Some occasions simply call for bubbles at breakfast. Your birthday, anniversary, or special holidays like the long Easter Weekend and Christmas Day are definitely great reasons. Recently, I have added another awesome occasion to pop open a bottle of sparkling wine for breakfast: Breakfast. Which is a total no-brainer thanks to a strongly growing number of excellent no-alcohol bubbles from around the world.
Popping open a bottle of no-alcohol sparkling wine seems to become a habit in my house lately. And I can’t help noticing that I am doing so more often new already for breakfast (though mostly on weekends, but still). So much so that I might turn it into its own series here on the blog. Like ‘breakfast with a buzz’ or something similar. And why not?
No-alcohol bubbles are having their moment right now, and rightly so. After an early phase of try and mostly fail, there is now an ever-growing range of non-alcoholic sparklers that are really worth drinking. And having moved from a mere niche product – and one that was often ridiculed – even the most renown wineries around the world are turning out their own zero-alcohol range these days.
Riesling is Germany’s main grape variety and sparkling wine made with Riesling possibly outnumber those based on Chardonnay, internationally the prevailing grape variety for sparkling wines next to Pinot Noir.
If you have never tried a German Riesling Sekt before, the next bottle you are opening should definitely be a sparkling Riesling. Thanks to the rich aromatic compounds in German Riesling grapes, sparkling Riesling wines are particularly fruity and fragrant, making them the perfect bubble for aperitif of a light summer meal.
One of the oldest German wineries, Kloster Eberbach, founded by Saint Bernhard von Clairvaux in 1136 looks back at a rich history in making excellent Riesling wines.
If you want to know more about Kloster Eberbach, read my post A food and wine pairing steeped in history: Kloster Eberbach Riesling Crescentia Steinberger and Quiche Lorraine.
Off course, Riesling Sekt is part of the large Kloster Eberbach wine portfolio as well. And a short while ago, the winery has added a no-alcohol sparkler.
The non-alcoholic Riesling Sekt Kloster Eberbach is made from grapes carefully selected from the winery’s top vineyards. The base wine is than dealcoholized and particular care is given to preserve the complex taste profile of sparkling Rieslings.
Tasting notes: Kloster Eberbach no-alcohol sparkling Riesling
This non-alcoholic sparkling Riesling from Kloster Eberbach winery, despite being de-alcoholised still exhibits the typical apricot and peach aromas that characterize German sparkling Rieslings, as well as the balanced sweet-acid interplay particularly typical for Riesling wines from the Rheingau region.
In the glass, the non-alcoholic sparkling Riesling Kloster Eberbach displays a light straw yellow with a fine perlage.
On the nose, aromas of apricot and peach with light nuances of vanilla and citrus.
On the palate, balanced with fine acidity and aromas of ripe stone fruits.
Food pairing
The best thing about non-alcoholic sparkling wines is, they pair with a large range of food. From starters to firsts, mains, and dessert a no-alcohol sparkling wine will work perfectly.
The Kloster Eberbach no-alcohol sparkling Riesling is particularly well suited as aperitive and paired with appetizers and light summer meals.
It has paired very well with the combination of salmon and scrambled eggs with herbs served on a hearty slice of dark bread.
Scrambled eggs with spring herbs and salmon
If you want to upgrade your breakfast eggs, try these delicious scrambled eggs with fresh spring herbs and salmon.
Serves 2:
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon of dill
1 spring onion
80 ml milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper for seasoning
80 g smoked salmon, sliced
2 large slices of dark bread
Wash, dry and finely chop the dill and spring onion.
In a saucepan, mix the eggs, milk and oil then add the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
Over medium heat, let the mixture set, stirring occasionally.
Place the slices of salmon on the bread on top with the scrambled eggs. Garnish with some additional stalks of dill.
Have you tried non-alcoholic sparkling wine yet? Which one, and what’s been your impression?
Carrots and Tigers 