Wine Style of the Month: Sparkling

The pop of the cork, the rise of tiny bubbles and the gentle whoosh of foam in the glass—nothing makes an occasion more festive than Sparkling Wine. But Sparkling wines are not just for holidays and celebrations, they make a fine choice for everyday meals and pair exceptionally well with a variety of foods. From fried chicken to lobster bisque, the range of food pairings is endless. My favorite pairing is kettle style potato chips.

 

Amista Sparkling Rosé of Syrah Morningstar Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, NV

Made using the Méthode Champenoise (traditional) process, the Amista Sparkling Rosé of Syrah is a lovely way to bubble! In the glass it’s a light cranberry pink color with a fine delicate bubble stream. On the palate it’s both creamy and tart with flavors of dried cranberry, lemon zest, vanilla, toasty brioche and a touch of ginger. The long dry finish is fresh and lively.

 

ABV 12.5%

$58

 

CAST 2020 Brut Rosé, Dry Creek Valley

The CAST 2020 Sparkling Brut Rosé of Zinfandel is a veritable trip to Bubble Nirvana—it’s pure bliss. It shines in the glass with a light pink and rose-gold color as bubbles rush to the top in long strands.  On the palate it’s both zesty and rich with soft notes of strawberries and cream, raspberry mousse and an undercurrent of citrus zest. Great complexity of flavor with balanced acidity and subtle hints of ginger, white peach and orange blossom on the long dry finish.

 

ABV 12.5%

$59

 

Dutcher Crossing Posterity Reserve Blanc de Blanc Dry Creek Valley

The Dutcher Crossing Posterity Reserve Blanc de Blanc from Dry Creek Valley is made from 100% Estate Chardonnay grapes. It sparkles with a light golden color and a fine bead of bubbles. The palate opens with a delicate creamy mousse and a bit of chalk, then segues to bright flavors of yellow apple, pear, quince candied ginger and lemon zest. It’s vibrant and alive with zesty flavor on the long satisfying finish.

 

ABV 12.0%

$56

 

Kokomo 2019 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, Peter’s Vineyard, Dry Creek Valley

The Kokomo 2019 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc, from Peter’s Vineyard in Dry Creek Valley presents in the glass with a pretty pale straw color and a profusion of racy bubbles. On the nose, it has a light toasty brioche note and citrus zest. On the palate it’s lean and elegant with a steely precision and notes of tart apple, lemon, chamomile flowers, grapefruit, and slate. The dry finish brings lime zest, quince and ginger in to the forefront. It’s a crisp and satisfying sipper from beginning to end.

 

ABV 12.9%

$60

 

Trentadue California Champagne XXXII

The Trentadue California Champagne is made with French Colombard grapes from the Mendocino and Lodi regions, using the Charmat process. On the nose it has a wonderful peaches and cream scent. On the palate it has tart green apple, balanced with deep notes of toasted almonds, marzipan and chamomile. The fine crisp finish is both tart and sweet with a zesty note of ginger spice, orange zest and sweet white cherry. It’s an incredible value and sips well beyond it’s price point.

 

ABV 11.5%

$18

 

West Wines 2018 Seafoam Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut

Pop the cork on a bottle of West Wines 2018 Seafoam Blanc de Blanc Extra Brut and experience the thrill of tiny bubbles that can turn even an ordinary evening into something special and elevated. Made in the traditional Champagne method, with 100% Chardonnay grapes, the West Wines Seafoam has a light citrus sent and creamy mousse of toasted almond and apple. It’s plush, yet bright with a balance of tart green apple and citrus flavors along with notes lemon curd, white peach and ginger. Sassy and sophisticated it leaves a lasting impression.

 

ABV 11.5%

$42

 

Style of the Month: Sparkling Wine

Sparkling wines are not just for holidays and celebrations, they make a fine choice for everyday meals and pair exceptionally well with a variety of foods. From fried chicken to lobster bisque, the range of food pairings are endless, but nothing beats oysters, potato chips or truffle fries for flavor match made in heaven. Sparkling wines come in a range of sweetness levels from bone dry Burt Nature to the very sweet styles of Demi-Sec and Doux. The most popular style is Brut with less than half a gram of sugar per glass. There’s a sparkling wine to please every palate. 

Here are capsule reviews of Sparkling Wines along the Wine Road

Amista Sparkling Syrah Morningstar Vineyard 

Fresh and bright the Amista Sparkling Syrah from Morningstar Vineyard is an effervescent delight. The light garnet color shines with specks of gold in the fine stream of bubbles. Juicy and bright with flavors of pomegranate, black cherry, a touch of orange zest and all spice. It’s balanced on the palate with a fresh acidity that carries all the way through on the long dry finish. Pair with spicy crab cakes.

