asti spumante

Mellisoni Vineyards 2020 Bollicine Dry Bubbly muscat canelli, Columbia Valley, $60: This beautifully tropical aperitif features co-winemaker Donna Mellison on the label and uses the Italian word for bubbles to toast in an Asti spumante fashion.

Boris’ column, she said, sounded as if it had been “written on a Sunday morning while on holiday in Italy, with a bottle or two of Asti Spumante chilling in the fridge for lunch.”

The blend varies from batch to batch, as the winemakers aim for a consistent style, and it features 32 grams of residual sugar per liter, which Tramont describes as “less than moscato or asti spumante.”

Now, as December comes to a close, clinking a flute of off-brand Asti spumante while confetti rains down on Ryan Seacrest seems a little insufficient.

Beignets Savoury or sweet, fried things go brilliantly with bubbles, so I’d pick a moscato to go with these: Marks & Spencer has the pretty, fragrant GiBo Asti Spumante for £9.