The Web’s latest wine buzz: Favorite bubblies, Zins and Oregon alternatives

Tune in to what top wine bloggers and experts are decanting into cyberspace with handpicked highlights of their latest and greatest. This week’s episode brings us everything from favorite bubblies and alternative Oregonians to lovely Zins and expert wedding wine advice.

The New Year’s festivities may be over, but the party ain’t — not by a long shot — if you follow the directions of Food & Wine‘s senior wine editor Ray Isle, who serves up his picks for best rosé Champagnes and sparkling wines.

Strike anyone else as odd that we tend to reserve these wines for “special occassions”? Hey, not to get to touchy-feely about it, but any time can be a “special occasion” — depending on what you’re drinking, and who you’re with.

Granted some of Isle’s Champagnes can be a little pricey ($43-$175), but you can still get bubbly on a budget with his sparkling selections, including a personal low-cost favorite: Freixenet Brut de Noirs NV ($10). Pop that cork!

Speaking of New Year’s, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg came up with a fine resolution: “… devoting more time and space to the questions you ask us about wine and about what to eat with the wines you drink.”

And they kick off the year with a wine Q&A that, among other things, tries to answer that age old question about what “fairly inexpensive (around $10 or under) smooth red wine and a crisp — not too oaky or buttery — white wine to serve” at a wedding.

They provide some characteristically sage advice, but I’m personally leaning toward that Freixenet above … at least for the honeymoon.

Zin lovers, this is for you.

Wine Spectator‘s Tim Fish review the 2005s, and finds that year to be “one of the best vintages in ages.”

A long, cool growing season produced wines that are generally well-structured, not overly ripe and have gentle tannins built for short-term aging.

Fish cites his favorites among 16 wines in two blind flights.

Catching up on Eric Asimov is always a treat, like, for example, this nice read on an alternative Oregon wine:

European wine prices, already creeping higher, are likely to shoot up in the next couple of months. Inexpensive California wines are not hard to find, but they are rarely good buys. What is the value hunter to do?

May I suggest an excellent alternative? Pinot gris, from Oregon.

Oregon pinot gris is one of the least-talked-about, best-value wines on the market today. Certainly you won’t hear much about it from Oregon wine producers, who don’t want to talk about anything but their precious pinot noir, which they can sell for much more money and which brings much more luster.

But don’t think Asimov has by any means given up on those Europeans.

Far from it, he celebrates a batch of “extraordinary” Barolos. In fact: “It was the best gathering of Barolos that I’ve ever been a part of, and I was humbled to have the opportunity to taste the old wines.”

He names names. (Think of all the money you saved on the Freixenet — here’s your chance to put it to good use!)

The ultimate guide to holiday wines, featuring top bargains from top experts

Holidays were made for wine. Or is it the other way ’round?

One thing we can all agree on, though, is that picking the right wine during this festive season is essential.

You need to come up with a wine that pairs well with the food being served, that doesn’t cost more than you care to spend and that delivers the kind of flavors you favor. And perhaps most important of all, stands the test of that irksome relative or dinner guest who presumes to be a wine expert.

Unless you’re in the habit of bringing along an indentured sommelier when you visit a wine shop, you may find yourself pounding the aisles in a ferment, so to speak, trying to divine the astrology of bottle shapes and label artistry.

No need.

All the wine stars are on the Web, and I’m here to point a few of them out, with a constellation of recommendations and top-wine lists to light your way.

The trick is to do a little homework before going shopping. Jot down the names of bottles that interest you. Or better still, make some printouts. If your local shop doesn’t have a specific wine, ask for something similar.

Let’s start off with an amazing competition held by the Beverage Testing Institute. More than  400 international and domestic wines were tasted blind by sommeliers and retailers to come up with bargain winners in the aptly named 2007 World Value Wine Challenge.

Categories ranged from under $8, $10 and under, $15 and under and $20 and under, along with some exceptional value and special award winners. Everything from whites and reds to rosé and dessert wines.

“These wines will hold their own with wines two and three times the price … choices for holiday parties and gifts; seek them out and save your money for other holiday treats,” say the wise men and women of the Institute.

Next, let’s head over to Food & Wine, where the Holiday Wine Survival Guide: Ideal Party Wines serves up several very affordable picks ($10-$12).

At The Wall Street Journal, Dorothy J. Gaiter And John Brecher decant their Top Wine Bargains of 2007:

The world right now is awash in wine as country after country, from Austria to Uruguay, improves its winemaking and seeks to compete in the international marketplace.

We went back over our blind tastings for 2007 to see how many wines that cost $10.99 or less rated Very Good or better. There were nine.

If all these bargains don’t tempt you, you’ll find some higher-end selections at Wine Spectator, including Sauternes, Ports and exquisite-sounding sparkling varieties, along with suggestions for a buffet menu to accompany them.

if you’re up for some even pricier numbers for your celebrations, two favorite reviewers, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg at The Washington Post, serve up Just the Stuff for Roasts and Reveling. Most of the picks are $40 and up, although there a couple in the $20s.

As Page and Dornenburg say, “It’s the perfect time to raise a toast to the roast — and to splurge a little.” In other words, this is the season to perhaps let the Wine News Review fairly frugal affordability index hibernate.

But whatever you do, treat your wine with loving care, Page and Dornenburg advise:

The medium- to full-bodied wines that grace your table this season need time to breathe before being served. Some of the reds we recommend this week benefited from being open for 40 minutes or more. Pour the wine into a decanter or, if you don’t have one, into wineglasses to expose more of the wine to air, which will help to open up and round out its flavors.

Happy holidays!