Category Archives: Sparkling Wine

Everything’s Coming Up (Sparkling) Rosés

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In a bold move (and equally bold attire – a pink shirt and gold tie), Hugh Davies, owner of Napa’s Schramsberg Vineyards, challenged some sharp palates to blind taste his J. Schram Rosé 2000 (SRP $130.00) against some of the best rosé Champagnes. The J. Schram Rosé 2000 is a blend of 75% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir, with grapes sourced from Napa, Mendocino, Sonoma, Monterey and Marin Counties and aged on its lees for seven years.

Confident that his wine would show well, tasters were given six flutes filled with varying shades of pink bubbles and asked to rank the wines from 1 to 6 (with 1 being their favorite). None of the tasters knew the identity of the other wines as they set off on their tasting journey.

Once the wines had been tasted and scored, the scores were tallied before the identities were revealed. The verdict? Collectively, the group chose the J. Scram 2000 as their favorite, with the Louis Roederer Cristal 2002 in 2nd place, followed by Perrier-Jouet 2002. My personal picks varied a bit, placing the Cristal first, the Perrier-Jouet second and the J. Schram in third place. I found the former two to be lighter and more delicate, but did still enjoy the J. Schram a lot.

The second flight of wines permitted attendees to taste through the J. Schram in various stages and from different vintages. More specifically, the 2009 pre-bottled, base blend of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir was compared with the post-bottle version. The wine has nicer qualities, but appeared young and disjointed given its incomplete stage. A 2006 J. Schram showed how, in time, the wine would become more integrated, while a comparison of the 2003 J. Schram – a natural sparkling version vs. the finished wine – provided a glimpse into the wine’s further development, with less fruit on the nose and more complexity on the palate. To finish off the flight, the 1993 J. Schram offered a sample of the aging potential of this wine.

The final flight of the day paired several different Schramsberg wines with a delicious lunch, showing the food friendly nature of these wines.

~Blanc de Blancs 2006 – Salmon crepe
~Blanc de Noirs 2006 – Wild mushroom and rice cake
~Reserve 2001 – Lobster Choux
~J. Davies 2006 (a still wine blended from 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Malbec, 6% Petit Verdot) – Lamb Skewers
~Crémant Demi-Sec 2005 (produced from 88% Flora, a cross between Gewurztraminer and Semillon) – Ham

Grand Cru Grapevine: Promoting Prosecco (February 2011)

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What a winter this is shaping up to be. With snow, snow and more snow piling up (at least for us Eastcoasters), it’s enough to make one wish they were hibernating for the season. Fortunately, grapevines go dormant for the winter season, so they are slumbering through all of the storms.

Tracy is lucky enough to have a brief respite early this month as she heads to Miami for the Simply Italian: Great Wines South Florida Tour. Once there, she will be presenting to the trade and press on the U.S. Wine Market and on the Friuli Grave DOC.

Upon her return, we’ll be packing for our trip to New Zealand for which we depart in mid-February. Our itinerary includes visits to numerous wine regions on both the North and South Islands, so we’ll have a lot to share with you when we get back.

Drink wisely and well,
Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE
CEO: Chief Education Officer
      and
Jared Michael Skolnick
COO: Cork Opening Officer

Promoting Prosecco

Prosecco Superiore DOCG

The twinkling lights of the holidays are all but a dim memory (or at least they should be – if you still have your Christmas lights up, it’s more than time to take them down). But, sparkling wines can continue to take their place at the table this month.

In fact, much like the aptly named dessert, Tira Misu, which is traditional to the Treviso province, Prosecco can be the perfect “pick me up” during these dreary winter days. An Italian sparkler from the Veneto region, this wine has recently been promoted to DOCG status – Italy’s highest quality tier.

While previously produced from a grape known as Prosecco, the proliferation of “Prosecco” wines diluted the quality within the market, with bottles from Brazil taking up space on the shelf next to the true Prosecco. Not surprisingly, there was much confusion for the consumer.

