Down the Hatch: Drink all this shit

Sparkle into the new year for $30 or less

When I met Scott Large, owner of Provisions Fine Beverage Purveyors, he ran between stacks of wine cases exclaiming “this is the coolest shit going!” and “this is the shit I’m most flipped out about!”

I started this column nearly a year ago, offending the owner of the first place I wrote about by calling the art and ephemera on the walls “shit.” But I meant it in a good way! 

It’s fitting to bookend this year of drinking—the perfect year for it, in fact—with that word. 

Here are several lovely sparkling wines (that aren’t champagne) with which to get your New Year’s party on and say “good riddance” to 2016. Look for them at Tulsa Hills Wine Cellar, Old Village Wine & Spirits, Ranch Acres, Grapes & Grain, Parkhill Liquor & Wines, and more.

Field Recordings Pét Nat
$19-20/bottle

According to Large, pét-nats are the darling of contemporary American wine culture. “If you’re a young winemaker in the United States not making a pét-nat, there’s something wrong with you,” Large said. The name pét-nat is shorthand for Pétillant-naturel, an ancestral method in which wine finishes fermenting in the bottle. “The next version of this will be dry-hopped with two kinds of hops,” said Large, “which is totally sick.”

Alloy Wine Works Method Aluminum Sparkling Wine
$12-13/16.9 oz can

This sixteen-ouncer is made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and is tangy, dry, delicious, and rosé in color—plus the bubbles, which get you tipsy faster. I loved it.

Scar of the Sea ‘a | muse’ Pétillant Naturel Chardonnay
$25-28/bottle

This pét-nat is freaking delicious. Think tropical fruit, lemon zest, and minerality—like being on the coastline, sun warming your shoulders, toes dipped in cold saltwater. Because it finishes fermenting in the bottle, you’ll notice some hazy funk in there. Not to worry—from the winemaker’s notes: it’s “just natural, non-intrusive winemaking.” If you want to impress someone, Google and make Melissa Clark’s NY Times recipe “Linguine With Littlenecks, Roasted Tomatoes and Caramelized Garlic” and enjoy with this bottle. Trust me. 

Cava Avinyó Brut
$18-19/bottle

Cava is Spain’s answer to champagne. Tasting notes include bright white fruits and a fresh and vibrant palate. The inscription on the bottle reads: “from the must of the flower and with the rigor of a work well crafted.” Not to mention well priced.

Medivol Sparkling Crémant de Limoux Brut White
$18-19/bottle

Medivol hails from the Limoux region in France, the historically established “birthplace” of sparking wine—first documented in 1531. From the website: “This wine goes with so much, from oysters and caviar to grilled cheese sandwiches, and from milestone celebrations to getting in and out of the D.M.V. in under an hour.” It’s unpretentious but beautifully packaged.

Bodkin Cuvee Agincourt Blanc de Sauvignon Blanc
$20-21/bottle

As America’s first sparkling Sauvignon Blanc, Large calls this the “hipster sparkling wine.” (It was first, bro.) It also comes in “baby Bodkins”—single serving-size bottles of bubbly. Winemakers promise “a core of racy crispness driven by lively acidity, accented with lemon-lime aromas and citrus-passion fruit flavors.”

Ramona Fizz
$20/4-pack

Made by Jordan Salcito, one of Wine Enthusiast’s top 40 under 40 tastemakers in 2016, Ramona Fizz is an artisanal grapefruit wine cooler with attitude. Pro tip: try with mezcal or gin.

Bellus La Vie en Bulles
$30/bottle

Also made by Salcito, along with Michael Cruse—San Francisco Chronicle’s 2016 Winemaker of the Year—La Vie in Bulles (Life in Bubbles) is a sparkling rosé from California. “It terms of crazy drinkability, it’s got to be at the top of these selections,” said Large. It’s just off-dry with fine bubbles and tastes of strawberry and limestone with a long, pleasing finish.

Hoxie Spritzer, Lemon Ginger Rosé and Lemon Linden Blanc
$14-16/4-pack 

“This is what I’m most excited about!” said Large. “Dry wine spritzers from America’s first AVA.”(AVA means American Viticultural Area. So, these modern wine spritzers—do not think B&J Wine Coolers, ok?—are made from the oldest grapes in our country.) They come in two flavors, Lemon Ginger and Lemon Linden. The first is light and crisp, like ginger ale, with a pink hue. The second is my favorite of the pair. Made with linden flowers, known to reduce anxiety (a great combo with booze!), it’s bright and reminiscent of St. Germain elderflower liqueur, but not too sweet.

Have a great New Year’s, and as my grandmother, for whom this column is named, would say—down the hatch!

In “Down the Hatch,” assistant editor Liz Blood offers a look inside Tulsa’s many bars, pubs, saloons and gin joints. Send suggestions for future columns to liz@langdonpublishing.com or @lizblood on Twitter. For another sip, read Liz's article on Fernet Branca at MixCo.