See Ya Later Ranch Sparkling Brut: No Occasion Needed!

$21.99 at the BC LDB

In case you weren't already aware, let me be the first to tell you that you don't need a special occasion to drink sparkling wine. While the bubbles are strongly associated with festivities, there's really no reason to reserve the right to drink sparkling wine only on New Year's Eve, a birthday, or other celebration. We don't afford this level of reverance to other bubbly beverages — "Sparkling water? Oh boy, what's the occasion?" — and so we shouldn't for it's viticultural counterpart.

Now comes the part of the post where you get to call me a big ol' hypocrite. The bottle of bubbly I'm going to tell you about was a birthday gift. That's right, it came into my life because of a celebration. However, it did not get opened during my party and so I had the pleasure of popping the cork whenever I saw fit. Last Friday night was as good a time as any and here's what I thought.

Closest to truffle chips I could find

I don't normally dive into a bottle of white on my own. Generally, if I'm pouring white it's because I have a guest who prefers it over red, or because the weather dictates that we opt for a chilled bottle (for the record, you can most certainly chill a red for a bit when the temperatures rise, just don't leave it in the fridge for more than an hour or so).

Last Friday in Vancouver was a sunny one though, and with spring in the air and a long two-week stretch of competing deadlines behind me, I decided to take this bottle of See Ya Later Ranch Sparkling Brut for a spin. And since I know myself so well, I thought I'd look into what flavour of potato chip would best compliment my beverage choice. For this I turned to the ever-knowledgeable DJ Kearney, a Vancouver-based wine writer, educator, judge, etc. who penned this practical post for the Daily Hive not long ago.

A blurry good combination

I first met DJ when I was the receptionist at a local magazine to which she contributes (awkward, but gramatically correct?). As a fledgling wine writer I naturally admired her work. As a lover of potato chips I was pleased as punch to stumble across her article on the topic of pairing my two passions. As a resident of New Westminster, I was not surprised that truffle chips — DJ's suggested pairing for a sparkling wine — are not widely, if at all, available. I settled for Parmesan & garlic.

I hadn't tried either of these products before Friday, but I can say with confidence that I would happily serve this combo to guests. In fact, I almost insist that I have guests the next time I feel like a Sparkling Brut and tuffle chips (hot tip, Trader Joe's makes some) evening because it is way too easy to polish off both — I know, I'm a monster. See Ya Later has a gorgeous sparkling wine, dry but not overly so, the tiniest hint of sweetness, which is a great compliment to the garlic chips, and the bubbles cut perfectly through the oil of a potato-based snack. I'm genuinely considering cultivating an eccentricity as the friend who brings sparkling wine to all parties — at least I'd have no trouble finding chips to pair with it.