Wine For Normal People Radio : Episode 26 Sparkling Wine -- More Than Just Champagne

No secret here...I'm a fan of the bubbles. I love a good sparkler with food and definitely don't think it's only for special occasions. So this week, we tackle it. We don't get too much into the winemaking aspects, more about what to drink and from where.

Here are the show notes...

This week, we explain why bringing on the Bub is always a good idea.

We start with a few shoutouts to awesome reviews on iTunes and fun comments on Facebook.

And we answer another listener question! We want you to Call us!!! Do you have a wine-related question for Elizabeth? Anything goes! Call 800-599-8478 (in the U.S.) or 1-415-226-9105 and dial extension 5 to leave your question for the Wine For Normal People Podcast, and we will play it on the show!

• Listener Question - from Saul (NY, USA)
• Main Topic - Sparkling Wine
  1. Quick Hit on How Sparkling Wine is Made (very brief)
  2. The Big One: Champagne
  3. Cremant (from Loire, Limoux, Alsace)
  4. Cava (Spanish Sparkler)
  5. Prosecco, Franciacorta
  6. Sparkling Wine from USA
  7. Rosé Champagne and Sweetness Levels

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Also, if you like the Podcast, please review us on iTunes and we'll give you a shout out!

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Must-Have, Affordable Bubbles for Summer: Seguras Viudas Brut Reserva

Sparkling wine is a confusing subject for a number of reasons. The most puzzling thing to me: Why do we save it just for special occasions? With a bunch of normal priced options, we should be chugging the stuff the way we drink Chardonnay, yet the bubbles give us pause.

Well, even though I'm guilty of not drinking my fair share, I think not enjoying the bubbles on a regular basis is kind of dumb. Especially when there's Cava for $11.99 sitting there just waiting for you.

You may ask: What is Cava? It sounds like a cave. Is it cave wine? Like cave men? And isn't all wine aged in a cave? Kind of. It's good thinking, but in this case, I'm talking about sparkling wine from Spain that's made in the same way Champagne is made. You know: Cava.

Before I continue, I need to express a very important caveat about bubbles: Sparkling wine is only called Champagne if it is from the Champagne region of France. Otherwise it has a regional name (Cava, Sekt, Spumante) or it's just called sparkling wine. Had to get that off my chest because it's a common mistake and I don't want anyone making it and then having some jackass wine snob correct them.

Ok...back to Cava and it being made the same way as Champagne. How is that you may ask? Although I'm a nerd about winemaking, I know that it's kind of boring to read about, so I'll give a very brief description of how sparkling wine is made so you can just get a feel for it.

To make dry sparkling wine, you pick grapes that are high in acid and low in sugar, making a disgusting, bitter, mouth-puckering base wine that can withstand aging and handle a second fermentation. To get the bubbles, you need to trap carbon dioxide in a bottle and then make it mesh into the liquid. To do this, you put the gross base wine in a heavy Champagne bottle with a mixture of sugar and yeast to spur a second fermentation. The yeast eat the sugar, turning it into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which can't escape because the bottle is sealed, so with months of aging it becomes part of the wine.

There's a pesky problem left after this process, which is that the yeast die and they need to come out of the bottle before we drink the wine. So, to clarify the wine and rid if of those corpses, the bottle is slowly turned until it's on it's upside down and all the yeast collects in a cap which is popped off and replaced with a little of the original base wine and a proper Champagne cork.

There are other ways to get bubbles in wine, but this way is the most expensive, time consuming, and it leads to the smallest, longest lasting bead or bubble, which is better than having big Coke-like bubbles in your wine that die out quickly. Not every region or sparkling wine uses this method, if they do the bottle usually says it's made in the Traditional or Champagne Method and that's how you'll know.

You'll always see Método Tradicional on a bottle of Cava. By Spanish law Cava, meaning "cave" in Catalan (which is the language of the Catalonia region in the Northeast corner of Spain, where most Cava is made) and "cellar" in Spanish, is made in the Champagne Method. It's a government regulated Denominación de Origen (DO) that covers eight areas around Northern Spain that are permitted to make sparkling wine in the traditional method. The eight regions go as far west as Rioja and Castilla y Leon (Ribera del Duero), generally considered red wine country.

