Sparkling

A tight budget should never dissuade anyone from enjoying a glass of sparkling wine. And while all of Gruet’s sparkling wines offer excellent value, Gruet’s winemaker describes the St. Vincent N.V. Brut as a “budget friendly wine that encompasses all the quality and flavor that you would expect from a Gruet sparkling wine. This wine is easy to drink and very food-friendly, two pre-requisites that most wine lovers appreciate!” Like all of Gruet’s wines, the St. Vincent is made according to the Champagne method with the second fermentation occurring inside the bottle. In the glass, lively bubbles, a fine mousse and bright fruit notes of green apple and pear make for pleasant sipping before or during lunch or dinner.

Because bone-dry sparkling wine has little mass appeal, a dosage of sweet liqueur is added when the bottles are disgorged and corked. Brut is the driest level of sweetness (confusingly, Sec (“dry”) is sweeter than Brut). A blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, this sparkling wine is crisp and full-bodied and certain to spice up any meal – indoors or out. With a magnum, everybody at your springtime or early summer picnic will be sure to enjoy a glass!

Bodkin Wines bills itself as America’s first producer of sparkling Sauvignon Blanc. Now, we at Hotei  are delighted to offer this fun wine. If you love the racy flavors and aromas of Sauvignon Blanc and the acidity, low alcohol and bubbles in sparkling wine, you may wonder why this combination has eluded you for so long. When Bodkin’s Chris Christensen first encountered bubbly Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, he thought it nearly rivaled peanut butter and jelly as one of the great taste combinations; he knew that if he could not find it in the U.S., he would make it himself. Sourcing grapes from the high elevation, Sandy Bend Vineyard in Lake County, Christensen believes the combination of intense sunshine and cool nights allow Sauvignon Blanc to develop higher levels of phenolic ripeness for flavor, aroma and mouthfeel. The bubbles in “Cuvee Agincourt” (named for the decisive battle in the medieval 100 Years War) are made via second fermentation inside the bottle, as in Champagne. Bottle aging on the lees rounds out the texture and gives complexity to this lively wine. A party wine if there ever was one; bring it to your holiday get-togethers as well as spring and summer picnics. 

Though Blanc de Noirs (“white of blacks”) usually refers to wine made exclusively from dark-skinned grapes, Gruet’s Blanc de Noirs is a blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. The extraordinary vineyards as well as two years’ aging produce a wine that delights the senses: salmon color, silky bubbles, alluring aromas, and so creamy, rich and toasty.

Produced from 100% Chardonnay, the non-vintage Blanc de Blancs is crisp and lively, with a froth of tiny beads that never seem to run out of gas. Following the practice at Champagne Gruet, the non-vintage selection includes some reserve wine in the blend to add complexity and to help maintain a consistent house style. With a brut-level of dosage (i.e. dry but not bone dry), the wine is medium-bodied and delicate, with aromas of green apples and lemon zest opening up to flavors of fresh apple and pineapple. If drinking more sparkling wine is one of your New Year resolutions, why not with one of Wine Spectator’s 100 top wine values for 2020! 

Three Wine Company’s Mendocino Brut is a classic Methode Traditionnelle sparkling wine. It consists of 68% Chardonnay and 32% Pinot Noir from the 2015 vintage. The fruit was sourced from several vineyards in Mendocino County, fermented separately in stainless steel tanks before being assembled into the blend, which included 4.5% from the 2014 vintage for added complexity. As with all classic method sparkling wines, secondary fermentation inside the bottle produces the bubbles while sur lie aging yields the creamy texture and complex flavors. The winery notes, “vivid crisp Gala apple with hints of pear and lemon lead to fresh toasted bread for an elegant dry finish.” An excellent value! Highly recommended for the holidays!

Most Champagne is a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, with some other varieties, such as Pinot Meunier and Pinot Blanc, allowed as well. Somewhat less common are the styles called Blanc de Noirs - the “white of blacks” - and the Blanc de Blancs - the white Champagne made exclusively from white grapes. Piper Sonoma follows these traditions, fashioning its Blanc de Blancs from a blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Blanc. This is an elegant wine, bright and fresh with lovely mineral notes, green apple and citrus flavors. A perfect match for oysters or sashimi, shellfish or even spring rolls and fried calamari. 

A product of the cool Russian River Valley, Piper Sonoma’s Brut Rosé is crisp and fragrant, a delight to the eyes, nose and palate. While the blend of 54% Chardonnay, 39% Pinot Noir, and 7% Pinot Meunier differs little from the Brut in its ratio of white to red grapes, the cuvée includes a dash of Pinot Noir still wine, and the gorgeous pink color and tantalizing floral notes and red berry aromas are the result. A sparkling wine that will turn any gathering into an occasion, the Brut Rosé will pair well with sashimi, Thai duck curry, or most anything laid out to nibble on before a meal. 

Piper Sonoma Brut is made in the the traditional manner of the Champagne region in France. The grapes, a classic blend of 60% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier, are hand-harvested early in the season in order to ensure high acidity and low potential alcohol. Lots from vineyards in Sonoma, Carneros and Dry Creek Valley are fermented separately in stainless steel. In early winter, the wines are tasted and painstakingly blended in order to create a cuvée that maintains consistency with earlier vintages. The final blend is bottled with bit of yeast and sweetness to kick off the second fermentation inside each bottle. After 18 months of aging on the lees and further blending with 20 – 25% reserve wines (hence, the non-vintage dating), this delightful sparkling wine is ready to drink. Combining the sophistication and elegance of fine Champagne with the sunshine and bright fruit of California, Piper Sonoma offers value that says “no special occasion necessary!”  

J Vineyard’s signature sparkling wine is made for celebrations – whether a special occasion or just life itself. The classic grapes of Champagne are here: Chardonnay (49%), Pinot Noir (49%) and Pinot Meuniere (2%), sourced from a range of Russian River Valley vineyards that suffuse the wine with a spectrum of complex fruit flavors and mineral notes. Bubbles stream up into a golden mousse, giving the wine a creamy and elegant texture. Think fresh fruit served atop cinnamon toast and drizzled with wild honey and you get an idea of the flavors that await.

Even unopened, the sleek, clear glass bottle filled with luminous cool pink wine is a conversation piece – just the thing to get a party started. But in the glass is where this fruit-driven and full-flavored sparkling wine really shines. A blend of 64% Pinot Noir, 34% Chardonnay and 2% Pinot Meunier, this Rosé has substantial body and concentrated red fruit flavors but plenty of acidity and a clean finish. Three years aging on the lees has given the wine a toasty, fresh-baked bread character that recalls Champagne.