3 Great, Inexpensive American Sparkling Wines (4th of July Wines, Why all sparkling wine should not be called Champagne, Blanc de Blancs vs. Blanc de Noir)

Show Notes and Articles

Episode 34: 3 Great, Inexpensive American Sparkling Wines (4th of July Wines, Why all sparkling wine should not be called Champagne, Blanc de Blancs vs. Blanc de Noir)  00:00

Hello! And welcome to the Wine Pair Podcast. I’m Carmela, your wine pair-partner in crime, and this is my husband and sommelier of reasonably priced wine, Joe. (Hi There) And we are The Wine Pair!

That was different. But I think I like it. And, it is appropriate that you would do the intro today because this is an episode that I think was just custom made for you! And why is that? Because we are talking about sparkling wines. And just in time for July 4th - which as we record this is about a week away - and is a great excuse to pop open a sparkler - and by that we mean a sparkling wine! Get it?!?

Really quickly for those of you who are new listeners to our Podcast - our podcast is all about learning about wine and helping you find wines that are good and not hard on the pocketbook - so every episode we taste and review three wines that are reasonably priced - which means under $20 - and that you should be able to easily find in a local store or online or something like that. And, sometimes we do other stuff like interviews, but not today!!! Today it’s all about sparkling wine!

Today, we are going to taste and review three sparkling wines that are from right here in the good old US of A. A few notes as we start out this episode. The first is - do not call sparkling wine Champagne unless it comes from the Champagne region of France. Big pet peeve. People have been using the word Champagne as a stand-in for sparkling wine for a long time now, but I will just tell you that a great way to tell if someone really doesn’t know anything about wine is if they say they are drinking Champagne when they are just talking about a sparkling wine.

The second is that sparkling wine is super, super popular, and I think more and more we are finding that sparkling wine is not just something to drink on special occasions or holidays. So, while holidays are a great time to enjoy sparkling wine, we love to drink it any time! Like Tuesday. And I think some of that is because there are good, inexpensive sparkling wines that are really easy to find - pretty much led by the massive growth of Prosecco which, by the way, is a specific sparkling wine from a specific area in Italy near Venice. There is actually a bit of a controversy going on right now because some wineries in the US and Australia and New Zealand are starting to use the term Prosecco for a wine made by the same grape and method as Prosecco, and the Italians are not happy about it. Can you believe that.

We will talk more about these things and we have  three wines to taste and review, but first . . . we have to do our shameless plug, Carmela. Are you ready? First, please consider subscribing to our podcast so that you never miss one of our shows. And, if you like what you are hearing, we would love a rating and review so you can help others find us.

If you want to reach out to us with ideas, or thoughts, or just to talk - you can DM us on Instagram at thewinepairpodcast or contact us on our website thewinepairpodcast.com.

And, as we do every week, we’ll tell you someone we think you should tell about The Wine Pair Podcast, and this week we think you should tell the person who checks out your groceries at the grocery store. I mean, most of the time you are just standing there watching them, so you should just make some idle chit-chat and tell them about us!

Topic: What makes Champagne Champagne?  06:23

Ok. This should be a short section, I hope, or maybe those of you out there in listening land hope, but we are going to try to disabuse you from the common error we talked about earlier - which is calling all sparkling wine Champagne - by giving you some facts. Give me the facts, right?!? Facts still matter, don’t they Carmela? All of these wines are made in the champagne methods. (why are we talking about Champagne? Carmela)

The simplest way I can put this is that, if a sparkling wine does not come from the Champagne region of France, it is not Champagne. That’s it. Done. Now, that may seem like an overly fussy rule, but there are some good reasons for being particular about it. In case you are wondering, the Champagne area of France is in the Northeast part of France. It is close to Paris, and actually has a border with Belgium, and part of it also reaches to the English channel, so it is a large region.

https://wineloversvillage.com/champagne-region-of-france-virtual-tours-taste-at-home/  

So, here are some of the reasons why it is important to be fussy about it. Any thoughts, Carmela, on why?

First, limiting the name ensures that there are standards of production and quality that are consistent for all Champagnes. If you have ever tried to buy an actual Champagne, you will find that most of the time, they are pretty expensive. However, there is a really good Champagne that Costco has been selling via their Kirkland brand for some time that is $20. So, being strict about the naming and production keeps wine producers from stealing the name and charging too much for wines of a lower quality.

Second, Champagne is made from very specific grapes grown in the Champagne region. Champagne is usually only made from a combination of 3 grapes: Pinot Noir grapes, Pinot Meunier grapes, Chardonnay grapes. Sometimes, there are other grapes allowed, but they are much more rare. And, you can find out more in some links to some articles in our show notes. But, having very specific grapes in the wine from a very specific region means that the sparkling wines have a very specific taste that makes Champagne unique. Other sparkling wines can be made from all sorts of grapes, but even those made with the same grapes as Champagne will likely taste different because they are from different areas.