Cava is mainly white sparkling wine, although there is a rosé version that incorporates a little Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha (Grenache), and Monastrell. Some producers use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the traditional grapes of Champagne, but for the most part, the native Spanish varieties of Parallada, Xarel-lo, and Macabeo are the standard.

Before I get to the wine in question, a note on the history of sparkling wine in Spain. Apparently it's not correctly reported often, so I'm going to rely on one of my favorite wine reference books: The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia by Tom Stevenson to clear up the story.

The tale, spread by Codorníu, the biggest Cava house in Spain, is that its founder made the first bottle of Spanish sparkling wine in 1872. The truth: there was sparkling in Spain as early as 1851 and by 1872 the Lab Directory at the Agricultural Institute of Sant Isidre in Catalonia was experimenting with sparkling production. The experiment turned to reality when three of his former students entered their bubbles into a wine competition in Barcelona in 1872, winning gold medals for two of the versions. Codorníu didn't release their first wine until 1879, so their story doesn't really jibe with the facts. That said, their claim to fame is that they came up with the now traditional blend of Spanish grapes -- Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. Not a bad innovation.

Interestingly, even though Codorníu came up with the blend, they are totally open to using Chardonnay and other grapes to give their wines more richness. Freixenet, the second biggest Cava house, is very traditional, refusing to use anything but the big three Spanish varieties for fear they would dilute the indigenous character of the wine. It's funny how that works -- the follower is more pious than the originator, but I digress.

Freixenet owns a number of brands distributed in the US and one is Seguras Viudas, which I had the other night. I've had this wine many a time, but never posted on it so I thought it high time...

The Wine: Seguras Viudas Brut Reserva
Where It's From: Cava/Penedes, Spain
The Grapes: 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel-lo
Alcohol: 11.5%
Vintage: Non-vintage (most traditional method sparkling wine is a blend across several vintages to maintain a "house style" from year to year. That way a too hot or too cool year won't throw off the flavors in the wine)
Price: $11.99

Color: When you evaluate what Cava looks like, you need to look not just at color, but also at the bead or bubble. This wine was a nice pale straw color with a tinge of green -- a good hallmark that it would be pretty high in acid from the looks of it. A great thing for sparkling wine -- especially when it's Brut, or very dry. The bead was small and continuous, it went on and on. Good stuff!

Smell: For some reason whenever I smell Cava I always get a hint of what reminds me of a pencil. I've had Macabeo and Xarel-lo on their own and don't get an overwhelming sensation of #2 from either of those so it's either the mix of the three grapes together or Parellada. Who knows? The wine also smelled like lime, green, fresh cut herbs, and a little bit of outdoor-after-it-rains-in-a-meadow grassiness (but not like Sauvignon Blanc, where it's in your face). Very subtle and it smelled refreshing. Smelling it made my mouth water.

Taste: This is a very light Cava and very true to the smell. It had a citrusy, lime scent and tasted a little like chewing on a pencil, in a good way. It was super refreshing and bright. This is summer sipper for the hot weather if ever there was one but be careful, it goes down easy. Even with a little lower alcohol than you may be used to (most wines are around 12.5% - 14%), this can still do a number on you the next day if you chug it (not that I have personal experience or anything).

Pairing: A common misnomer is that sparkling wine is just for sipping. Although it's awesome for that, it's a damn good match for light food too. Flaky white fish, salads, and mild cheeses are fabulous with Cava. It was a great accompaniment to my tomato, mozzarella, and avocado salad (dressed with a little olive oil, salt, and balsamic vinegar).

Drink or Down the Sink?: For $12 this is a DRINK all day long. My only criticism of the wine is that it's a little light. That said, it's a great bottle of wine for the price, one you can easily bring to someone's house if you're going for dinner or drinks, and something I'll be swilling all summer long!

Before I sign off... I want to dedicate this post to my friend and client, Barbara Hughes. Hope this answers your questions on Cava and makes your trip there extra special!!! Readmore »»

5 Great Wine Suggestions For Thanksgiving (Wines NOT Brands)

Ok, for my American readers, I know it's time to do a post when the UPS guy asks me what he should be drinking for Thanksgiving (he delivers lots of wine to me, so it wasn't completely out of left field, FYI!).