Accordingly, the restrictions on what is (and isn’t) Prosecco were tightened in 2009, taking effect with the 2010 vintage. Among the changes instituted, Prosecco itself now refers to a territory and the grape is now called Glera, of which a minimum of 85% must be used. If not produced with 100% Glera, the remaining 15% can be made up of Verdis, Perera, Bianchetta, Glera Lugna, Pinot Nero, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Bianco and/or Chardonnay.

Moreover, there are now two levels of Prosecco – Prosecco DOC and Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG. The former comprises nine provinces spread out among two regions (Veneto and Friuli), while the latter is confined to 15 communes within the Veneto’s Treviso province. The delimited area for the DOCG includes 4,500 planted hectares, 166 wineries and 3,000 growers.

In general, Proseccos are fresh and fruity, exhibiting the aromatic characteristics of the Glera grape. Produced via the Italian (aka Charmat) method of sparkling wine production, the floral and fruit aromas and flavors are retained, rather than masked through the use of stainless steel and minimal contact with yeast/lees (unlike the Traditional method). Refermentation is typically limited to 25-60 days, with an additional 30 days of bottle age, before release. Meant to be drunk young, the wines are increasingly being vintage-dated (most were previously non-vintaged) to provide the consumer with more information.

Wines may be labeled as being from Conegliano, Valdobbiadene or both, with Conegliano wines emphasizing fruit over floral notes and being slightly more structured. Conversely, Valdobbiadene wines show very developed floral aromas and more delicacy. Similarly to other sparkling wines, Proseccos will be labeled with a sweetness indication – Brut, Extra Dry, Dry or Demi-Sec – with the drier Brut style wines being more modern and the Extra Dry wines (which are only slightly sweet) among the most traditional.

Within the DOCG classification, look for wines labels as Cartizze, the “Grand Cru” of Prosecco Superiore, produced from a mere 106 hectares of vineyard located at the top of Valdobbiadene’s steep hills. In addition, Rive, a new classification introduced with the new regulations, indicates a wine that was hand-harvested from a single vineyard, with lower yields and produced in one of Prosecco Superiore’s subzones.

With a wealth of Prosecco wines from which to choose, nearly all of which will be quite pocket-friendly, it is easy to add some sparkle to your snow day and celebrate Prosecco’s promotion.

Prosecco in the glass

TASTING NOTES
Bel Canto di Bellussi, Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG, Extra Dry, Veneto, Italy, $13.00
Purchased by the Martellozzo family in 1993, Belllusi is presently run by Enrico, the third generation in his family to work in the wine business. With a fine perlage, this wine displays red apple and floral notes on both the nose and palate. Off-dry and light, it is quite elegant.   

Bortolomiol, “Motus Vitae” Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Brut Millesimato, Veneto, Italy, $NA
Run by four daughters and their mother, Bortolomiol carries on the determination and commitment of Giuliano Bortolomiol who not only founded the family business, but also was among the founders of the Prosecco Wine Fraternity in 1946. Dedicated to his memory, the Motus Vitae is dry with notes of apples and minerality, culminating in long length.

Val d’Oca, Uvaggio Storico, Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Dry, Veneto, Italy, $24.00
A cooperative of 583 growers, Val d’Oca is the largest producer of Prosecco Superiore DOCG. The Uvaggio Storico, so named for its traditional blend of grape varieties – 85% Glera and 15% Verdiso, Perera and Bianchetta Trevigniana – mirrors the way Prosecco was made 20 years ago. With floral and pear aromas, the wine is off-dry with pear and floral flavors on the palate.

Villa Sandi, Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG Vigna La Rivetta Brut, Veneto, Italy, $26.00
Produced from estate-grown grapes in the Cartizze area, Manuela Oregna, Villa Sandi’sExport Manager, explained that this wine was crafted in the Brut style to “underline the mineral aspect of the wine.”  The winner of Italy’s Tre Bicchieri (3 Glasses) award, the wine shows beautiful floral and mineral characteristics.

Vincenzo Toffoli, Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG Extra Dry, Veneto, Italy, $19.00
A family-owned winery established in 1964, the winery is presently run by Santo Toffoli, his daughter and other members of the Toffoli family. Produced from 95% Glera and 5% Verdiso, this wine has medium intense aromas of peach and floral which persist on the off-dry palate, with vibrant acidity and long length.

