Red, White & Bubbly: Champagne Berry Gelée for Your Sparkling Festivities

Looking for a sweet, bubbly way to make your summer sparkle?

The Champagne Gelée is perfect for the long Independence Day weekend or mix it up with your preferred seasonal fruit for a fun summer BBQ addition. Light and just boozy enough to feel festive, it tastes like a celebration on a spoon.

Serve it in your favorite pretty glass, (we recommend a champagne flute or coup) chilled for everyone to enjoy. You'll want to use a dry "brut" sparkling wine or champagne, wanting the bubbles and acidity to shine through without adding the extra sugar. It is classy in its simplicity and exciting in its offering that will keep your guests refreshed and coming back for more.

Sommelier recommended sparkling wines and champagnes:

• Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label — a classic, dry Champagne with balanced acidity and notes of apple and citrus.

• Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial — crowd-pleaser, dry and fresh with subtle fruitiness.

• Taittinger Brut La Française — light, crisp, and elegant.

• Crémant Brut — French sparkling wine from outside Champagne, like Crémant de Loire or Crémant de Bourgogne. They’re elegant and often less expensive.

• California Brut Sparkling — like Roederer Estate Brut or Domaine Carneros Brut — bright and food-friendly.

Champagne Berry Gelée

Makes 8 Flutes

We like to use the biggest variety of berries we can find for these and, once made, they’re very happy waiting for your guests in the refrigerator, even overnight.

1 bottle champagne, dry

3 /4 cup sugar

3 /4 cup water

1 and a generous half envelope of powdered gelatin

2 baskets of fresh farmer's market berries

1 tsp. powdered sugar

Pour the champagne out into a bowl, add the sugar & stir occasionally to dissolve completely (it will no longer feel/sound granular when stirred.)

Pour the cold water into a sauce pan off the heat and sprinkle gelatin over the water slowly so it will absorb & wont clump. (Clumps are the devil). Let it sit there for 5 minutes.

Warm the gelatin mixture over low heat just until you melt the gelatin.

Slowly pour that into the champagne stirring constantly. Cover w/ plastic & refrigerate overnight.

Stir the gelee once totally solidified and spoon into the flutes half full, then a couple berries, then more champagne gelee, few berries on top with the finished glass just 2 /3rds full. Store in the refrigerator till needed.

Sprinkle with a pinch of powdered sugar just a bit before serving.

Written by Shayna Cogan

Pure Joy Catering & Santa Barbara Venues