100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 26 Do you want to have an online wine tasting with sparklers?

26. Do you want to have an online wine tasting with sparklers?

Let’s start our wine tasting by reviewing the labels on the bottles, what each Web site has to say about their wines and the price of each. The two wines that we are reviewing are Korbel Brut, California Champagne and Schramsberg, Blanc de Blancs, Brut Sparkling Wine, Vintage 2006.


Korbel Web site:

Korbel Brut is America’s favorite methode champenoise champagne. It is used to celebrate more weddings, anniversaries, and New Year’s Eves than any other quality champagne. The goal is to make a champagne that consistently delivers a lot of quality for the price. Korbel Brut is crisp and refreshing, with a light citrus and fresh pear-like note in the finish.


Schramsberg Web site:

The first wine Schramsberg produced in 1965 and was America’s first commercially produced, Chardonnay-based brut sparkling wine. Small lots of malolactic-and barrel-fermented wines are added for complexity. The wine is aged on the yeast lees in the bottle for about two years prior to disgorgement. With its vibrant, fruitful and crisp nature, this sparkling wine will maintain its freshness, structure and refined finish for many years, even decades following its initial release.


KORBEL

Label:
Established 1882
Methode Champenoise
Korbel
California Champagne
Brut
Alcohol: 12%
Produced and Bottled by F. Korbel & Bros., Inc.
Greenville, Sonoma Co., California

Not on Label:
A blend of multiple varieties from multiple appellations and even multiple years.
Harvested: Non-vintage Blend
Appellation: California
Composition: Pinot Noir, Chenin Blanc, French Colombard, Chardonnay
Dosage: 1.00%
Production: 750,000 cases annually

$9.99 US Dollars


SCHRAMSBERG

Label:
Schramsberg
Founded 1862
Blanc De Blancs
Methode Champenoise
Brut
Vintage 2006
Produced and Bottled by Schramsberg Vineyards
Calistoga, California
100% North Coast Sparkling Wine
Alcohol: 12.9%
100% Chardonnay
Handcrafted
Cool climate North Coast Vineyards
Barrel fermentation and extended aging
Hugh Davies, Vintner

$25.99 US Dollars

If you have these two bottles in your local store, go out and buy them and give them a try. I want to hear what you have to say about each. Have someone label the glasses A and B and label the bottles A and B for a blind tasting. Do not look at which one you are trying. Try a blind tasting and see what you think. If you do not have these two bottles or cannot get them locally, just look for our next post and see what others have to say about the taste.


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

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


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 23 What is Cava?

23. What is Cava?

Cava is the name given by the Spanish to the traditional method process utilized to make sparkling wine. Champagne is to France what Cava is to Spain. The grapes traditionally used to make Cava are macabeo (the most popular white grape of northern Spain, contributing soft wildflowers and bitter almonds), xarel-lo (adds body, acidity and alcohol) and parellada (contributes delicacy and aroma) which are all grown in Spain in an area of Catalonia. Cava is a Catalan word meaning cave which is where the wines were traditionally stored. Freixenet is one of the most known producers of Cava in the United States, selling over one million cases of Cava per year.

Sounds good to me.
Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 22 Gloria Ferrer, the First Sparkling Wine House in the Sonoma Carneros Region of California.

22. Gloria Ferrer, is the first sparkling wine house in the Sonoma Carneros region of California. What do I like about this winery? They have a great tasting tour, a picturesque terrace overlooking Sonoma Valley and they offer Spanish and local cheeses along with other delicacies available in their tasting room. Planning on getting married, you may not find a more breathtaking open view of the valley. Gloria Ferrer makes still and sparkling wines but I like them for their sparklers. Below is one of my favorites.