I planned on a post but figured that I should wait until it actually became relevant -- I'm assuming that normal people are like me and leave a lot of Thanksgiving shopping until the last minute. With all the prep and cooking that needs to be done for TG (as Thanksgiving will be termed through the rest of this article), wine -- probably the only item that doesn't need prep -- will be what you pick up tomorrow, or send your non-cooking roommate/spouse/partner/family member out to get.

With so much other stuff to think about we need to make this quick and easy.

Before we get into specific recommendations, let's think about the diversity of the TG meal. You start with appetizers of some ilk, cheese plates, nuts, etc. Then you move on to more savory, creamy foods -- mashed potatoes, buttery stuffing, cranberry sauce, green beans, sweet potatoes, and moist turkey.

With each wine you've got a choice -- complement the food with flavors and textures that are similar or create a contrasting pairing that could lighten some of the weightier dishes. Each of the wines below will do the job in one way or the other. If you want to have fun with dinner, get more than one of the options, try them out and use them as a discussion point (sure beats politics or personal discussions about topics you'd rather avoid -- c'mon, you know what they are).

So using the above standard meal as benchmark, here are 5 wines (not brands, mind you) that nearly any store should have stocked and ready to go:

1. Sparkling wine or, for a splurge, Champagne.

Where to get it in the store: Sparkling wine comes in many forms. Usually the stores stock them together, but here are a few types to look for:

• California sparkling wine (look on the label for "Champagne Method" or "Traditional Method" to make sure it's the kind I'm talking about)
• Cava from Spain
• Cremant from France (made like Champagne but not from the Champagne region, try some from Alsace, Limoux, or the Loire Valley)
• Champagne (sparkling wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier in the eponymous region through a double fermentation, with strict harvest, production, and aging parameters).

Each of these wines are made in the Champagne method and are usually dry, but have a yeasty, almost bread-like character to them. They have small bubbles that last a long time and great, strong acidity.

Why It Works: With a lighter fruit component, these wines won't overpower any of the dishes with too much aroma or fruit flavor. The acidity and the bubbles will enliven the cheese and appetizer dishes and cut through all the buttery heaviness in the mashed potatoes and stuffing. The turkey will take on some of the fruitiness of the wine, giving it more dimension. Sparklers go well with the sweeter dishes too -- the sweet potatoes will taste a bit less sweet with sparkling wine, but there won't be a clash in flavors. It could even be ok with the impossible to match green beans -- at minimum, it won't ruin the flavor of the legumes. All in all, sparkling wine is a really festive and safe choice for the meal.

*Note: Notice that I did not mention Prosecco in this mix. To me, Prosecco has a grapey, abundant fruit flavor and low acidity. It would be innocuous with the dishes but not as good as a wine made from the traditional Champagne method, with more yeasty, complex flavors, and less punchy fruit.

2. Riesling.

This poor grape gets a bad rap, but it is unbelievably versatile and definitely my favorite match with TG fare because of its delicious aroma and its mouth-cleaning acid. Get a dry or only lightly sweet wine for the best results.

Where to get it in the store:

• In the German section: Look for a Riesling from Mosel, Rheingau, or Rheinhessen. If the label doesn't say Trocken (dry), classic, or selection ask your wine person if it's dry or sweet.
• In the French section: If it's from Alsace France, it will be dry and have a lovely "oily" texture that is sumptuous!
  
• In the Australian section: If it's from the Clare Valley or Eden Valley, it will be dry.
  

Why It Works: I love the high floral and peach aromatics in Riesling. The wine also often has a gasoline or petrol note, and lots of minerality to it. The acid, even though often disguised under sugar, is always searing and is delicious as a foil to rich buttery foods. I love TG food, but it's not the spiciest or most exciting cuisine. The peachy, floral, and mineral notes of the wine and it's acid combine with the starchy goodness of the potatoes, and stuffing and the buttery turkey to create a whole better than its parts. The acid cleans out your mouth after each bite and leaves you ready for more. The fruitiness of the wine can handle the sweeter dishes, although I wouldn't recommend trying the cranberry sauce or green beans with a bone dry Riesling -- the bitterness of both won't taste great with the acidity of the wine -- you win some, you lose some.