Grand Cru Grapevine: Starry, Starry Night (December 2010)

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Dom Perignon is said to have uttered the statement, “Come quickly, I am tasting stars,” to his fellow monks, upon discovering Champagne. While he did not actually invent Champagne, Dom Perignon’s work in the cellar helped to better understand how to keep the sparkle in sparkling wine and solidified the roots of the Champagne industry. With the holiday season upon us, it is a time for celebration and for tasting stars ourselves, whether enjoying a holiday dinner or toasting the impending New Year.

Here at Grand Cru Classes, we are celebrating the end of another successful year. Tracy’s appearance on the Wine Portfolio television program aired in early November on CNBC World and featured NYC wine shopping excursions to Sherry-Lehmann, Bottle Rocket and Chelsea Wine Vault. If you missed this episode, you can check out Tracy’s segments on their own (Wine Seller and Brave New World).

In addition, this month finds Tracy off to Italy once again to visit the regions of Collio (near Trieste) and Prosecco (just north of Venice) to learn more about these wonderful wines produced in northeastern Italy.

May this season find you happy and healthy!

Drink wisely and well,
Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE
CEO: Chief Education Officer

and

Jared Michael Skolnick
COO: Cork Opening Officer 

Starry, Starry Night

Sparkling wines always add a festive air to any occasion given that they harness the carbon dioxide produced through a secondary fermentation to capture the bubbles in the bottle. Wines produced in a very special, delimited area in northern France have taken the top title among sparkling wines as evidenced by the misappropriation of Champagne’s moniker for wines produced elsewhere. The chalky soils, cool climate and high acid retention, all lend themselves to creating a unique and well-regarded sparkler that takes significant time and talent to achieve. As a result, the wines of Champagne are highly sought after, with most other high quality sparkling wines emulating the Méthode Champenoise – referred to as the Traditional Method when used outside of the Champagne region. There are numerous factors that ultimately influence what ends up in the glass, but House style from a given producer is most attributed to six factors: terroir, grape varieties used; percentage of older wines used in the blend (aka reserve wines); aging period on the lees (dead yeast cells); dosage (sweetness level added at the end of the process); and the base wine (which depends upon the growing conditions of a given year). When brought together, these factors make up the style of wine.

Raise your glass this season in celebration and may you taste the stars!

Ayala Brut Majeur NV, Champagne, France, $36.00
Recently re-entered into the U.S. market, Ayala is owned by Bollinger. This wine is 45% Pinot Noir, 20% Pinot Meunier and 35% Chardonnay and spent 2.5 years aging on the dead yeast cells. The nose is full of toast, mushroom and yeast. The light-bodied palate provides high acidity and yeasty and mushroom notes.

Nicholas Feuillatte Brut Rosé NV, Champagne, France, $40.00
Nicholas Feuillatte is a cooperative, owned by the growers who produce the grapes for its wines. Accordingly, these are high quality wines available at a more moderate price point. Notes of berries and toast greet the nose while the rich fruit flavors continue on the palate, culminating in its long length.

Gosset Grande Réserve NV, Champagne, France, $65.00
With a lengthy aging period of 5 years on the lees, this wine is full of brioche, bread and toast on the nose. A super-rich, fuller style of Champagne, the bready, brioche and toast flavors persist on the palate.

Pol Roger Brut 1999, Champagne, France
Reputed to be Winston Churchill’s favorite Champagne, this wine presents very toasted notes on the nose, which give way to lemon/citrus and brioche, which linger on the palate. 

Perrier-Jouet “Fleur de Champagne” Brut Rosé 2002, Champagne, France, $250.00
A splurge, but worth it, this wine is from the outstanding 2002 vintage and is Perrier-Jouet’s tete de cuvée. Pale salmon/onion skin in appearance with aromas of yeast, buttered roll and floral, this wine shows delicate notes of yeast, strawberry, with lively acidity and long length on the palate.