1998 Carneros Cuvee



93 POINTS - WINE ENTHUSIAST MAGAZINE
"A luscious and superior California bubbly, this blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay shows an irresistible richness of raspberry puree, cherry skin bitterness, vanilla, yeasty baked bread and something unidentifiably smoky-sweet. Yet it's bone dry. With a long, complex finish, it should continue to age beyond this, its tenth birthday."
- Wine Enthusiast Magazine, December 31, 2008


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 21 Three reasons why I like to visit Chandon Winery in Napa Valley, California.

21. Three reasons why I like to visit Chandon Winery in Napa Valley, California. They have a gift shop, they have art exhibits and they have great sparkling wines.

Maybe there are just a few more reasons why I like to visit Chandon. They are easy to get to, have plenty of parking, have a restaurant called etoile, have a cool tasting lounge and have a breathtaking view from their patio.

Thirty years ago, the founders of Chandon Winery came to Napa Valley from France. (Domaine Chandon, owned by the world’s largest Champagne producer, Moet et Chandon.)They decided to plant traditional grape varieties found in French Champagne including Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. Chandon Winery now makes both still and sparkling wines. One of my favorite sparkling wines that they make is:


etoile Brut

92 points Wine Enthusiast, December 2009
"The refined texture recommends this brut, which is mainly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with a splash of Pinot Meunier. It’s an elegant wine, rich in citrus fruits, green apples, raspberries, smoke and creamy yeast..."

Wine Tasting Notes from the Winery:



“Tiny bubbles elevate a complex bouquet of ripe pear, toasted brioche and apple compote. Lemon custard flavors caress the palate followed by notes of baked apple crisp and roasted hazelnuts. The elegant structure persists throughout the long, savory finish.”


Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica

100 Wine Blogs, 100 Days Blog 20 How California Sparkling Wine started?

20. How California sparkling wine started?

We have all heard of Dom Perignon and Cristal but have we all heard of Schramsberg? Over in Calistoga, California in 1965, Blanc de Blancs was debuting at Schramsberg Vineyards. 100% Chardonnay grapes were used from Charles Krug Winery to make the first commercial sparkling wine in California using the traditional Methode Champenoise style of winemaking. In 1967, Blanc de Noirs followed using Pinot Noirs in the classic style. They then released the Reserve, their finest sparkling wine with over four years of aging. Now, their Reserve receives over six years of aging prior to release. The Davies family owns Schramsberg Vineyards and has produced sparkling wines with individuality, elegant style and grace for over four decades.

Visit their vineyards, winery and cellars high up in the hills. Enjoy their historic cave tour and tasting or if you are really serious about learning, attend their Spring Blending Camp in March or their Fall Harvest Camp in September.

Although I have toured their cave and have tasted plenty of Schramsberg sparkling wine, there is a new vintage in particular that I have yet to try; the 2002 J. Schram (1X750ml). They have aged this wine six years using an expensive process known as “ageing en tirage” to develop their finest flavor. Here is what they have to say about it:
“J. Schram epitomizes our philosophy to create a wine in which no effort has been spared and no care has been omitted. It is our very best Chardonnay-based Brut sparkling wine. Unbelievable score of 96 Points by Wine Enthusiast! December 2009.”

Priced at $100. What do the winemakers have to say about this wine?

“This wine delivers! Even with six years ageing en tirage, this wine's youthfulness bursts with aromas of fresh Granny Smith apple and juicy pineapple, followed by mature perfumes of freshly baked sourdough, roasted almond, and just a hint of graham cracker pie crust. A bright crisp entry leads way to generous flavors of candied grapefruit and glazed pineapple, with just a touch of key lime and mango. The mid-palate is rich and ever present, finishing with a tangy and lingering acidity. The 2002 J. Schram tastes deliciously today, and will continue to age and develop for decades to come."
Winemakers Keith Hock and Hugh Davies

How do I fell about Schramsberg wine? I will drink any Schramsberg, any day, anytime, anywhere at any age! If you have a forty-five year old Blanc de Blancs lying around, I’ll be right over.

Tell me your thoughts, make them funny, keep them nice and educate me.
Bon Vin!
Veronica