Event 1: Bubblies and Sparklers

As the inaugural event, I thought these wines would be appropriate for the occasion.

Sparkling Wine Event Overview

With this set of wines, I’ve tried to cover the major bubbly regions in the world and to capture
nuances within the California and France (Champange only, sorry if you’re into other French
crémant). Admittedly, the list is biased towards California and Champagne. In my defense, both
regions produce large volumes of sparklers each year and are distinctive (Champagne has the
distinction of setting the standard for sparkler and California is have winemakers that
unabashedly push the winemaking frontier in using new techniques and technology). A
breakdown of the wines by the wine region follow:

Wine Regions
• Italy (1 Prosecco, 1 Lambrusco)
O PROSECCO RUSTICO, NINO FRANCO

Prosecco is the sparkler that everyone associates with Italy these days, which is not necessarily a
great thing given the volumes of plonk that is labeled prosecco. The Italian government decided
to stop the madness in 2009 and made the region DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata
e Garantita),1 and now the grape is called glera. Prosecco is not made in the same method as
champagne; it is made in the Charmat method, where the secondary fermentation (the
fermentation that creates the bubbles) is done in a steel tank instead of inside the bottle and thus
tends not to be as fizzy as stuff made in the traditional method. This wine should be
representative of Prosecco in its light and fruit-forward qualities.
O LAMBRUSCO "IL GIULLARE", ROBERTO NEGRI
A red sparkler made in the Lambrusco region, which consists of four zones in Emilia-Romagna
and Lombardy. The wine can be made either in a sweet or a dry style. This is the latter and
should have strawberry notes and a slightly bitter finish.

• Spain (2 Cavas)
o Cava
Cava is Spain’s take on bubblies and is traditionally made with a blend of macabeu, parellada and
xarello grapes. Macabeu and parellada add elements of acidty and freshness to the wine while
xarello is more heavily aromatic. Cava is made in the traditional method (i.e. the one used in
Champagne but they can’t call it méthode champenoise because the name is protected). Cava
production is also limited to 8 regions in Spain although 95% of production comes from Penedès
in Catalonia.

1
The names of wine regions in Europe are typically legally protected designation of origin and granted certification.
In Spain it’s “Denominación de Origen” and in France it’s “Appellation d’origine contrôlée." These certifications
are justified by the concept of terroir.
 O CASTELLER BRUT, CAVA NV
This cava is interesting in that it is aged on the lees2 for 14 months, adding complexity
that isn’t typically found in cava. This should have notes of green apple and brioche.
o BERDIÉ ROMAGOSA CAVA, "BRUT RUPESTRE" NV
This is a traditional cava and should be brighter than the one above.

• USA (2 California [1 Napa, 1 Sonoma], 1 New York)

o The vast majority of Stateside wines are grown in California, with New York a distant second and
Oregon third. Wine is grown throughout the central valley of California and its coast. The state
rose to prominence in the wine world when California wines took the top spots for red and white
at the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 (also known as the Judgment of Paris), an event that, with the
exception of the blind nature of the tasting, was basically rigged for the French to come out on
top. California has been a star in the wine world ever since. The wines of Robert Mondavi made
Napa a household name and cult wineries such as Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, and Sine Qua
Non routinely command extraordinary premiums. California winemakers are part of a larger
group of “new-world” winemakers that, collectively, push the boundary of winemaking by
experimenting with different techniques and technologies; unfortunately, the results are not
always consistent. According to Wikipedia, quality sparkling wine in California began with the
Korbel brothers in 1892 (apparently, quality in the wine . Champagne houses (Roderer, Moët et
Chandon, and Tattinger) now have holdings in California. The favorable weather conditions in
California make it possible to produce viable wine nearly every year.

o Iron Horse Classic Vintage Brut 2005

From Sonoma, this sparkler is a California standard. With 4 years spent on the lees, this wine
should be interesting.

o Schramsberg, Blanc de Noirs 2007

From Napa, this sparkler should have a berried and candied nose with hints of minerality and
subtle notes of vanilla.

o Bedell Cellars, Blanc de Blancs 2004

From New York, this sparkler should have notes of bright citrus. My guess is that the acidity
here will be noticeably higher than the California sparkers given the northern latitude of the state.

2
“lees” refers to the dead yeast and left-over grape skins and organic material after the grape juice is removed from
the must. “On the lees” (or “sur lie” in French) means that the wine is allowed to stay in contact with lees, a process
that adds complexity to the wine, and in the case of sparklers, a bready brioche note to the wine. The downside of
“sur lie” aging is that if the grapes are unclean or have rot on them, the extended contact will ruin the wine.
• France (3 Champagnes)
o Champagne
The legendary wine region north-east of Paris, at the northern limits of the wine world. The
region is distinctive in its chalky belemnite soils and its cool climate. Champagne is typically
made with one, or by blending the following three grapes: pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot
meunier. Chardonnay provides fruit and elegance and pinot noir and, to a lesser extent, pinot
meunier provide backbone and structure. Most champagne is NV (non-vintage) meaning it is a
blend of wines from different years – this is supposed to give the wines a more consistent style as
the weather there is rather unpredictable and bad harvests are, unfortunately, quite common.
Vintage champagnes are made in good years (although some grande marques have been quite
liberal in interpreting “good”) and are built for aging, so they may not be very approachable when
young. Traditionally, growers of grapes in champagne sell their grapes to champagne houses (the
most famous of which are the grande marques, i.e. Krüg, Tattinger, Bollinger, Dom Perignon,
etc.) but recently there has been a trend towards the growers making the wine themselves; these
wines is known as grower champagnes. I typically drink grower champagnes and stay away from
the grande marques for two reasons: 1. better value for money because the growers keep the best
grapes for themselves instead of selling them off and 2. production is sourced from a smaller
geographical area, hopefully allowing a better expression of terroir. Plus you can always get
someone else to pay for a grande marque champagne.
o PIERRE PETERS, BLANC DE BLANCS "CUVÉE RÉSERVE" BRUT NV
This champagne is made from 100% chardonnay. This producer is known for concentration of
fruit and focused minerality.
o HENRI BILLIOT BRUT RÉSERVE NV
This wine is a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir. It is made without dosage,3 filtration, or
malolactic fermentation.4 This is champagne without any makeup and should be very dry but
also fruity and lively as well.
o ANDRÉ CLOUET BRUT ROSÉ NV
This champagne is made from 100% pinot noir and is a rosé. There should be notes of berries,
mousse and a clean finish.

3
“Dosage” is the extra wine that is added to top-off a bottle after disgorging (the process of removing the lees from
the bottle ) and typically contains added sugar. The dosage has the potential to dramatically alter the taste of the
wine.
4
“Malolactic fermentation” is the process by which malic acid is converted to lactic acid by bacteria, creating a
softer tasting wine. Lactic acid is the acid in milk.