Golden Bubbles

Tiny bottles of sparkling wine have been the rage for a while now, but some -- let's be honest -- really weren't much more than Champagne-flavored soft drinks. Champagne Pommery's POP line is far better than that, and their latest effort, Gold POP, is not only decent bubbly but also comes in the best package to date -- a gorgeous shiny gold bottle. And it represents the first vintage offering in this miniature (187ml) format.

You'll Love U'Luvka

You'll love U'Luvka vodka -- after all, what's not to like? This Polish spirit claims inspiration from 16th century alchemists, blending rye, barley and wheat and then distilling three times. The unexpectedly curvy bottle offers its own appeal, as do legless shot glasses that must be drained completely before being set down.

Better than Gold

Forget the "Gold" standard. When it comes to Jose Cuervo, Platino shines brighter. A new entry in Cuervo's ultra-premium Reserva de la Familia line, which previously had only an extra anejo bottle, Platino represents the silver or plata category of unaged tequila, more or less fresh from the still. Priced at $60, Platino is surprisingly reasonable, especially compared to Patron's Platinum, a similar product that sells for more than $200 and is not nearly as good. The Cuervo family did not dumb down this tequila to sell more of it. Platino is really made for tequila lovers -- it is 100% agave, and it really tastes like its ingredient, with tons of herbaceousness and a hint of smoke. With the holidays approaching, it's also good to know this tequila lover's tequila comes in a lovely bottle and a beautiful box. It's a winner from every angle.

International Wine

In these post-Mondovino days, "international" winemaking gets a bad rap. But open-minded enophiles should open a bottle of Cheval Des Andes, a wine from Bordeaux' Cheval Blanc, one of the most prestigious and highly acclaimed chateaux in France, and Terrazas de los Andes, owned by an old Argentine wine-producing family, and judge for themselves. The vineyard is near Mendoza and the wine, produced only in superior vintages since 1999, is a Bordeaux-style blend with a heavy dose of Malbec, the grape that originated as a supporting player in Bordeaux but has gone on to leading man status in that Latin American country. Providing French cred is winemaker Nicolas Audebert, who worked for Krug Champagne and others before heading to Argentina, bringing many years of French training and tradition with him. This opulent wine is one of South America's most most notable, and the '04 will be soon be on store shelves and wine lists of top restaurants.

Cachaça!

Everybody loves Brazil–okay except maybe the Argentines, who regularly lose to them in soccer–for its seductive music, its long, sunny days and endless beaches, and the joie de vivre of its impossibly attractive people. So it should be no surprise that bars and restaurants both local and across the US are embracing the latest arrival from that South American nation: cachaça.

Sugarcane is the raw material behind cachaça (ka-SHA-sa)–and rum. The difference between the two spirits is that most rums are produced from molasses, the sludgy syrup that remains once the sugar has been extracted from crushed sugarcane, while cachaça (and artisinal rum, sometimes labeled rhum) results from fermenting and distilling fresh and unprocessed sugarcane juice.

Long considered a peasant drink, cachaça was deemed even in recent years too rough to drink by Brazil’s elite and trendy as it was not far removed from the ethanol that fuels some of the nation’s automobiles. But new producers have learned the lesson of tequila, which underwent a similar transformation from cheap industrial product to gourmet tipple over the last fifteen or so years.

And much as tequila gradually emerged from Latin culture into the mainstream, imported primarily via the margarita, now cachaça appears ready for prime time through its starring role in the sizzling hot caipirinha (kai-peer-een-yah), the national cocktail of Brazil.

Grab a seat at the counter of your favorite watering hole to watch the bartender in action. The key to a crisp caipirinha is muddling (think mortar and pestle) the limes, releasing the oils from the skin, and mixing in the sugar (or simple syrup). This results in a mixed drink that delicately straddles the sour/sweet line—much like the margarita.

Which cachaça you use also affects the final product. Most of what’s available in this country is the mass-produced stuff. Look instead for the new generation of gourmet cachaças, including Cabana and Beleza Pura and Leblon. The latter goes a step further than the others, shipping its just-distilled product to France where it rests for three months in used Cognac barrels—think of it as finishing school for cachaça—resulting in extra complexity of flavors and aromas, and a softness on the palate.

