Maria Hunt, author of the newly released 'The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine for Every Occasion,' a book about of recipes and the history of sparkling champagne, talks to AOL Black Voices about her inspiration for the project and offers readers a special sparkling drink recipe to spice up the Labor Day weekend.

AOL Black Voices: How did you come with the idea for the book?
Maria Hunt: I've always thought wine with bubbles was thrilling; I'm a Bubbly Girl because I love drinking sparkling wine any time at all; I started a lifestyle website The Bubbly Girl to share recipes and information about sparkling wines. I first started to appreciate the beauty and versatility of champagne and sparkling wines while traveling in Europe for the first time.

There was a casual, relaxed ease to the way the Basque began a seafood dinner in St. Jean-de-Luz in the Basque Country with their own sparkling wine called Txakoli or the way Italians went out for a meal of San Daniele prosciutto and Prosecco, the sparkling wine from the Veneto. The most breathtaking though, was an all champagne luncheon at Trianon, Moet & Chandon's historic guest home in Epernay, France where we drank a different style of champagne with quail, foie gras and even chocolate mousse. I thought it would be a good idea to get more Americans into the "bubbly whenever" mindset.
BV: What is champagne, exactly? Is it a wine?
Champagne is the name for wine from the Champagne region of France about 90 minutes northeast of Paris. It's traditionally made from chardonnay, pinot noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. There are lots of wine with bubbles made all over the world like cava from Spain, Moscato d'Asti from Italy and the great California sparkling wines from California, but only wine from that region east of Paris can be called champagne; everything else is sparkling wine.
Is it unusual for a Black woman to write about wine?
MH: It is still pretty unusual. Dorothy Gaiter of the Wall Street Journal has been writing about wine with her husband John Breher for a number of years. I wish there were more .... especially since Black people are drinking wine, and making it too, everywhere from the Napa Valley to South Africa. I've studied about wine with the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the Napa Valley so I felt comfortabe writing about it.

BV: What are the benefits of drinking wine?
MH: Consumed in moderation, wine has lots of health benefits. Red wines are the healthiest because the red pigment comes from beneficial plant chemicals. Wines made from pinot noir grapes are high in resveratrol, a natural plant chemical that helps combat the effects of aging, heart disease and cancer. Plus, I think being able to go out an order a glass of wine is one of the social graces; it's especially impressive on dates to know your way around the wine list.

BV: What is in your refrigerator or wine cellar?
MH: I like trying and collecting unusual sparkling wines and champagnes. I have a couple half-bottles of Krug, a brut and a rosé, some Schramsberg, J Schram, and a bottle of brut rosé by Henri Billiot, a small winery that grows its own grapes and then makes champagne from them. Just the other day I discovered this slightly sweet French sparkling wine infused with raspberry; it would be delicious in brunch cocktails or as dessert.

BV: What's your best wine drinking memory?
MH: Probably sipping Krug Grand Cuvee while floating at 2500 feet over the desert near Phoenix in a hot air balloon. It is so silent and you can see for miles.

BV: What were some of your inspirations for the drinks you make in your book?
MH: Some of the drinks like the French 75 and Kir Royale are classics, others like the Pink Cream Soda created by one of bartenders at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco and the Pattaya from Spice Market in NYC were ones I tasted and asked if I could use the recipe. Alot of the drinks I thought about my favorite seasonal fruits like strawberries or grapefruit and created drinks to feature them. I love it when flowers like rose, lavender and violet are used in food; I created a refreshing Lavender Tea that mixes iced tea with sparkling wine. And I love playful childhood desserts; that led me to create drinks like the Champagne Snow Cones and the Pomegranate Passion Floats with a splash of liqueur and sorbet added to a glass of bubbly.

BV: What is your favorite drink?
MH: Well, just like you're not supposed to have a favorite child, it's pretty hard for me to pick one favorite drink. Being from the Midwest, I love the Sour Cherry with its flavors of brandy, maraschino liqueur mixed with a sour cherry syrup and sparkling wine. The Elderbubble is fun too because I love the tropical and slightly floral flavor of the white elderflower liqueur.


Spice up your Labor Day Weekend with the Elderbubble:
Elderbubble
"I first tasted this cocktail at the old Laurel Restaurant and Bar in San Diego, and the haunting flavor of white elderflower, reminiscent of the elusive taste of lychee fruit, quickly became a favorite," Hunt says.
1 ounce St. Germain white elderflower liqueur
1 ounce raspberry vodka
3 to 4 ounces brut champagne
2 fresh or frozen raspberries
Add the St. Germain and raspberry vodka to a champagne flute. Top with the champagne. Garnish with the raspberries.
Makes 1 cocktail