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Domaine Chandon California Sparkling Rosé

Rosé is the newest in the line of Domaine Chandon's California sparkling wines, and New Year's Day 2007 was the perfect time to pop the cork on my first bottle.  Sparkling wine is all about the bubbles, appearances, and the celebration of living in the moment.  You have to be "in the mood" and usually that mood is one of "sitting on top of the world", "everything coming up roses", maybe even looking at life through "rose colored glasses".

Chandon Rosé is a visual victory achieved by adding 10% Pinot Noir at "tirage", the time when the yeast bodies from secondary fermentation are removed from the neck of the bottle.  The Pinot Noir dosage is added just before the final cork is pushed into the bottle.

Chandon describes the French Champagne méthode traditionnelle used to make this and all their California sparkling wines.  Tom Tiburzi, Winemaker, has come a long way from his childhood days when his parents introduced him to "sparkling wine" by way of mixing still wine with "7-Up".  Now he leads the sparkling wine efforts at this Napa outpost located in Yountville.

The base wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, picked a bit early to give the finished result a crisp light side.  The Pinot Noir is picked fully ripe providing structure and bold fruit forward flavors.  A year aging on the lees (yeast bodies) provides creamy texture.

Tasting Notes: Appearance: Bright salmon pink with new copper penny and warm sunset highlights, profusely bubbly.  Aromas: Generous mixed fruit preserves showing strawberry, plum, blackcurrant and apricot, plus hints of vanilla taffy and hints of toast.  Very light, lively and softly structured, barely sweet, the bright berry and citrus flavors dance across the palate.  A little pie crust shows itself in the sophisticated minerally dry finish.

Outstanding value ($16).  Alcohol content: 12.5%.

Food pairing: Very thin whole wheat toast slathered with Swiss blackcurrant preserves.

Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs Mini Cans

Coppola calls them "mini"s, but there's a lot more in those little aluminum cans than you might think.  If you haven't already popped one of these and poured it into a champagne flute, it will fill your glass at nearly 7 ounces.  Of course, most people would just use the straw and drink from the can.

Sofia Minis are very popular amongst that trendy set who enjoy the occasional bubbly and want their own "pop".  Frances Coppola named Sofia for his own daughter, and now Sofia has risen to be a very popular name for newborns, ranking #52 last year in the US.

Coppola reports Sofia Minis are a blend of Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscat, with less than 1% residual sugar.

Tasting Notes: Color: Pale wheat with a slight celery tint, showing copious bubbles.  Aromas: Green apple and ripe pear with hints of honey.  Lively on the tongue with lots of bubbles, the tart apple strudle flavors seem just a bit off-dry, balanced with nice acidity that keeps it light and refreshing.

Excellent value ($18 /4-187ml. cans).  Alcohol content: 11.5%.

Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut & Pama Pomegranate Liqueur

Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut gets recommended at lot as an under-$20 bubbly because it is consistently excellent.

I revisited this bubbly Sunday, and after making notes, brought out a new liqueur called Pama, and added a half shot of it to a flute of the Roederer.  The combination of these two excellent ingredients is worthy of recommending, as well as the bubbly by itself.

Let's go back to the bubbly first.  Roederer Estate is made the traditional way, secondarily fermented in the bottle, comprised of multi-vintages and lots of all-estate-grown fruit.  The blend is 70% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir.  Between 10-15% of the blend is considered "oak aged reserve wine".   Arnaud Weyrich is winemaker and V.P. of Production at Champagne Roederer's California "outpost" in the Anderson Valley, an area north of Napa and Sonoma which is producing great Pinot.

Tasting Notes: Color: Light straw, very active bubbles.  The apple strudel aromas are joined by whiffs of strawberry and mild nuttiness.  The texture is light, tart and lively on the tongue, with abundant citrus and pear flavors that ultimately finish refreshing, crisp and nearly bone dry.

Excellent value ($18).  Alcohol content: 12%.

Pama Pomegranate Liqueur ($25/750ml.) is bottled by "Pama Spirits" of Bardstown, Kentucky, and claims to be made of "all-natural California pomegranates".  Alcohol content: 17% (34 proof).