Hoist your glass and toast saude (sa-oo-gee) (“health”) as the Brazilians do.

Pictures of Lillet

A proprietary blend of wine and citrus liqueurs, Lillet was created in 1872 in Bordeaux. The aromatic and floral fortified wine comes in both Rouge and Blanc varieties, and it was the latter that was featured in the signature Vesper martini in Casino Royale. Bond’s love interest, Vesper Lynd, asks if he named the drink after her “because of the bitter aftertaste.” “No,” Bond replies. “Because once you have tasted it, it’s all you’ll want to drink.” Lillet tastes delicious on its own, whether solo (Rouge or Blanc) over ice with a twist of lemon, or the two mixed together. A promotional poster commissioned in 1937 adorns new bottles.

A Fine Vessel For Your Fine Wine

Wine and music have always paired well, so perhaps that’s the inspiration for Riedel’s Amadeo Lyra decanter. Shaped like a lyre, a predecessor of the guitar dating back to ancient Greece, this elegant vessel can help transform wines old and young. Each Lyra is mouth blown, and the shape is so complex that only one artisan at Riedel is entrusted with creating these delicate decanters. Lovely enough to display as an objet d’art, the Lyra will improve your wines: decant older bottles to leave the sediment behind, and decant younger ones, especially tannic reds, to aerate and soften the wine. (www.riedel.com, $310)

Molecular Mixology

"Molecular gastronomy" is the term for outrageous chemistry set cooking. The next evolution seems to be molecular mixology, with that same sense of scientific experimentation and whimsy expressed in cocktails. Mixologist and Smirnoff consultant Cameron Bogue has created a line of "sushi" that is really a cocktail. (All the "sushi" in the photo above represents an ounce and a half of hard liquor – the same as a moderately stiff drink.) The “rice” isn’t actually the venerable grain, but instead results from a combination of innocuous chemicals, including a gum from algae, dropped in a mixture of water and calcium chloride. What would normally be the raw fish portion is, in fact, a gel made from various liquors with a base of carrageenan, an algae extracted from seaweed off the Irish coast. Think of this as glorified, grown up jello shots. Difficult to produce, these items are only now starting to appear at private functions. They're a little too complicated for most bars, restaurants and home chefs to produce, but that may change as new recipes are developed. “It’s an awesome gimmick, a way to wow guests,” says Bogue, the man who created them. Some of his recipes, including easier to make foams and powders, can be found at www.smirnoff.com.

The Three Basic Food Groups

The US government might disagree, but wine, chocolate and cheese are the three essential food groups as any serious gourmand will tell you. Join them at ENO, the clubby new facility at the Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, where sommelier Holly Smith has assembled a cellar of over 1500 wines, touching on all the major regions of the world, prominently displayed in a central floor-to-ceiling glass and wood wine tower ascending into the ceiling. Fifty are available by the glass, and more still can be tasted in 15 carefully selected flights, from Sauvignon Blanc to Champagne. Cheeses, too, represent the finest of the art all across the globe, while chocolates emphasize the work of local artisans. One Ritz-Carlton Drive, Dana Point, California, (949) 240-2000. www.enowinerooms.com

The Esurient Man Opens a Bottle of Bubbly

If you feel like wine is for wimps and the Ultimate Fighting Championship matches are good meal-time entertainment, you may want to switch to champagne – full contact style – while watching these pay-per-view human cockfights and other entertainment. Napoleon – small, but no sissy – is said to have created a whole new way to pop the cork when handed a celebratory bottle while sitting astride his stallion. Rather than carefully peel the foil and slowly twist the metal cage to painstakingly get to the good stuff, he simply unsheathed his sword, slid it up the neck of the bottle and dispatched the top, complete with cork and cage, in one clean stroke. You, too, can now try this at home: sabering, as it’s now known, requires only the proper tool and a little practice. Shramsberg (www.schramsberg.com), Napa Valley’s finest producer of bubbly, sells a beautiful model created to celebrate its 40th anniversary, Christofle (www.christofle.com) offers a stunning one with an intricate handle from the Haute Orfevrerie workshop and other models are available at Wally’s (www.wallywine.com) in Los Angeles.