100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 25 Who makes Sparkling Wines from Organic Vineyards? What is a photovoltaic solar collection system and who has one?

25. Who makes Sparkling Wines from Organic Vineyards? What is a photovoltaic solar collection system and who has one?

California has sparkling wines made from the organic vineyards of Domaine Carneros. Domaine Carneros was founded in 1987 by Claude Taittinger. Champagne Taittinger and partner Lobrand Corporation developed a regional landmark on 138 acres of parcel in Carneros, California.

The beautiful chateau and terrace sit on top of a hill with a view of rolling vineyards. In April of 2008, Domaine Carneros received the organic certification by the California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). This is a three year process making them the first sparkling winery in the United States with all of their estate vineyards certified.

In 2003, the winery installed the largest photovoltaic solar collection system then existent on any winery in the world, according to their Web site. They have installed lighting by skylights, night cooling systems to maintain cellar temperature and they built into the earth for insulation. Other unique features contained in all four vineyards are owl boxes used to control rodents.

They have a terrace at their main chateau to sip sparkling wine and watch the sunset. They close at 6pm giving you time to visit their vineyard for the last tasting of the day. They also have a gift shop and we know how I like those.

Even though Taittinger is famous for making Champagne from the Champagne region of France using the traditional method, Domaine Carneros prefers to call their California sparklers the American name of sparkling wine. They feel that they should not replicate someone else’s name. They make three traditional styles of sparkling wine: Brut, Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blancs.

Although Domaine Carneros makes spectacular sparkling wine, their surprise features are their Pinot Noirs. My favorite being the award winning “The Famous Gate”. It highlights smokey toasty aromas along with blackberries and dark cherry notes.



2006 The Famous Gate - Beverage Testing Institute, 2008 World Wine Championships, Gold Medal, 91 Points

2006 The Famous Gate - Wine Enthusiast Rating, 92 points, 12/31/08


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Bon Vin!
Veronica