The flavor of Pama is rich, and very true to flavor, which you might describe as very much like cherry but deeper, more extracted, more tannic, and more tart.  The liqueur is a bit sweet without being too much so, and the tartness carries it.  Added to a flute of Roederer Estate Brut, the resulting cocktail is a just a touch sweet, and is lively with tart, pleasantly off-dry, citrus and red berry flavors

Schug Carneros Rouge de Noirs Brut 2002

This traditionally made sparkling wine is perfect for Valentine's Day; "It's cheaper than a dozen Valentine Roses, and more effective", says Axel Schug, son of Schug Winery's founder Walter.

Schug Carneros Rouge de Noirs Brut 2002 is 100% Pinot Noir, from the Ricci Vineyard, "K Block" in Carneros. The wine saw 3 days of skin contact, and was initially cool fermented in stainless. Secondary fermentation occurred in the bottle, then each bottle was riddled by hand, and held 18 months on the yeast before disgorgement (removal of the yeast sludge).

Mike Cox is Winemaker, working under Walter Schug, Winemaster. 659 cases of 2002 were produced. Tasting Notes. This sparkler is very festive in the glass, a light salmon pink rose color, with lively bubbles. Pretty strawberry shortcake, light cherry, citrus and vanilla aromas are inviting. Here is a nicely structured bubbly, lively, tart and almost dry on the tongue. Delicate candied cherry and red berry flavors tickle the palate, backed by a tart citrusy frame.  The finish is crisp and echoes bright fruit. Very nice value ($25).

Korbel Natural Russian River Valley Champagne 2003

Korbel Natural is blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. The 2002 was a regular favorite, and now we've tried several bottles of 2003. The color is a beautiful distinctive pale gold-bronze, and the bubbles are lively and long-lived. 90 points.  The aromas include a profusion of berries, dominated by raspberry and supported with strawberry and blueberry as well as hints of toast and butter. The mouthfeel is tart and lively, crisp, nearly bone dry and well balanced. The 2003 is outstanding now. We enjoyed it by itself and with Salt & Pepper Kettle Chips. The Nashville price remains $13 for the 2003 vintage, which is a refreshingly good deal on our kind of everyday bubbly.

Chandon California Brut Classic NV

It had been a while since we had enjoyed this bubbly, until today. Domaine Chandon Winery produces this sparkling wine from a traditional blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. This is a lively sparkling wine. The color is a pale straw, with light complex toasty aromas of apples, citrus, fruit blossoms, and spice. The palate is tart and juicy, with a nice minerality. The finish is crisp and lingering. At $19 (Nashville), here is another under-$20, well-made California Sparkling Wine.

Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs Sonoma County NV

Jose Ferrer, of Freixenet, named this Carneros winery for his wife, Gloria. It was a family dream to make estate wines in California, finally realized in the 1980's. This sparkling wine is primarily Pinot Noir, with a minor portion of Chardonnay. This is a very lively sparkling wine, with lots of pressure in the bottle and it remains bubbly for a long time in the glass. The color is a beautiful pale copper tint. The aromas of pears, granny smith apples, pastry, citrus and vanilla are inviting. The palate is tart and juicy, and a bit creamy as well. The finish is crisp and lingering. At $17 (Nashville), this is a lively good value in a California Sparkling Wine.

Gloria Ferrer Sonoma County Brut Non-Vintage

Gloria Ferrer Brut is produced in Carneros, by the family who produces Freixenet, the world's leading case-volume producer of sparkling wine (from Spain).

This is an estate bottled bubby, fermented in the bottle traditionally, made from 80-90% Pinot Noir, 10-20% Chardonnay. Nice bubbles and a beautiful pale straw color invited us to dive into this lively wine. The aromas are tart apple, vanilla, toast and a hint of cinammon. The palate was creamy, and the finish was nice and dry. We enjoyed it with a salad. At $18.99 (Nashville price), this is an excellent dry Carneros Pinot-Noir-based bubbly to enjoy.

Korbel Natural Russian River Valley Champagne 2002

This is a regular at our house on most Sundays. Today, we enjoyed a bottle with garden variety homemade tuna salad and Kettle Chips (Krinkle Cut Dill & Sour Cream). The combination was worth repeating. This is the dryest of Korbel's readily available sparklers, and our favorite. It is a vintage wine, in this case 2002, and is designated from Russian River Valley. The composition is 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay. There is plenty of apple, pear, lemon-lime, plus toasty notes, and the finish is clean and dry.  The wine was produced by the Methode Champenoise. At $12.99 retail (Nashville), this wine could become a regular festivity in any household.