3. Lightly Oaked Chardonnay.

I am not a fan of big, oaky Chardonnays. But a lightly oaked, medium-bodied Chardonnay is an excellent, neutral choice for TG.

Where to get it in the store:

• In the France/Burgundy section: A Meursault from Burgundy, France or a basic white Burgundy (like Laforet from Louis Latour)
• In the South American section: Chilean Chardonnay
• In the California Section: A Chardonnay from the Central Coast

Why It Works: I'm no oak lover, but a savory meal sometimes calls for a complementary pairing. You don't want an oak bomb that will overpower the milder dishes, but you need a little oak to make sure the wine has enough flavor so it doesn't taste like alcoholic water when faced with butter, butter, and more butter. Chardonnay is an innocuous pairing. All guests are bound to think this is a palatable pairing and the buttery character of these wines (due to a secondary, or malo-lactic fermentation), will complement everything on the table. This may be one of the only things that won't clash with the green beans! This is your safest, easiest bet.

4. Pinot Noir.

They call Pinot "the chef's wine" since it is such a food-friendly libation. You do have to be cautious about style though. Big fruity Pinots may be too much for the food (look for alcohol over 13.5% as a tip off) and a really light style wine will be too wimpy to stand up to the savory spices.

Where to get it in the store:

• In the Oregon or Domestic Pinot Noir section: Oregon Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley is a perfect "goldilocks" solution -- not too fruity and not too earthy, this is a top pick
• In the New Zealand Section: New Zealand Pinot Noir -- copy that from Oregon, especially if you can get some from Central Otago.
  
• In the France/Burgundy section: If you have the money, spend it on a good Burgundy. For great values -- buy from the villages of Savigny-Les-Beaune or Marsannay, which are fuller styles for around $20.

Why It Works: Want to bring fruit to the table with some decent acid and low tannins? Look no further than Pinot Noir. The bright raspberry, strawberry, and cherry notes in the wine bring a new dimension to starchy foods and the earthy, barnyard flavor of the Pinot goes perfectly with the turkey -- it complements the meat and adds light fruit notes to the savory flavors of the rub on the bird. The spice and mushroom flavors in some Pinots will complement all your dishes heavy in herbal seasonings too. Caveat emptor with the yams -- Pinot may make them seem sour.

5. Beaujolais Nouveau.

Ok, I am not a big fan of this wine. I think most vintages it's poorly made, bubblegum crap that is marketed really, really, really well. That said, it's trendy, it's a crowd-pleaser, and its fruitiness (with very little texture -- either tannin or acid) will complement everything on the table.

Where to get it in the store:

• There will most likely be a giant display in the middle of the store. The 2010 release of this wine just happened last week (I haven't had it yet so I can't vouch for the vintage, I'm sorry to say) and the wine shops are pushing it. I don't want to push brand, but I do think you're better off going for the Georges Dubeouf than for Trader Joe's. The former is at least based in Beaujolais, who knows were TJ's gets its stash?

Why It Works: Plain and simple -- the wine is plain and simple. It will complement everything on the table, it's inexpensive, and you won't have to think too much when you're drinking it. Will you have a lot "oh, wow!" moments? No, but no one is going to be grossed out or offended either. A plus all around.

Regardless of what wine you choose, just enjoy the company your with, think about all the things for which you are so blessed, and have an awesome time! Happy TG!!! Readmore »»

Paradise in 2 hours: A Rare Veuve Clicquot Champagne Tasting

We all drink wine on many different occasions, but most of us are unanimous that nothing marks a special time like a bottle of bubbly. As you might have seen on my Facebook page (shameless plug, I know), I had the honor and privilege of tagging along with my mentor and friend, Eric, to the Veuve Clicquot tasting at the Four Seasons in Atlanta last week (sorry for the lag in the write up -- I was busy getting my Certified Sommelier distinction!).

Veuve Clicquot has significance for me and a special place in my heart. It was the first bottle of bubbly that I ever enjoyed and it has marked nearly every major occasion in my life -- graduation from high school, undergrad, and business schools, first jobs, new jobs, and probably the best day of my life yet -- my wedding (yes, we splurged, but we only had 60 people so it was ok!). That yellow label on Veuve Clicquot's non-vintage brut screams joy and happiness to me, as I'm sure it does for many of you. But even without the significance. I have to objectively say that this is a luscious, complex, and perfectly crafted wine.

