Goodbye 2024! Hello 2025! It’s time for Sparkling Wine! Happy New Year’s! Cheers!

good bye 2024– it was a TRIP

Time to say GOODBYE 2024! And HELLO 2025!

What a roller coaster of a year! 

• In January, I traveled to Tahoe and Mammoth for a birthday ski trip.
• February I was busy with rain, wine, and my foster dog Moose. 
• In March I went to San Francisco for art and wine.
• In April I saw the eclipse in Texas, went skiing in Mammoth, and I went back to San Francisco for more art and wine and was in a hit and run accident.
• In May, I flew to Italy for three weeks to learn about Sicilian wine, to participate in Campania Stories, and to enjoy a week in Tuscany too with a trip by ferry to the Island of Giglio! I also had two nights in Rome.
• In June we went to Bequinox in the Mojave Desert, then we volunteered at Live Oak Music Festival.
• In July we were busy fostering Moose’s sister June but we got away to see the Grateful Dead at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Valerie Mallory building Womantree 2024

• August was all about getting ready for and going to Burning Man “Curiouser and Curiouser”  to help Valerie Mallory with her honorarium installation– my 22x in 32 years.  
  
  
  

  Art Predator in the Minstrel Cramp

• And then of course to strike it as well as our theme camp.

taking down all the things

• September to December was a whirlwind of teaching punctuated by grief at the loss of my sister Laurie. 
• And the grief of the November US Presidential election.
• Check out my Instagram for more extensive photographic highlights.

 

While I was remiss in writing about much of the year’s activities here on Art Predator with only 24 posts, and many of them brief, there’s 70 posts over on Wine Predator– about 90k words on wine, food, and related travel (so go subscribe!). And lots about sparkling wine!

Here are some ideas to make your coming year sparkle because today’s not only New Year’s Eve but National Champagne Day! Sparkling wine is made every where and for every budget. Here’s a few we enjoyed in 2024 from various places and in different styles from around the world.

• Pinot Meunier Specialists Vincent d’Astrée Champagne Brut NV Premier Cru + Holiday Pairings
• Sekt Means Sparkling in German: 2013 Raumland Cuvee Marie Luise Brut Means Fondue Fun and Small Bites– Clink Different!
• 4 Italian Wines for Thanksgiving: Pairing Prosecco, Chardonnay, Barolo, Passito with a coursed meal
• Champagne Day 2024 with a Couple of Seniors: La Grande Dame b. 1979 and Nicolas Feuillatte b. 2005
• How to Do a Wine and Cheese Tasting to Celebrate Wine and Cheese Day! Plus Pairings and A Recipe for Grilled Peach Burrata Crostini
• Captivating Cava: Juvé & Camps Reserva de la Familia Brut Nature with grilled oysters and rockfish for #CAVADAY
• For Sparkling Wine Week, Pair Albert Bichot Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Réserve with smoked deviled eggs and potato chips
• Prosecco DOC Week: Tasting in the Dark with Hoby Wedler and Popping the Cork with Valdo Marca Oro

• Totality: An Eclipse Paired with Wine and Mendocino’s Biodynamic Frey Vineyards Family
• 4 Wine Women of the World and 4 of Their White Wines Paired with Shrimp and Chicken Penne #WomensHistoryMonth
• Ventura Visit With Wildflower Winery’s Winemaker Natalie Albertson in Women’s History Month
• Legacy of Madame Pommery, Mother-Daughter Duo Nathalie and Pauline Vranken: On #InternationalWomensDay, Drink Champagne Pommery with Pate + Brie

• Open That Bottle Night: Clos des Amis 2009 Pinot Noir Pet Nat “Shiner” + Sangio with Osso Bucco
• A Dozen Rosés for Valentines and Galentines Part 1: 6 Old World Wines + Croque-Monsieur #WinePW
• Garagiste Festival Returns to Solvang Feb 9-10 to Benefit Cal Poly Scholarships + A Steinbeck Sparkler

Lately I’ve been enjoying Black Girl Magic Sparkling Pinot Noir from New Zealand. With an SRP of $25, I found it on sale for about $6 at Grocery Outlet and now it’s under $5 at my local Trader Joe’s. It’s a bit on the sweet side, but we’ve found it works great with beet salad, ham, and other dishes that are also on the sweet side, and it makes for a fabulous sparkling wine cocktail or aperitivo. 

So Happy New Year! What will you be drinking tonight? What big plans do you have for 2025? 

We’ll have Vincent d’Astrée Champagne Brut NV Premier Cru paired with King Crab Legs! 

Cheers! See you in 2025!