Third, Champagne is made in a specific way that is pretty labor intensive and time consuming. If you find a sparkling wine outside of the Champagne region that says it is made in the Traditional Method or the Champagne Method (Methode Champenoise, also called Méthode Traditionnelle), it will be made in a similar way, but is still not Champagne. Basically, Champagne starts out as a still wine (meaning not sparkling), that is then blended with older Champagne wines, fermented a second time which produces the bubbles in a bottle that is capped with a bottle cap, then it is aged, disgorged - when the dead yeast, etc. are removed from the wine - then, sugar or sweet wine may be added in a process called dosage, and then the Champagne is corked with the special cork. This whole process can take anywhere from 15 months to 3 years!

By the way, most of the time, sparkling wines are non-vintage. What does that mean? Well, when they are mixed or blended with older Champagnes, that makes them non-vintage because they are made of grapes from different years. However, every once in a while they may make a Champagne from a specific year, and then it will actually have a vintage on it. But that is not common.

https://www.winemag.com/2022/02/01/difference-vintage-nonvintage-wine/ 

So, there you have it. A short edumacation on Champagne. What is interesting is that sparkling wine made in the Champagne method in France but not in the Champagne region is called different things. Do you remember what one of those is, that we had last weekend? One of the most famous is Cremant. 

When it comes to sparkling wine production, Italy actually makes the most, and most that is made in Italy is Prosecco, but that is made by a different method called the Charmat or tank method, and one of the main differences is that the second fermentation takes place in a big stainless steel vat rather than bottle by bottle in the Champagne method. This is a less expensive and quicker way to make bubbly. Prosecco is also made from a specific grape called the Glera. There are also several other types of Italian sparkling wine like Franciacorta and Lambrusco. 

France makes the second most, then Germany is third, which may be surprising, and their sparkling wine is called Sekt and is usually pretty sweet, then Spain, where the most famous sparkling wine is called Cava, and then the United States is fifth in sparkling wine production. 

Again, tons of information in our show notes, but let’s get on to the real topic of our podcast today, which is American sparkling wine. 

ARTICLES

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtneyschiessl/2018/08/23/italian-australian-prosecco/?sh=6fda5bf4c3a3 
• https://www.foodandwine.com/wine/champagne-sparkling-wine/difference-between-champagne-and-sparkling-wine 
• https://www.bostonmagazine.com/weddings/2015/09/25/difference-between-champagne-and-sparkling-wine/
• https://www.vinovest.co/blog/champagne-vs-sparkling-wine 
• https://savagevines.co.uk/what-is-cremant/#:~:text=Share%20this%20post-,What%20is%20Cremant%3F,and%20just%20as%20good%20quality. 
• https://www.champagne-booking.com/en/the-production-process-of-champagne/ 
• https://glassofbubbly.com/what-is-charmat-method/
• https://www.winemag.com/2018/11/27/lets-talk-about-sekt/ 

 


American Sparkling Wines We Chose for This Episode 15:55

Now, it may not be totally surprising to know that we make sparkling wine in the United States. There are actually some pretty famous sparkling wines that come from California, such as Chandon, Mumm, Schramsberg, Domaine Carneros, and Roederer. Most of these are pretty expensive, and so would not make it onto our podcast.

Then there are the sparkling wines that people know, and are often mistakenly called Champagne but are not, and are cheap, crappy, swill - like Cooks, Andre’, Korbel, and Barefoot. Sorry, I know some people like those sparkling wines, but they are really not good. What is confusing about some of these wines is that they still say Champagne on the label, but have to say where they are from - like California Champagne. Basically, there was a law passed in 2006 that outlawed the use of the term Champagne for a sparkling wine, but those that were already using the term were allowed to keep doing it based on a grandfather clause. Which I think is LAME because the ones that do use it, tend to be the crappiest. 

Then, there is this sweet spot of American sparklers, at least for us, three of which we are going to try today, that are made in the traditional method, are tasty, and are reasonably priced - meaning under $20. These sparkling wines are made all over the US, but mostly in the states of California, Virginia, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington State, and New York. And today, we will be tasting sparklers from California, New Mexico, and Washington State. 

I think New Mexico is a shocker for some people, but one of my favorite sparklers, and maybe my favorite low cost sparkler is from a winery in New Mexico called Gruet. 

In another quick nerd-out, usually when you see wines made in the Champagne method, they often say something on the bottle like blanc de blanc or blanc de noir. The difference is that a blanc de blanc is a white sparkler made with white wine grapes, and a blanc de noir is a white sparkler that is made from red wine grapes - which is confusing, because it is still a white wine. And, of course, there is also sparkling rose’, but, as usual, the kind of rose’ will depend very much on the types of grapes that are used in the wine. 