Although some criticize the House for being a big producer, I eschew that idea. It would be one thing if quality suffered at the hands of production, but I've been drinking this wine for a long while and I can attest that, regardless of volume, it has never wavered in quality or consistency. Wine snobs may say that the wine has become sweeter or that bigger equates to worse quality, but I've got to disagree. Veuve Clicquot doesn't mess around with their quality -- their brand is too significant and historical to do so.

With that said, if you think I'm full of crap I'll drop some history here.

The Clicquot family has been making wine since 1772 when Philippe Clicquot established a business under his surname. Three years later the House shipped the first rosé Champagne (G-d bless him -- as you'll see below I could drink this all day long!).

Their history really became interesting in 1805, when Philippe's son died and left his 27 year old widow (aka, veuve in French -- now you see where this is going), Barbe Nicole Ponsardin with the estate. She completely rocked and decided to run the business even though it was taboo at the time for women to take the reins. She built the brand, combined her name with that of her deceased husband, and the house became Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin (if you notice on the label, that's the official name of the brand, although we all usually just stick with the first two names).

We should all love La Grand Dame, as she is referred to. We should. She's the reason Champagne is clear and not cloudy, as it had been before she got her hands on the winemaking process in 1816.

You may know this, but here's a refresher on Champagne making. Like regular white wine, Champagne growers pick the grapes, press them, ferment them, and then age them. But most Champagne (except in exceptional years) is a non-vintage blend of up to 60 different lots from different vineyards and years. This ensures consistency in the "house style" and means that a rotten vintage doesn't ever spoil the wine. In assembling the blend (wine dorks -- this is called assemblage), a winemaker can draw on the reserve of good years to gain balance. Hence why my yellow label Veuve Clicquot tastes the same every time. The other way Champagne differs from white wine production -- the bubbles (shocking, I know).

How do they get those fine, little, and ever-effervescent bubbles in the stuff? Well in Champagne, it's from a secondary fermentation inside the bottle, which requires that a mixture of yeast and sugar gets plunked inside a heavy duty bottle with white wine. As the yeast eat the sugar and die, they produce CO2, which is trapped inside the bottle. With time and aging of 18 months for non-vintage wine, eventually the CO2 gas reaches a zen state and becomes one with the wine. Voila! The bubbles are in and you have Champagne (or sparkling wine/cava/cremant -- anything outside of Champagne cannot be called Champagne).

It all sounds great, but there's then the problem of the nasty dead yeast sitting at the bottom of the bottle. Before the lovely Veuve Clicquot, people drank the Champagne with yeast floating in it. The wine was cloudy and had a little graniness to it (ick, in my opinion). The Dame cleverly realized that if you slowly turn the bottles (over months) until they are on their necks, you could get all the yeast to fall into the neck and the closure. The slow movement over time prevents the cork from shooting out (remember, the CO2 puts the bottle under pressure), but accomplishes the goal.

So came her invention of riddling or remuage, where bottles are turned slowly to a vertical position until the yeast is contained in a small cup, which is then either popped out by hand or eased out after being frozen. Few Champagne houses still rotate the bottles manually, opting for machines instead, but it's a great idea, a romantic process and was all the esteemed Veuve Clicquot's idea. Just more ways women have contributed to wine in history!

So onto the tasting and to winemaker Pierre Casenove. Ah Pierre....I love MC Ice, but I'm not dead...he is a cutie! And very intelligent and earnest. You can tell he loves his craft. He is originally from the Basque Country between Spain and France and he told me that he loves Spanish wines. He shared information about each of the wines and tasted some of them with me. I felt so honored (and had to keep myself from swooning a little at this young cutie with the fabulous accent. Sorry to you dudes, but I just had to add this in for my ladies!).

The genius of his palate is reflected in the vintage styles which range in price from $58 - $250 per bottle. Each is unique and wonderful. The tasting was probably my most memorable ever, with each of the wines as beautiful as the last. This is one of my more difficult events to write about. I feel so frustrated that I can't begin to capture the essence of any of these insanely good bottles. I've tried.