ABV 12.5%

$58

Cast Sparkling Brut Nature, Estate Vineyard, 2019 Dry Creek Valley

The Cast 2019 Sparkling Burt Nature from Dry Creek Valley is made from estate grown Zinfandel grapes. Steely and lean with a steady stream of fine bubbles it has initial of notes of brioche, yellow apple, white peach, and lemon zest. A bright stony minerality is in balance with flavors of honeysuckle, peach and buttered toast. The sustained finish rings with zesty acidity. Supremely delicious. Don’t be surprised how fast the bottle empties! Pair with Oysters Rockefeller. 

ABV 12.5%

$62.00

Colagrossi Sparkling Wine Rosé de Sangiovese 

The Colagrossi Sparkling Rosé de Sangiovese is made in the Charmat Method also known as the Tank method, which results in bright juicy, fruity wines with an easy and ready to drink freshness. It’s zesty with flavors of dried strawberry, watermelon and cranberry. Check out episode 186 of the Wine Road Podcast episode to hear how much we enjoyed it in studio with the winemaker! Pair with spicy seasoned tater tots and your favorite podcast.

ABV  12.5%

$45

Emeritus 2020 Hallberg Brut, Blanc de Noir, Russian River Valley

The Emeritus 2020 Hallberg Brut, Blanc de Noir is composed of estate grown Pinot Noir fruit from the heart of the Russian River Valley. It gently glows with a golden hue as a persistent stream of fine tiny bubbles race to the top of the glass. It has a light aroma of brioche and apricot. On the palate, soft notes of ripe pear, crisp apple and zesty lemon blend with a bright top note of ginger. It’s lithe and elegant with great texture and a bracing minerality on the long finish. Pair with classic caviar & blinis.

ABV 12.5%

$80

West Wines 2018 Seafoam Blanc de Blancs

The West Wines 2018 Seafoam Blanc de Blanc is made with 100% estate Chardonnay grapes in the traditional Champagne style, Méthode Traditionelle. On the nose, notes of brioche, lemon curd, ginger and toasted hazelnut waft up from the glass. On the palate it’s fresh and vibrant with a soft creamy mousse. Balanced flavors of lemon curd, pear, peach and orange zest mingle and linger on the finish. Pair with pomme frites and aioli.  

ABV 11.5%

$42

Woodenhead 2013 Sparkling Wine Blanc de Blanc

At ten years of age, the Woodenhead 2013 Sparkling Blanc de Blanc is graceful with a fruity vitality that is both savory and bright. On the nose, notes of marzipan, lemon pith and butterscotch. On the palate, a soft texture with a balance of yellow apple, lemon zest, toasted almond and creamy ginger. In a word—delectable! Pair with buttermilk fried chicken.

ABV 11.2%

$54

Wine Road Podcast: Sparkling Discoveries with Vicky Farrow of Amista Vineyards and Joy Sterling of Iron Horse Vineyards

Vicky Farrow of Amista Vineyards and Joy Sterling of Iron Horse Vineyards share their beautiful sparkling wines with us and tell us about the new website created by Vicky called Sparkling Discoveries a community for sparkling wine lovers devoted to all things bubbly – the people, places, and world of sparkling wines and Champagnes. We pop a magnum of the Iron Horse special edition 2014 Brut Stargazing Cuvée Sparkling Wine that is truly out-of this world! Our Fast Five recipe Barbecue Ribs from Mitch Blakeley at Pedroncelli Winery.

Wine of the Day: Iron Horse special edition 2014 Brut Stargazing Cuvée Sparkling & Amista Sparkling Tres a Rosé of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvédre.
Fast Five Recipe: Barbecue Ribs from Mitch Blakeley at Pedroncelli Winery.
Podcast Sponsor: Ron Rubin Winery

 

Hands on Harvest PART II

As I said in my last Hands on Harvest post, I learned more about the land and vines at Gloria Ferrer's Carneros region estate than I thought possible in two days. My palate was put through some rigorous paces as well with a parade of wine and food pairings.

I am a big fan of Va de Vi the sparkling wine Gloria Ferrer introduced last year, and familiar with all their sparkling wines as well, but I did not know they also made still wines, Pinot Noir in particular. You can find out more about the wines and history of the Ferrer family on their site. But for this post I wanted to focus the aspects of the land in the Carneros area that I found most interesting on the tour.

Walking Tour with Mike Crumly

Sustainability is a big buzzword these days. It’s bandied about for everything from hotels to shampoo. Sometimes is hard to know what exactly it means. During the Hands on Harvest we were led on a walk around the Circle Bar Ranch property by Mike Crumly, VP Vineyard Management, and given some insight into what sustainability can mean for a vineyard.

The Riparian Corridors & Land Conservation

I didn’t know that some species of birds won’t fly over big tracks of open land. They prefer to flit from tree to tree, so it’s important to break up big plots of vines with some trees to give the birds and other animals a path across the land. The riparian corridor at the Circle Bar Ranch was man made. Native trees and shrubs were re-planted in the gulch that cuts across the ranch and reinforced with mesh fabric to control slit build up that protects the watershed downstream and rocks to prevent erosion as from rainfall run-off in the winter months. Preserving the land is sustaining the land. You wouldn’t know from looking at this that is was all recreated.

