Is a Sparkling Slushy a Splushy?
August 25th, 2010 | Author: The WineLady
Sometimes you just luck out: A dumb move that should’ve left you busted, can make you look like a genius. So I’ll share with you my own duffus move, in the hope that it may inspire you to many hours of frosty enjoyment…
I had a freezer episode recently, when I brought home a split of room-temperature sparkling wine that needed a jump start to get it up to drinking temperature. The bottle was Gruet Blanc de Noir, which I believe is hands-down the best sparkling wine in its price range ($18 for a 750ml), and is carefully crafted in beautiful New Mexico. (You can read about Gruet in an upcoming article.)
So while the split was chilling amongst the frozen green beans and sorbet, I ran out to do an errand. And as luck would have it, I ended up spending much more time away from home than I’d planned. By the time I tore back into the kitchen, I was expecting to find a wine-cicle leaking alcoholic ice crystals all over my frozen food.
But the Force was with me. While the top half of the bubbly looked quite frozen, no damage had been done. We very gingerly pried off the champagne cork, and filled our flutes with an honest-to-God champagne slushy. And it was far and away the coldest, crispest, cleanest and most delicious sparkling wine I’ve ever had the pleasure to drink.
So here’s the moral of the story: happy accidents can produce great results. But remember that we’re pushing the outside of the envelope here: leave your bottle in the freezer too long and you’re cleaning frosty foam off your frozen veggies. What worked for me was:
2 hours in a standard freezer for a half (375 ml) bottle.
For a full bottle, I’d increase your freezer time maybe another half hour.
If any of you have the nerve to experiment with this, please tell me how it turns out. In the meantime, I’ll raise my glass of (slushy) bubbly to sparkling wine lovers everywhere. Cheers!
Posted in 
Where is the best place to buy cheap champagne (the real stuff not rubbish stuff)
thanks (it’s for a wedding)
Hi — If you want to buy real “champagne” — i.e. the wine made in the Champagne region of France, you should go to a good wine shop. They’ll have a wide selection to choose from. But you’ll also pay at least $40 per bottle to have the name “Champagne” on the bottle. There are MANY other good sparkling wines, made in exactly the same way and often from the same grapes. If you’re in the United States and want to spend $15 – $20 per bottle, try anything from Gruet or Chandon. If you want to spend even less, like $10 – $12 per bottle, you can still get good quality sparkling made in Spain. They call their sparkling wine Cava, and they usually come in Brut (no sweetness) and Extra-Dry (just a hint of sweetness).
For weddings, I often recommend Cristalino Cava, since it tastes very good (this brand has been a Wine & Spirits Magazine “Best Value Brand” for years).
Do you have a presence on twitter? I can’t seem to find Is a Sparkling Slushy a Splushy? | Wine Cellars Club on there and I would like to connect with you there. I like your writing style, thanks Ruby Maynard
Good posting. Thanks for taking the time to jot down this information. I will check back often for further blog postings. Thanks
Thanks, great post.
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