2002 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Brut.
Price: $58
Color: A beautiful pale straw, this wine was not foamy at the top but had a continuous stream of bubbles -- all very small, which is a sign of quality.
Smell: The wine smelled yeasty, green apple-y, a tad grapey, and like a bag of almonds.
Taste: Fresh, clean and like a green apple skin, it was so refreshing! The balance of apple and an almond-milk type flavor made it just heavenly. It was a little less bubbly than their standard yellow label wine, but I think this allowed the complex, nutty flavors to shine through. Pierre told me that the wine was 60% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Meunier, and 33% Chardonnay (these are the traditional grapes of Champagne). You could cellar this for another 10 years and it would still be delicious!

1998 Veuve Clicuqot La Grande Dame (this is the good stuff, or the Prestige Cuvee -- their flagship wine)
Price: $125
Color: A very platinum blonde wine in appearance, but not in character (no offense, blonde friends!). After 12 years I think the foam had died from the bottle, but the bead continued -- just not as furiously as the younger wine. All mellows with time!
Smell: Almonds, red delicious apple, and a baked bread character were deliciously combined. The wine smelled streamy -- like a waterfall -- and a little chalky, which makes sense, since that's the soil on which it grew. There was also a grapefruit character that was oh-so-refreshing on the nose!
Taste: This wine is about 64% Pinot Noir and 36% Chardonnay. The word that comes to mind when drinking this wine is pure. It was crisp and it tasted just like it smelled. The almond and croissant-like flavors rounded out the wine and made it less sharp than it could have been given it's strong acidity. The contrast between this wine and the 2002 is the clarity of flavor and richness in the blend. The bready, almond characters were more developed and, not to be too weird, but this wine just caressed my mouth. It is simply delicious.

Before we launch into the reviews, a word on rosé Champagne. Normal rosé gets its color when the wine has a brief period of contact with the skins, imparting a touch of pink to the otherwise clear juice. In Champagne, however, a bit of Pinot Noir is put aside and made as a red wine. It's then added to the white wine to impart color (black grapes can be pressed gently so you get juice with no color. So the red is added to a blend that includes colorless Pinot Noir juice too).

2002 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Rosé.
Price: $65
Color: A pale salmon color that was dazzling. A little orange and pink with a lovely and consistent bubble stream. What a pretty wine!
Smell: Floral notes with raspberry and plums funneled into my nose. I couldn't wait to taste it.
Taste: Dried raspberry, black plum, and floral flavors were in great balance with mouthwatering acidity. The wine was a little bready, dry, spritzy, and just made me want to drink more of it. It was lusciously fruity struck a great balance between fruit and acidity. I will drink this everyday when I get a bigger pocketbook.

1998 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame Rosé
Price: $250 (!)
Color: White at the bottom third of the glass with a orange/salmon color on the top 2/3, the wine was showing a bit of age on the color. There were small, subtle bubbles.
Smell: Incredible! Red berries, a slight orange character, some nuttiness, and barnyard and dried herb scents that you might find in a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. I love this kind of wine. You keep smelling and it keeps giving you new things to think about. Yum!
Taste: The blend is the same as the regular La Grande Dame (2/3 Pinot, 1/3 Chardonnay). Blackberry, dark cherry, and nuts dominated. A slight flavor of vanilla and clove -- I was in complete heaven. This is a wine that could be aged and would just keep getting better. In contrast to the 2002, this wine had stronger acidity, mature vanilla spice and a slight earthy/barnyard quality that made it rich, but still crisp and refreshing. I think it's worth the $250!

