The Ultimate Sparkling Wine Dating Guide

Whether you’re planning ahead or looking this up quickly while standing in a restaurant bathroom, this article will be your wingman into the world of Sparkling Wine and Dating.

When it comes to Sparkling Wine, it can do more than just taste good, a study by Zooks, an online dating app, surveyed 8,793 of its members and analyzed 133,175 dating messages to find that mentioning Sparkling Wine in a message increases the response rate by 29%.

Despite being a Sparkling Wine, mentioning Champagne in an online dating message only increases the response rate by 2%

The survey also said that 62% of women choose Wine as their go to drink, with 11% going for Champagne. Whereas 41% of men would go for Wine, with Champagne not making the men’s top 10.

Not to mention that enjoying the refreshing bubbles in a Glass of Bubbly can help you relax, become more at ease with the person sitting next to you and even possibly help you open up, especially if you have a hard time being open or getting personal with people.

Whether you’ve got yourself a date online, through a friend or by a chance meeting, its possible when looking at the drinks menu that you’ll both decide to enjoy a Glass of Bubbly and finding the perfect bottle for you two doesn’t have to be hard.

Depending on the restaurant you visit, the drinks menu will vary, sometimes you’ll only see one bottle on the menu, you might even just see Champagne or Prosecco written down, rather than telling you who produced it. Sometimes if you want a bottle of Champagne, you’re not going to really care who made it.

In a higher class restaurant, the drinks menu will be more expansive, showcasing a wider array of Sparkling Wines, expanding from the classic Champagne and Prosecco, including the likes of English, Spanish, Croatian or even Slovenian, amongst others, so when enjoying a date in with a big Sparkling Wine drinks menu. what do you choose?

Unless you’ve tasted from a certain Winery before, you’re not going to know their style of Sparkling Wines, so you’ll either have to rely on your own knowledge, on the experience and expertise of your Sommelier or be adventurous and decide to try something new.

Will The Sparkling Wine I Choose Impact My Date’s Opinion of Me?

The perfect person will like you for you, but what you drink can impact the opinion someone has of you, if you order a flashy bottle like Armand de Brignac or Bottega, then they may think you’re a flashy and loud person, enjoying the nightclub scene and always down to party.

If you order a bottle of Champagne they may think you enjoy the finer things in life, that they like the person sitting opposite and are willing to splash out a bit of cash to enhance the date. But this does depend slightly on how expensive the bottle is, so although still ordering Champagne is a really strong move, ordering the cheapest bottle may knock that impression down a bit, certainly don’t ask the waiter or Sommelier out loud for the cheapest bottle, just subtly point.

Ordering Prosecco is a more light hearted Sparkling Wine to drink, it has the image of fun and excitement, letting the other person know you like to enjoy yourself, maybe don’t take life too seriously, happy to hang out and have a good time with friends.

English Sparkling Wine is the up and coming of the Sparkling Wine industry with the quality increasing every day, this may show a love for your country, that you like to buy local and support small businesses.

International Sparkling Wines, ordering a bottle from a far away land, or just across the pond in a lesser known Sparkling Wine producing country may signal to your date that you’re adventurous, that you like to try new things and are open to what the world has to offer.

Dating Locations

Burger Restaurant

For a busy, young and vibrant sit down Burger restaurant, you’re going to want something that’s either a Brut Champagne or Prosecco, you’ll normally find an Extra Dry or Dry Prosecco on the menu, but this doesn’t always work well with a burger, dropping the sugar level a little bit to a Brut will help you receive all the flavours from both Burger and Fizz.

Pizza Restaurant

Prosecco and Pizza, you could say its a match made in heaven, but lets save that saying in hopes it applies to you & your date. Depending on your topping choice and your sweetness tolerance, I would suggest a Brut or Extra Dry Prosecco, and if you decide to go with a Champagne, still stick with a Brut, even a Rosé Champagne or Rosé Prosecco will pair very nicely with a Pizza, enhancing the sweetness from the tomato, raising the spicy peperoni level, flowing through the savoury chicken or enriching the pineapple.

High-Class Restaurant

Depending on how high class you would like to go, you might find yourself with your own personal Sommelier on stand by to help you pick the best bottle to pair with your chosen dinner, to incorporate a lot of the fine dinning options that you’ll likely have, I’d say chose an Extra Brut or Brut Champagne, go up to an Extra Dry or Dry if you want another bottle for dessert. Of course take in the advice from your Sommelier, as they might have a winning combination.

The Prosecco in a higher class restaurant will likely be a DOCG or Cartizze, suggesting a higher quality, Prosecco which pairs very nicely with any fish dish, salad, or pasta.

Bar

Whether it’s a normal bar or a Champagne Bar, like Champagne Route, the safe bet would be to go for the house Champagne, a house Champagne is chosen to either promote the Champagne or because the bar believes that it will best suit the most people. It is normally a more standard bottle, sitting at a pretty affordable price.

If you don’t want the house Champagne, then consider asking the bartender or owner a few questions to see if they have any recommendations for you, let them know if you have any preferences, to see if they can provide that extra bit of help, most people helping you will try and find a bottle or two that you’d like, rather than picking the most expensive bottle and saying try this one.

