Martini & Rossi may be best known for their vermouths (which we usually have in the refrigerator for making Manhattans), but the Martini brand also produces sparkling wines that could be just right for New Year’s Eve celebrations. They sent me a few bottles and I sampled them with a few different foods.
We made some crispy black-eyed peas (basically just the legumes, breaded and fried) that we thought paired very well with the Martini Prosecco. For the same reason that chips or fried chicken go well with Champagne, so does Prosecco work with many fried foods. If you’re serving foods from the fryer on NYE, consider Prosecco: it’s fruity and just slightly sweet and festive
For a roast goose, I cracked the Asti, which was probably my mistake. I was hoping the fresh fruit flavors of the wine would go well with the waterfowl, but it was too sweet. If I had taken the time to read the literature that Martini sent, I would have noticed that it was “a delicate, sweet and fruity way to finish a meal.” It was very good with Christmas cookies, sweetness matching sweetness, and if you like your beverages on the sweet side, this could be a good choice for you.
Rosé turned out to be the sweetest of the bunch with a lot of floral and fruit notes – also a good dessert wine.
French Champagne might be my favorite wine, but with careful pairing, the somewhat less expensive Italian sparklers could be a good way for you to welcome the New Year.