1985 Veuve Clicquot Rare Vintage Rosé.
The wine had enormous complexity and it was a joy to taste something that had been given so much time to mature. The blend is 49% Pinot Noir, 14.5% Pinot Meunier, and 36.5% Chardonnay.
Price: $88
Color: This rare wine was amber after 25 years of aging -- kind of onion skin color. The bubbles were few and small, but still provided a constant stream for just a touch of effervescence. Not as pretty as the other rose but really unique looking (not like an ugly girlfriend whom you are trying to compliment, but actually cool looking).
Smell: Have you smelled Sherry before? It has an aged smell to it that prickles your nose, but is really fresh too. This was similar. In this wine there is a combination of sweetness and yeastiness in the backdrop of dried berries and dried flowers. It smelled like an aged Pinot Noir too -- distinctive wet earth and barnyard smells were present. I love wines like this so I was really excited to taste!
Taste: OMG -- I was in heaven with this wine. It lacked the fresh fruit of La Grand Dame and the 2002 vintage wine, but it made up for that in complexity. It was like a combination of sherry, dried berries from Special K cereal with strawberries, and baked bread. I don't think I'll ever forget that experience. A stunning, stunning wine for those who like aged French Pinot (I do!).

Besides the charm of the winemaker, what struck me most about this wonderful tasting was the broad spectrum of flavors offered by each different wine and vintage. All were unbelievable in their own right and stood out from one another, and stretched far from the standard cuvee.

This tasting did nothing but reaffirm my love for Veuve Clicquot. I respect the wines, I revere the Veuve for her contribution to wine, and I will continue to enjoy these wines at many happy occasions in my life to come (especially to commemorate my trip to Champagne...hope Pierre doesn't forget that he invited me to come for a big tasting there : ) Readmore »»

A Valentine's Delight: Sparkling Pinot Noir and Yummy Appetizers

Last night, my wonderful and adoring husband took me out for a lovely meal at Dogwood Restaurant here in Atlanta. It was delightful, but we both agreed that the best part was the Gloria Ferrer, Blanc de Noirs, Sonoma, a bubbly made from Pinot Noir, paired with our appetizers:

Hand torn butter lettuce salad, buttermilk dressing, tartufo cheese
Butternut squash soup with local honey, creme fraiche, toasted walnuts

The bright acidity, effervescence and strawberry, yeasty flavors of the sparkling wine (remember that you can only call sparkling wine Champagne if it's from the region in France), were a perfect contrast to the creaminess of the dressing. Tartufo is an Italian sheep and cow milk cheese with truffle shavings mixed in, so it's very earthy. But the bright fruit of the wine tempered the tang of the truffle flavor and the cracked pepper on the salad just danced with the bubbles to provide a lively, harmonious sensation. It was so good that we ordered a second glass and a second salad!


The butternut squash and honey soup with the Blanc de Noirs was a different, yet equally gratifying experience. It was creamy, warm, earthy, and sweet. Alone, it would have been delicious, but the berry essence of the wine made the soup burst forth with fruit and honey flavors while the acidity prevented the sweetness from sticking around in your mouth. The wine was a perfect complement to the creamy deliciousness of the soup and acted as a wonderful palate cleanser between bites.


I find that people frequently forget about bubbly when they are thinking about food and wine pairings, so I thought I'd share our experience, and encourage you to experiment with sparkling and food too. Surprisingly, these wines are very versatile and can even hold their own against certain red meat preparations. So don't be bashful -- it's worth a go! Readmore »»

New Year, New Wine: Sparkling Alternatives to Champagne

I've barely done any reviews this month -- it's just been crazy. Still, I've been writing. Here is a reprint of my latest post from BlackBook Magazine. Click the title or just read on!

New Year, New Wine: Sparkling Alternatives to Champagne

By Elizabeth Schneider

December 29, 2009

It’s New Year’s again, and whether you think it’s the ultimate party or the ultimate amateur night, you’re probably drinking a sparkling beverage. Notice that I didn’t say “Champagne.” You can only use the word Champagne for sparkling wine if it comes from the Champagne region of France, and is made in the serious and complicated old-school method. With the economy still in the tank, it may be better to venture beyond this esteemed region (and its $30+ price tags) and find some bottles that are unique and affordable, while being every bit as bubbly.

If you’re already in the French section at the liquor store, you can stay put because the little-known secret is that you can get awesome sparkling wine for half the price of Champagne right there. Les Français have protected the name of Champagne, so only wines from that region carry the name, but the techniques used to make it are employed all over France, masquerading under the name “Crémant.” If you want to be really savvy, pick up a Crémant d’Alsace made from Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, or Riesling, among other grapes. Or try a Crémant de la Loire for a sparkling Chenin Blanc, or a Crémant of Chardonnay from Limoux in Southern France. All completely rock and some are even better than the original Champagne, especially if you consider the value for the price.