Bluebird Boxes

The western Bluebird is most threatened when Oak woodlands are reduced by commercial development of land. The use of bluebird boxes gives the birds a nesting place and helps maintain their populations in the vineyards. During the rainy seasons the vineyard crew builds bluebird nests. Like the Keebler Elves making cookies, they build the boxes at the winery workshop and then thru a partnership with WillMar Center for Bereaved Children, the boxes are painted by children struggling though grief. Gloria Ferrer sells the bluebirds boxes in the tasting room and all profits go to the WillMar Center.

When Mike held up the bluebird box and told us the story of how healing an act it was for the children to work on creating a “safe home” for the bluebirds, I thought we were all going to bust out in tears. I think I even saw a tiny tear in Mike’s eye. I tell you, that guy is all heart.

The Midden & the Artifacts

One of the most fascinating features on the property was the Miwok midden. During a land survey prior to the vineyard development, evidence of a Miwok Indian Village was discovered. Artifacts including arrowheads made from obsidian and grinding tools made of stone were located and documented. A archeological survey identified the section of land as a Midden, a place where the hunter-gather tribes discarded their “kitchen’ trash such as mussel and oyster shells and an occasional body too. I guess you could say the midden is like a like a huge garbage disposal, a stone age KitchenAid so to speak, with room for any relatives who happen to kick it around the dinner table. Although the midden is adjacent to the active vineyard, the area is fenced off and left undistributed.

The Geology and the Trenches

When I saw the first trench I thought maybe this event was really an elaborate ruse to lure us into a trap and “harvest” our kidneys and other organs and then bury us in the freshly dug trench. I could barely walk at that point anyway so it seemed like a good idea. But that was not the case. The trench was part of an object lesson on the geology of hillside growing conditions.

I’ve been of tours where the geology is discussed before, but there was something about Mike Crumley's presentation and his ability to break down the information into component parts that suddenly clicked in my mind. To see the difference in the soil depths along the hillside slope was amazing. And then to connect that to the stress placed on the vines as evidenced in the differences in leaf canopy created by the shift in soil depths was startling. I’d never noticed that before, but then again no one had ever pointed in out and explained it so clearly either. Apparently it’s dappled light that makes the best Pinot grapes and thus the canopy on the “struggling” hillside vines is most desirable.

The People

One thing that stood out for me was, given the size of the Gloria Ferrer operation, everyone there seemed very relaxed. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company and had as much fun as their guests. I really felt like they would be great folks to hang out with for a few days. Oh wait, I guess I did that. So if the whole point of Hands on Harvest was to give an in depth view to the land, the wines, and the people of Gloria Ferrer, all I can say is—Mission Accomplished.

A Tale of Two Harvests

Last year I participated in my first harvest (which I wrote about here) and all I got was a warm beer and a taco at the end of a grueling day of manual labor. But oh what a difference a year makes!

As I said in my post last year, the most important thing I learned was to politely decline any subsequent invitations to Harvest. But then I got invited to the Gloria Ferrer Hands on Harvest event on September 13 & 14th, and all I can say is OMG! The Hands on Harvest exceeded my wildest expectations. I learned more about winemaking and the particular vines at the Carneros estate than I thought possible in two days. My palate was put through some rigorous paces as well with what seemed like a never ending parade of wine and food pairings.

I live tweeted the event with the hashtag #GFHoH, but later discovered many of my messages were saved to draft instead of going out…oh the joys of technology. There is much to share about what I experienced so I’ve decided to break it up in to two separate posts. For now, here is a quick pictorial of Hands on Harvest.

The Vertical Tasting of Royal Cuvee

Vintages from 1990 -1997, I was impressed by the consistency of color across all the vintages and particularly liked '90, '92 and '94.

"Champagne is like a bed, it's meant to be shared" ~ Bob Iantosca

Wake up and smell the vineyards

The “Gentleman’s” Harvest

Breakfast Al fresco

Left to Right: Tom Burnet, President; Elvia the Cake Lady; Bob Iantosca, VP Winemaking; Harvest Guest, Gerald Murphy of Revival Bar & Kitchen

Sustainability Walking Tour with Mike Crumly

Artifacts from the Miwok Midden

The Riparian Corridors

The Bluebird Boxes

Mid-morning replenishment-- Oysters & Bubbles

Grafting Demonstration

Geology Lesson in the Trenches

Pinot Pairing Lunch!

The Crush

The Caves

The People

I 'd like thank the entire staff of Gloria Ferrer Caves & Vineyards for an exceptional event, forever changing my idea of a harvest experience.

Stay tuned...next post will go in-depth to the history & geology of the Circle Bar Ranch including the particulars of our Sustainability Walk led by Mike Crumly. If only Mike had taught my high school geology class I'm sure I would have attended more often and learned something along the way!