Sekt

Sekt is the German (and Austrian) word for sparkling wine, the fizzy everyday celebration drink of the German-speaking world. Most of it is made by a fast, tank-based second fermentation, but the finest bottlings — above all dry Riesling Sekt from the Mosel, Rheingau and Pfalz — are bottle-fermented like Champagne and taste of crisp green apple, lime, white peach and stony, mineral acidity with a fine, persistent mousse. It is usually pale gold, bracingly dry to gently off-dry, modest in alcohol and built for aperitif drinking, Sekt-und-Kuchen afternoons and toasts at every German festivity.