might expect, with some yeasty notes on top, some stonefruit on the palate, nicely mouth-filling and has quite a crisp finish. Plus, it’s a screw cap, which means you can tuck one away in your picnic hamper and not worry about a ‘church key’; and it’s a good size to split for a couple of (small) flutes.

Currently you’ll find it only at Earls (where it no doubt absolutely fits the bill). But we have a hunch it will be popping up on BC Liquor Stores shelves pretty soon. Right now it’s a ‘spec’ item—meaning you have to special order it: $4.99, 24 per case, CSPC 030445.

As for Pop, it’s still available, also as a BCLS Spec, for $19—a pop… However, any trendiness appears to have been short-lived, at least here on the Wet Coast. Maybe our draconian liquor laws had something to do with that. Plus the fact that Pop is still Champagne, and therefore not cheap. It’s also enjoyed any number of incarnations with a slew of artistic offerings…

Given the current economic climate, however, this mini of Prosecco might be just the ticket.

http://www.spinato.it/prosecco/index(EN).htm