We all know the Spanish love to party. What you may not know is that they do it with bubbly just like everyone else. Spain learned how to make their version of sparkling wine, Cava, from the French. The only difference—it’s about one third the price of Champagne. These are probably the best values in bubbles and they are pure pleasure for your mouth. If you find a rose Cava, buy it immediately. For something light and fruity, report directly to the Italian section and try Prosecco. You can pick some decent stuff up for $10, and if you spend $15 or $20 the difference is huge. Regardless of price, all these bubblies are floral, light, and fruity. They may be less serious than Champagne, but they are still a great way to get your effervescence fix.

Wines from the U.S. are another option, but proceed with caution. Our sparkling wines tend to be overpriced and underwhelming. Some are just plonk. There is one producer in New Mexico, of all places, that makes some great-value sparkling wine. If you can get some from Washington State, you may have a real find. Still, my vote is to stick with Europe. You won’t regret it. No matter what you choose, be safe, and have a fabulous time toasting 2010 with your alternative bubbly.

Elizabeth Schneider is a Certified Specialist of Wine, Sommelier, and wine educator in Atlanta who teaches about wine in a normal, relatable way. For more of her musings please visit her blog Wine for Normal People http://winefornormalpeople.blogspot.com/ or her Twitter @Vine75.

Photo attribution: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/

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2003 Argyle Orgeon Sparkling Wine, Not So Much

Earlier this week I had the virgin experience of tasting an Oregon sparkling wine (BTW--it's only called Champagne if it's from Champagne, France otherwise it's sparkling, prosecco, cremant...you get the gist). I won't judge all Oregon sparklings by this experience, but if I did...let's just say that this is not something I'd likely repeat. I love sparkling, so I was just a touch saddened by this less-than-stellar experience.

The Wine: Argyle Sparkling Wine
Grape: They actually list the percentage on the bottle, which is unusual -- 85% Pinot Noir, 15% Chardonnay
Vintage: 2003
Price: $28.00 in Atlanta

Where It's From: Oregon, specifically the Willamette Valley, home to most of the quality producers in the state.

Normal Description: In the wine world, this wine is closest to what is known as a Blanc de Noirs, or literally, a "White of Blacks" because it's a white wine made primarily from a dark skinned grape (Pinot Noir). In Champagne, the home of all things yummy and sparkling, the Blanc de Noirs tend to be more costly, prestigious, and full-bodied, so that's what I expected from Argyle.

I sip sparkling pretty often because I think it's lame and ridiculous that people only have it on special occasions. And contrary to popular belief, like any other wine of quality, it's ok to lay down a bottle of sparkling for a few years to develop the tastes and aromas of the wine. Theoretically it should mature and create lots of flavors that are complex, different, and pretty awesome. So with all that said, I approached this wine with some excitement.

At first glance things seemed in line with expectation. The wine was brass colored, with nice, small bubbles (smaller bubbles=better wine quality) and kind of intense in color, which led me to think it would be complicated and interesting. The sniff test -- smelled like golden raisins, dried apple rings, and a strong whiff of yeast and baked bread. That's a pretty complex nose, and was about what I expected for the age of the wine, since dried smells and bready aromatics usually develop with age.

Sadly, the palate let me down. I did like that it was pleasantly effervescent without being too bubbly, but I found it really grape-y, which is not something that I like in a wine. It delivered in spades on the nose -- it had dried apple rings with some pear and even jasmine and agave nectar flavors (I only know that because I tried agave in my coffee at Trader Joe's, BTW). But that super-yeasty quality was not so great for me -- it overpowered my tongue and had a paint-like quality to it. Also, although it's labeled Brut (which is very dry), it seemed to be more like off-dry, with a little sugary character. This would have been ok, but I was not expecting it so I was underwhelmed on the finish.

Got snap or is it crap?: I may be plebian and just hate aged sparklers, but I think I prefer my bubbly to be fresher, more effervescent, and less heavy than I found the Argyle to be. If you like an aged, heavy white, this could be your new favorite sparkler. If not, spend the extra $14 and get yourself some non-vintage Champagne from the motherland.

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