"For the growing contingent that prefer to drink dry, there are lots of festive bottles of sparkling, nonalcoholic bubbly drinks in champagne-style bottles that are fun to pop open. Sparkling cider was once limited to apple, but the variety of sparkling ciders and juices has expanded in response to the growing demand. Martinelli's, the top producer, now sells seven different apple-based sparkling juices."
"Sugar content aside, these effervescent pours are a healthier alternative, as they contain natural fruit and antioxidants, and are generally free of artificial colors and additives. A pleasant sparkling juice starts with using the right fruit. It needs to be ripe and fresh, of course, but the varieties used must include those that are distinctly tart, with a fair amount of naturally occurring malic acid."
"As a side note, when opening sparkling ciders and juices, it's best to do so when the bottle is very cold, and over a sink. More than half of the sparklers we tried spewed every bit as enthusiastically as a bottle of champagne. Good sparkling juice delivers a blast of crisp, fresh flavor of just-picked fruit. It has lots of bubbles and a touch of acid that makes it bright and refreshing."
Sparkling nonalcoholic juices and ciders have expanded beyond apple to include grape, pear and plum, with producers like Martinelli's offering multiple apple-based varieties. These beverages tend to be quite sweet, similar to soda, but often provide natural fruit, antioxidants and generally lack artificial colors and additives. Ideal sparkling juices use ripe, fresh fruit with distinct tartness and natural malic acid, paired with strong carbonation to cut through sugar. Bottles should be opened very cold and over a sink because many sparklers can spew vigorously. Good examples are crisp, bubbly and bright; poor ones are sour or syrupy.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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