All fizzed up and raring to go

Partygoers turned out in full “Nautical Chic” to the Angsana Laguna Phuket’s trendy beach club Xana for last weekend’s launch of super bubbly Chandon Brut Summer Edition. The girls added to the sizzle of the humid tropical night in white hot pants and loose blue shirts, with others ratcheting the thermometer up a few more degrees in little more than fancy sailor caps and sunglasses. The night was young and the bubbles kept on rising, as a seemingly unlimited number of bottles emptied into outstretched glasses.
In every direction tipplers could be seen sipping the straw-yellow sparkling wine and celebrating the return of Chandon Brut Summer Edition.
“Chandon comes back every summer with a special limited edition,” said Pornseak Pharksuwan, the sales director of Diageo Moet Hennessy and party organiser
“It adds ‘brut’ force to a summer party.”
We could all feel the force though few would have agreed with the summer, as the thunder rolled ominously in the background and light rain provided a not totally welcome shower. But the crisp dry finish of the Chandon Brut Summer Edition ensured everyone at least enjoyed a summer mouthful.
Chandon sparkling wines are made with the same grape varieties used in Champagne (a region of France), according to Pornseak, and their production follows the classic methode champenoise tradition.
“Our wine making and fermentation are similar to those of the French winemakers,” Pornseak adds. “We don’t add the gas into bottle but rely on secondary fermentation in the bottle to create the carbonation.”
And while the name might conjure up a sense of France, Chandon sparkling wine is actually made in Australia.
The story began in the 1960s, a time when French winery Moet & Chandon was starting to look to produce world class sparkling wines outside France. The winemakers had explored and established wine estates in Argentina, Brazil and California, but it turned out the Yarra Valley in Australia’s Victoria State had the best potential for premium quality sparkling wine.
The chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes have been grown and harvested in Yarra every since. The vineyard has produced number of fine Chandon sparkling wines – Chandon Brut, Chandon Les Trois Roses, for example. And, of course, the estate also releases its Chandon Brut Summer Edition.
Inspired by great times and sunny moments, the summer bottle is carefully wrapped in eye-catching summer strips of steel blue, white, red and light blue. With straw yellow and flashes of green hues in Champagne flute, it leaves the tippler a beautiful mouthfeel of fine persistent bead followed by a fresh fruit bouquet of citrus blossom and crisp dry finish. The summer bottle is probably the finest cool drink on a hot day – whether you’re on a sandy beach, at a peaceful riverside cottage or, in my case, revelling in the party scene.
Champagne, or sparkling wine, has become a luxury statement of feel-good moments – from weddings to wins to parties. Enthusiasm for the Chandon Brut Summer Edition is no doubt evident at craft cocktail bars, beach clubs and rooftop bars alike, where stylish tipplers embrace the venerable French concoction.
The sparkling wine is actually not my cup of tea, but Chandon Brut Summer Edition challenges me to love it. The in-house DJs’ hot dance and the company of beautiful people help it to succeed.