New pink bubbly gains fame for name

With Thanksgiving acting as a blip on the screen (decorations so already up) before we tumble headlong into The Holidays, now is the time to think about celebratory bubbly. One of the wines that allows Australian winemaker Chris Ringland to make all the first-tier wines that he does (including 100-pointers) is a new little sparkler called Bitch Bubbly (pictured). It follows on the heels of his well received Bitch Grenache.

There's nothing complex about the sweet-tart pink wine, which percolates with strawberry aromas. I'd say it was a good quaff, if that phrase didn't grate on my editor's nerves. Made from chardonnay and pinot noir, it's also only 11 percent alcohol.

Besides being an accessible, easy-drinking holiday wine, it's already a favorite on campus at SMU (among those over 21 of course). "Apparently Bitch sells very well with the sororities," says student Jack Sheehan, who's studying economics and was Chris' guest, along with me, at the recent tasting. Start with Sigel's when you go looking for it; it will be at other retailers, too. It's $9.99.

How does this tie into Ringland's fine wines? The 20,000 cases of Bitch Bubbly help underwrite his more serious winemaking, the same way Fat Bastard helped importer Peter Click open up his portfolio.