If not go by the look of the bottle, it’s OK to let your eye do the choosing, sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s an adventure.

Pub

A traditional pub isn’t going to have the biggest selection of Sparkling Wine, so I wouldn’t start asking questions of where it was produced or what grapes were used in the bottle, save those questions for special Wine or Champagne Bars, you’re typically going to find the standard well known bottles of Champagne like Moët & Chandon or Taittinger for example and for the Prosecco, a cheap mass produced DOC, so don’t expect the world, ordering a Sparkling Wine in a pub will be more because you feel like it, rather than anything more.

Picnic

Bringing along a bottle of Prosecco, Rosé Prosecco, Rosé Champagne or Rosé English would be a perfect choice, anything from Extra Brut to Extra Dry. These choices will liven up the glass and complement your pick bits, sausage rolls, meats, cheeses and sandwiches which you’ve packed, just don’t forget the blanket.

Should I Talk About The Sparkling Wine?

If you’re in the industry, then definitely, if you know what you’re talking about, sounding confident, then share some interesting facts, just make sure to not go for too long, sometimes you have to ease someone into the things you like.

If I Have To Bring The Sparkling Wine Then What Should I Bring?

If you’re been invited over and are eating dinner at someone’s house, or the reverse of that, then you won’t have a dedicated Sommelier to help you choose a bottle, this is where Glass of Bubbly can help you out, any of our award winning First Date Sparkling Wines will be perfect.

First Date Category
The perfect wine to accompany that first date. Nothing too complex and not necessarily a wine that needs to pair with exact foods.

The Trophy winner for 2021 in the First Date Category was the Karlovček – Jernejeva Penina from Slovenia, this isn’t a bottle you’ll likely find in a restaurant here in England, this is one for you to bring along.

Karlovček – Jernejeva Penina – Slovenia – Tasting Notes

Aroma 👃 “Rich, ripe and creamy fruits, green pear and green apple glazed with sugar, apple pie and apple blossom on the aroma.”

Flavour 👅 “Sweet and smooth with a tingly texture of green and red apples, white pear, and apricot on the palate.”

The First Date Category is there to help young at heart lovers enjoy themselves and their meals over some dancing bubbles.

If you would rather have another option then check out the Gold Medal Winners.

Giusti Wine – Prosecco DOC Rosalia Rosé Millesimato 2020 Extra Dry – Italy – Tasting Notes

Aroma 👃 “Soft almost creamy blueberry, blackberry and raspberry with a touch of vanilla on the aroma.”

Flavour 👅 “A delicate taste of smooth raspberries, strawberries and hints of blueberries and herbal notes, a very enjoyable experience.”

Cantina Rotaliana – Trento Doc R Extra Brut – Italy – Tasting Notes

Aroma – 👃 “Roasted pineapple, oak, tropical tea, tropical fruits, exotic fruits with hints of butter, apricots and coffee on the aroma.”

Flavour – 👅 “Tropical and exotic citrus, oaky, with hints of Caribbean spice and tea leaves on the palate.”

Silver Medal Winners

Sektkellerei Szigeti – Klassik Welschriesling Brut – Austria
Codice Citra – Waitrose Sparkling Pecorino – Italy
ThinK – ThinK PinK Pinot Grigio Sparkling Rosé – Italy
Posestvo Čehovin – Penina Pinela letnik 2017 Extra Dry – Slovenia
Radgonske Gorice – Penina Selection Rose Brut – Slovenia
San Mártin Wines – Malvasia Petra – Slovenia
Cavas Naveran – Brut Vintage Rose – Spain

Bronze Medal Winner

Kmecka zadruga Krsko – Turn Premium Bela Penina – Slovenia

First Date Sparkling Wine Cocktail – Eton Fizz

First Date – Eton Fizz – Tasting Notes

Aroma – 👃 “Rich, creamy vanilla ice creamy, enough to make your mouth water in anticipation with caramelised Rum aromas.”

Flavour – 👅 “Waves of creamy, milky and sweet vanilla ice cream comes flowing through, a perfect balance, the Sparkling Wine adds wonderful sweet fruits, with the Rum giving this chilled cocktail a warming texture and vanilla ice cream making this feel like a grown up treat on a hot summers day.”

Ingredients

           Cocktail Shaker

• Sparkling Wine
• Rum
• Ice Cream
• Lemon Juice
• Ice

How To Make A Eton Fizz Cocktail

1. Place a Couple of Ice Cubes into a Cocktail Shaker
2. Pour 5mls of Lemon Juice into the Cocktail Shaker
3. Add 25mls of Rum
4. Fill It Up With Ice Cream of Your Choice
5. Shake (you can add more Ice Cream if you want & shake again)
6. Pour the Mixture into a Glass
7. Top up with 100mls of your First Date Sparkling Wine

Final Piece of Advice

Although Red Sparkling Wine can pair very well with red meats, it might not be the perfect choice if looking for that kiss at the end of the night, because if it contains high tannins, too much of it can make your mouth feel dry and in some cases ashy, not to mention, drinking a lot of red wine can cause your teeth, tongue and lips to turn red/brown.

Information Credit: Zoosk

Image Credit: Hearts – Woman – Woman