And for our final nerd-out, we already talked about dry vs. brut and the confusion there in a past episode, but for a quick primer, when talking about sparkling wines, and this is always confusing, dry sparkling wines are sweet, and brut sparkling is dry.  We like the brut wines the best, and so all of our sparkling wines today are brut. Just remember, if you see dry or extra dry on a sparkling wine bottle, it means sweet. But, if you see dry on a still wine bottle, it means dry. Confusing. 


ARTICLES

• ttps://www.gayot.com/wines/best-american-sparkling-wines/
• https://france-amerique.com/pop-the-rise-of-american-sparkling-wine/#:~:text=Yet%20champagnes%20imported%20from%20France,State%20and%20New%20York%20State.
• https://www.vinovest.co/blog/Blanc-de-Blanc-champagne#:~:text=While%20Blanc%20de%20Blancs%20are,the%20Pinot%20Noir%20grape%20variety
• https://usualwines.com/blogs/knowledge-base/brut-wine 

 

Ok, enough with this jibber jabber - let’s get to it!


American Sparkling Wine tasting and review 20:55

Wine: Treveri Cellars Blanc de Blanc Brut
Region: Washington, Yakima Valley
Producer: Treveri Cellars
Year: NV (this is very common for sparkling wines, that only some will have years on them, and others will have NV or non-vintage, and that’s because they mix wines from different years)
Price: $13.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: 100% Chardonnay
Professional Rating:

What we tasted and smelled: Granny Smith, pear, Asian Pear, sparkling apple cider (Martinellis), some yeast or toast. Fresh. Sweet. Tart. All-day drinker. Crowd pleaser. Pleasing to people who like brut and sweet. Good option for Prosecco lovers.
Food pairing with: Potato chips, charcuterie board, cheese board. Chicken salad. Salty foods and cheeses.

Rating:
Joe: 7
Carmela: 8

Wine: Gruet Brut (this is made in a very Champagne region style)
Region: New Mexico
Producer: Gruet
Year: NV
Price: $14.49
Retailer: Total Wine
Alcohol: 12%
Grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Professional Rating: WS 90

What we tasted and smelled: Apple, yeast, peach, nectarine, red plum, spiced apple cider, cinnamon, citrus, grapefruit, melon, cantaloupe, cotton candy. Most yeasty. Less sweet, more tart. An evening drink vs. all-day drinker. More complex. Spicy.
Food pairing with: Spicy food, Indian food, Asian food, salty foods, white fish, grilled chicken, charcuterie. Great with sushi and tempura. Good with fried food. Food friendly.

Rating:
Joe: 8
Carmela: 7


Wine: Piper Sonoma Brut
Region: California, Sonoma County
Producer: Piper Sonoma
Year: NV
Price: $16.99
Retailer: QFC (Kroger)
Alcohol: 12.5%
Grapes: 70% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir, 3% Pinot Blanc, 7% Aged Reserve Blend
Professional Rating: TP 92, WE 90

What we tasted and smelled: Honeycrisp apple, crisp juicy apple, Tree Top apple juice, honey, citrus, lemon water, spicy, apple turnover, flowers, brioche or croissant, fresh air. Tastes like a bakery. Nice, fine bubbles. Most sophisticated and refined of the three. Beautiful.
Food pairing with: Spicy food, tempura, sushi, charcuterie, fried fish. Light creamy pasta sauces, fettuccine alfredo. Shrimp. Thanksgiving dinner.

Rating:
Joe: 9
Carmela:  8


Which one of these are you finishing tonight?
Carmela: Treveri
Joe: Piper Sonoma
But all three are fantastic.


Taste profiles expected from these Sparkling wines:  41:42

Treveri

• Green apple, pear, brioche, citrus peel, peach aromas, lemon or lime, bright acid and touch of yeast.

Gruet

• Toast, green apple, grapefruit, cinnamon, lime, mineral, flowers 

Piper Sonoma

• Bright citrus fruits, apple and orange blossom, crisp orchard Golden Delicious apples, Honeycrisp apples, Asian pear, lemon zest and sugary yellow grapefruit. Notes of wild strawberry, raspberry and a perfume of lingering spring flowers and subtle smoke.

Champagne

• Freshly baked bread, wet limestone, apple sauce, pie spices and pears, bready flavors with crisp yellow apple and melon, citrus, cream, almond, and toast

Outro and how to find us 43:17

As always, thank you so very much for listening to us, The Wine Pair, and you know, while you’re thinking about it, we think you should subscribe and give us a nice rating!

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Thanks for listening to the Wine Pair podcast, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine