Champagne blend

This is a sparkling wine made from 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay.  It utilized the Charmat method (trapping the bubbles in steel tanks) to make a lovely yet inexpensive sparkling wine.  Salmon pink in color with a steady stream of small bubbles.  The nose is nice with strawberries, rhubarb and slight cherries.  Full bodied with good acidity.  On the palate, this has tangy red fruit including cherries and strawberries.  Some depth.  Long finish.  At this price, a terrific value.  A nice wine for celebrations or for just enjoying.  Nice on its own, this is very food friendly and would go

This is a sparkling wine from northern Israel.  It is Kosher for Passover.  A blend of 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  Light golden in color with just a hint of pale ruby.  A nice mousse of small bubbles.  The nose is nice with lemons, minerals, slight strawberries and a slight almond note.  Medium bodied.  11.5% abv.  On the palate, this drinks easily.  Lemons with some minerality.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This is nice on its own and would work with most foods.  It went well with "mock" liver at our Seder.  Drink over the next few years.  

Light golden in color with some silvery hues.  Lots of tiny bubbles make up a nice mousse.  The nose is nice with minerality, sulfur, chalk and also some cherries and slight citrus.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this seems ripe with cherries and slight grapefruit but also lots of minerality.  Good acidity.  Long  finish.  Very food versatile, this will go with just about anything.  It went well with vegetarian Egg Rolls.  Drink over the next few years.  

Golden in color with a lot of very small bubbles, clear and bright.  The nose is very nice with chalk, toast, and slight marzipan.  Full bodied.  Good balance.  On the palate, this is crisp with a very, very slight sweetness to it.  Chalk and slight dried citrus notes.  Long finish.  This has plenty of depth.  Drinking well now, this should drink well for seven to ten more years.  It is very food versatile and should go with just about any food.  It went very well with a spicy vegetarian pizza.  

Goldeneye has been making wine in the Anderson Valley for 30 years. This current release is comprised of 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay. There is a lovely softness to the carbonation and viscosity of the wine itself. Pleasant notes of fresh, baked bread, golden delicious apple, apricot jam, blood orange and a slight honeydew melon fill the palate. Unlike many sparklers, this doesn’t lean towards sour apple, nor sweet, it straddles a middle ground of pleasant, soft notes, making this a delightful sipping wine with enough acidity for food.

A sparkling wine from the southwest of France composed of 60% Chardonnay, 30% Chenin Blanc and 10% Mauzac made in the methode tradionelle way.  It is dry.  Pale golden in color with a nice mousse of very small bubbles.  Clear and bright.  The nose is nice with green apples and a bit of brioche.  Medium bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, the green apples carry thru with a bit of underlying char.  Nice finish.  This is very food friendly and will go with just about anything.  Drink over the next couple of years.  

Cuvaison is best known for their Chardonnay and Pinot Noir but in 2012 they launched a sparkling program. Comprised of mainly Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay, this brut was made in the traditional Champagne method. Using Pinot Dijon clone 115 planted in 1998, winemaker Steve Rogstad says these 25-year-old vines bring a “precocious beauty” to the wine, and I have to agree. This is a delicate wine with minimal sweetness, using the grace of the Pinot and the acidity and light salinity of the Chardonnay to make a very balanced, almost shy wine.

A nice showing especially considering the vintage.  Light golden in color.  A steady stream of smaller bubble.  The nose is clean with good minerality and slight pear notes.  Full bodied but overall the wine is more on the delicate side.  Clean.  On the palate, slight pear and nice minerality as well.  Long finish.  This should drink well over the next eight to ten years.  Very food friendly.  Nice to open a bottle of this with some popcorn.  

A difficult vintage in Champagne, but this one is drinking very well.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  A persistent bead of small bubbles form a nice mousse.  The nose is big with apples, pears, yeast and salinity.  Full bodied but good acidity.  On the palate, apples, salinity and slight yeast.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This is drinking well but should easily go another five to eight years.  Very food friendly, this would be very nice with spicy Thai food.  

Gorgeous.  This is their "basic" non-vintage or multi-vintage but better than most luxury cuvees.  It is a blend of 45% Pinot Noir, 39% Chardonnay, and 16% Meunier.  Light golden in color with a steady stream of small bubbles.  Nice frothy mousse.  The nose has toast, yeast, slight cherries, apples and chalk.  Full bodied.  On the palate, this is complex and deep.  Slightly tart fruit (oranges) with some chalk.  Long finish.  This is drinking well now, and should for the next ten to fifteen years.  This will go with just about any food.  It would be great with Sushi.