Grand Cru Grapevine: Bubbles Born in the USA: American Sparklers (October 2010)

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We have had a busy, but productive, fall season thus far. Our wine salon, From Mystery to Mastery, conducted as part of the East End’s first HARVEST Wine Auction & Celebration was met with great success as was Tracy’s Sex, Wine & Chocolate event with certified sexuality educator, Amy Levine, held at the beautiful Coco de Mer erotica and lingerie store.

Tracy will be teaching at the International Wine Center later this month and at NYU for three classes in November. Her session on Italian Sparkling wines, to be presented at the American Wine Society’s (AWS) annual conference is sold out with 90 registrants and only a few seats remain for her session on South African Wines.

In honor of the AWS’ conference location in Cincinnati, OH – what we’ve dubbed, “the other Cin city” and birthplace of America’s first sparkling wine – we bring you the history of Nicholas Longworth this month.

Drink wisely and well,

Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D., DWS, CWE
CEO: Chief Education Officer 

       and 

Jared Michael Skolnick
COO: Cork Opening Officer 

Bubbles Born in the USA: America Sparkles

America has long had a love affair with sparkling wine, yet, while many Americans would be quick to identify Dom Perignon as an iconic figure of the Champagne region, few would know that they owe a debt of sparkling gratitude to Nicholas Longworth who created the first American sparkling wine – a Sparkling Catawba, in 1842.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1783, this “crazy Jerseyman” stood somewhere between 5′-1″ and 5′-3″ and arrived in Cincinnati in 1804 (one year after Ohio had attained statehood), at the age of 21. After studying law for six months (there were apparently a lot fewer laws back then), he established a law practice.
 

Concurrent with his legal work, Longworth made shrewd investments in land, beginning in 1820. These real estate investments permitted Longworth to indulge in a new passion for horticulture and viticulture, pursuing the latter as a hobby as he began to plant vines along the Ohio River. 

His first attempts were with vitis vinifera, which, having been planted prior to the discovery of phylloxera, not surprisingly died shortly thereafter. Longworth then tried his hand at the American species, vitis labrusca. Specifically, he became interested in the Catawba grape (native to North Carolina), which was hearty enough to withstand the harsh winters of Ohio, planting these vines in 1825. He produced his first wine three years later, declared himself satisfied and subsequently quit his law practice, eventually crafting a sparkling version of his beloved Catawba.

But fortunately, Nicholas wasn’t the only one who admired his slightly sweet, sparkling wines. His wine was enjoyed not only throughout the United States, but also abroad in England and France. It was further lauded by poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who immortalized Longworth’s wine in his, “Ode to Catawba” published during the 1850s.

Longworth’s success eventually established him as the “wealthiest man in Ohio.” In fact, “…in 1850 his taxes rated higher than any other man in the United States except William B. Astor…” at an annual bill of $17,000 and, at his death, his wealth was estimated to be $15 million. (Harper’s Weekly)

In addition to being an accomplished wine producer, Longworth was a generous person and used his wealth to help others in his community. He provided work for those in need; built housing above his wine cellars for indigent laborers; and distributed bread to the hungry from his home every Monday morning.

Longworth’s efforts also helped to cement Ohio as a key winegrowing area in the United States. By 1860, Longworth had 3,000 acres of vines and was producing 570,000 gallons of wine, annually bottling 150,000 bottles. During this period, Ohio led the nation in the production of wine, supplying one-third of the nation’s wine and out-producing California by two to one. However, this boom was short-lived as Ohio wine production declined in both the wake of viticultural disease and a loss of labor as Ohioans left to fight in the Civil War.

