Good tastes

Villa Maria Methode Traditionnelle Curvee. Photo / Supplied

It's only four days until Christmas and I'm toasting Villa Maria winery for being the first in New Zealand to seal sparkling wine with a "crown seal" - aka a beer bottle cap.

Sir George Fistonich, managing director of Villa, says it's about keeping bubbles fresh and intact rather than indulging old-fashioned, outmoded traditions - "like cork, which is prone to cork taint".

Crown seals work better for bubbles than screwcaps because they keep carbon dioxide intact, which makes fizz refreshing and keeps its ultra-concentrated flavours intact. This year Professor Gerard Liger-Belair of the University of Reims, France, proved that bubbles in sparkling wine can contain up to 30 times more aroma and flavour than the wine itself _ which is the perfect antidote to end-of-year weariness. Merry Silly Season.

Wines of the week

Brown Brothers Zibbibo $17

Its unashamedly off-dry style might not be everyone's flute of bubbles but the gorgeous Muscat aroma, light fizz and low alcohol make this a must anytime you want loads of flavour with barely any alcohol. Love it.

Villa Maria Methode Traditionelle Cuvee $35-39

This top Kiwi fizz is perfect to kick off your Christmas meal, with its refreshing citrus lemon tang and rounded full body of pinot noir.

Available at www.villamaria.co.nz or at Villa Maria cellar door, 118 Montgomerie Rd, Mangere, Auckland or Glengarry's stores.

Trinity Hill Cuvee Traditionelle Blanc de Blancs $30

Winemakers John Hancock and Warren Gibson have both made sparkling wine since 1985. They have combined their passion for top chardonnay in this creamy tasting, full-bodied fizz, made from vineyards in Central Hawke's Bay, Clive and Haumoana, near the coast. www.trinityhill.com