The 1st of January 2009 brought us a bit of snow

So we survived yet another crazy New Year’s Eve bombardment (however, fireworks prevailed, since petards and similar have been -supposedly- banned in our country this year). We had a tasty dinner, a glass of sparkling lemon sorbet wine after listening to the last 12 chimes at midnight (we substituted grapes for 12 M&Ms – don’t ask) … and that was it. Nevertheless, we did suffer a little shock when opening our little sparkling wine bottle.

I kept the bottle to check it out this morning again - for the case I didn't see it well last night...

The bottle did not come with an old good cork like we’re used to it – it had a plastic stopper instead. We were looking at it and then at each other and we just couldn’t believe our eyes. There was no “boom” sound when opening, no foam running. My jaw almost fell on the floor. Now I wonder, has the economy crisis hit the wine industry that hard or have I bought fake, made-in-China wine (although the sticker does not indicate the possibility of the latter)? The wine had an awful taste as well, not much to do with a sparkling one, actually. No cork, wine cannot breathe, sulfur builds up inside, rotten egg smell ensures. As Spaniards would say, ¡qué desgracia!

Lemon sorbet

However, I wanted to share with you this simple recipe of the sparkling lemon sorbet wine I’ve been drinking for the past few New Year’s Eves: if you’re not a fan of sparkling wine like myself, that’s how to make it more palatable.

SPARKLING LEMON SORBET WINE

150ml water
4Tbsp sugar (I used blond cane sugar)
100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
250ml good(!) sparkling wine

1. Pour the water in a pot, add sugar and heat until dissolved. Let cool.
2. Mix with lemon juice and pour in a small plastic container. Freeze.
3. A couple of hours before using, transfer the sorbet in the fridge.
4. Divide it between two glasses and cover with sparkling wine. Stir a bit and serve.

Cheers!