Yet Ohio was not alone in its pursuit of bubbles. In 1855, Benjamin Davis Wilson, who was to become the first mayor of Los Angeles, was the first to produce a sparkling wine in California. And, across the country, a “champagne” industry was started in Hammondsport in New York’s Finger Lakes region in 1860. Crafting sparklers from Delaware, Iona, Elvira and Catawba grapes, the Pleasant Valley and Taylor Wine Companies set about to establish “American champagne [as] the leading wine of the region.” (Reichl, 14) 

While most of this early success with sparkling wine was brought to an end in the 1920s as America pursued Prohibition, by 1933, “[t]he few surviving Eastern wineries, principally sparkling-wine producers of New York State [namely Great Western and Gold Seal], soon found their bearings again.” (Wagner, 61)

And, only a few decades later, a renaissance would take place, with Jack and Jamie Davies re-establishing a winery at the old Schramsburg estate in Napa Valley, CA. With a focus on quality, not quantity, the Davies’ produced a Blanc de Blancs, which they released in 1967, becoming “America’s first commercially produced Chardonnay-based brut sparkling wine.” (Sawyer) Schramsburg’s reputation was assured when, in 1972, their sparkling wine was poured at the “Toast to Peace” dinner with President Nixon and Premier Chou En-lai in Bejing, China. Their wines have been poured in the White House ever since.

Today, sparkling wine is produced in all fifty states, and, while many of these producers are local in scope, leading American sparklers are found in California, Oregon, New York, Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Massachusetts, and are often national and even international in their reach. Here, many serious winemakers are crafting world-class wines utilizing the Traditional Method of production, with ultra-premium producers focused on estate-grown grapes and the production of vintage-dated wines.

Harper’s Weekly Journal of Civilization, Nicholas Longworth Obituary, published 3/7/1863.

Reichel, Ruth ed., History in a Glass: Sixty Years of Wine Writing from Gourmet. Random House: New York, 2006 [Frank Schoonmaker, Return to the Native, p. 14]

Sawyer, Christopher. “The Best of Both Worlds.” The tasting panel, December 2009.

Wagner, Philip M.  Grapes Into Wine, Knopf Press, 1976

  
  

Producer Profiles

Biltmore Estate
Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina is “the most visited winery in the United States,” seeing one million visitors annually. The 125,000 acre estate is the site of George Vanderbilt (grandson of Cornelius)’s dream home designed by noted architect Richard Morris Hunt. The Château Reserve Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay from fruit sourced throughout North Carolina and is aged 24-30 months before disgorging.

Chateau Frank
In 1962, Dr. Konstantin Frank established Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport, New York and earned a reputation for his Rieslings and “champagnes.” The 1999 Prestige Cuvee is made with 100% estate-grown fruit, a blend of 50% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 5% Pinot Meunier and then aged for more than five years. 

Gruet Winery
The Gruet family of Champagne, France established their Albuquerque, NM winery in 1984. The 2004 Blanc de Blancs remained en tirage for a minimum of four years with the last bottles reaching anywhere up to five years.

Iron Horse Vineyards
When Iron Horse’s founding partners, Audrey and Barry Sterling, first saw the 300 acre property in 1976, it was the most westerly vineyard in Sonoma, but the Sterlings knew they wanted to grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and that this was the perfect climate in which to do so. The 2005 Classic Vintage Brut is among the most traditional of their sparklers, made from 25% Chardonnay and 75% Pinot Noir and aged for three years. 

Kluge Estate
Kluge Estate was established in 1999 in Carter’s Mountain on the edge of Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, VA by Patricia Kluge whose dream was to build a wine region. The 2007 SP Rosé, made from 95% Chardonnay and 5% Pinot Noir, was aged for 21-24 months and won at the Monticello Cup in 2010 and took home Silver medals at both the San Diego Wine & Spirits National Women’s Wine Competitions.
 

L. Mawby
Larry Mawby planted vines on Michigan’s Leelanau Peninsula in 1973, with his first harvest in 1978. His Talismon is made from estate grown fruit picked as a field blend of Vignoles, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay.

Soter Vineyards
Although he is more known for his Pinot Noirs, Tony Soter chose to make a sparkler because he is a “sucker for a winegrowing challenge.” Produced from 100% estate grown fruit, the Soter Rosé is a 50-50% blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and spent at least three years on the lees.
 


Troutman Vineyards
Building on Ohio’s wine legacy, Deanna and Andy Troutman established Troutman Vineyards in 1997. Their Cuveé D, a brut style sparkler made from hybrid variety, Vidal Blanc, won a Bronze Medal at the 2009 Ohio Wine Competition in the Hybrid Sparkling Wine category.