To Sparkling Wine or to Champagne? That is the question.

Written by Maureen Bayer, CS, CSW, CWP

Working in the wine industry many people know when someone says Champagne it may not be what they mean. Especially with the holidays quickly approaching you might want know what you are really looking for and what to bring to your holiday party. Often people will walk in saying “I want Champagne”, then we show them our offerings and they quickly realize that is not the price point they imagined. Champagne is a sparkling wine but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. It’s like your square and rectangle situation. To be called “Champagne” the wine must come from the region of Champagne in France and be made up of specific grape varietals.

So what can you do when you want to celebrate with bubbles but do not want to break the bank? There are several awesome options of Sparkling Wine to choose from!

Prosecco:  Is a sparkling wine that comes from the Veneto region in Northern Italy. To be a designated wine of Prosecco (which is also a region; how confusing!) it must be produced as a white wine. In order for Prosecco to be called Prosecco it must be made up of 85% of the Glera grape. The remaining 15% can be made up of the Verdiso, Perera, Bianchetta, Glera Lugna, Pinot Nero or Chardonnay grapes. Prosecco is made using the tank method to keep the fresh fruity characteristics of the grapes. This will be a fruitier style with notes of peach and apricot that both sweet and dry drinkers will enjoy. This wine has slightly larger bubbles than those of Champagne and is an excellent choice for mimosas!

Sommelier Pick: Bocelli Prosecco

Cava: A sparkling wine from Spain. Cava can only be made in eight regions of Spain. This is unique to Cava because most designations are within a specific region, rather than throughout the country. The primary region, making 95% of Cava in Spain, is Catalonia. Cava is made from the Macabeo (also known as Viura or White Rioja), Xarel-lo and Parellada grapes, these are all white grapes. The only red grapes allowed to make Cava only as a Rosado are Pinot Noir, Garnacha, Monastrell, and Trepat. Approximately half of all Cava production is made as brut. Cava is made in the traditional method or metodo tradicional. Bottles must be cellared at least nine months on the lees to be considered Cava. To be labeled Cava Reserva bottles must be aged on the lees a minimum of fifteen months and must be brut or drier. There is approximately only 15% of this style made into production. To be labeled as Cava Gran Reserva, bottles must be aged on the lees a minimum of thirty months and must be brut or drier. This makes up less than 5% of production and is only made in excellent vintages. Being made in the same method as Champagne, Cava will be an excellent choice for those that want that style at a lower price range.

Sommelier Pick: Aria Cava

Sparkling Wine in America: As Champagne made stricter guidelines on the term Champagne it forced wineries to change the title to Sparkling wine. There are only a few wineries left that were grandfathered in and are allowed to continuing using the term Champagne on their label. Most will say sparkling wine and have some sort of reference to which method was used but it is not required. Also, there no restrictions as to which grapes can be used for sparkling wine. However, most wineries stick to the classic grapes of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier.  Mendocino in particular has become very well known in the United States for its sparkling wine production, since it is a cooler region. Many sparkling wines in the United States can resemble those of Champagne if made with the same grapes and in the same method, as the Signal Ridge is. However, there are also many sparkling wines that are unique and can be fun to explore since there are few regulations on how the wines are made into sparkling wine in the United States.

Sommelier Pick: Signal Ridge Sparkling Wine

Champagne: is a sparkling wine from France. To be called Champagne it must come from this region in France. Other sparkling wines made in France will be called cremant. The grape varieties used for Champagne are primarily Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Other grape varieties also allowed are Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Petit Meslier, and Arbane. Champagne is made in the traditional method (because that’s where it started of course!) Champagne must be aged for at least fifteen months. There is a requirement of a minimum of twelve of those months to be left on the lees. Vintage Champagne must age on the lees a minimum of three years. Wines are not ranked in Champagne as they are in many other French regions; however the villages are in grand cru or premier cru. Champagne has toasty and nutty aroma with a creamy texture and fine bubbles. These wines can age for years but are also ready to drink when you are!

Sommelier Pick: Monopole Heidsieck & Co Blue Top

Wine with Christmas Cookies!!

Written by Maureen Bayer, CS, CSW, CWP

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! With Christmas just around the corner there will be cookie exchanges and desserts galore! So rather than binge eating that cookie tin, let’s have a little fun and try some pairings! Leaving out the right glass of wine for Santa is sure to get you on the nice list rather than a glass of milk. 

Ginger Bread Cookie – Thousand Islands Winery Riesling

We will start with a classic holiday cookie, the ginger bread cookie. Whether you are decorating a little cookie man or building a house out of frosting and gummies, ginger bread is the ultimate holiday cookie. Riesling pairs well with many Asian cuisines and what is a primary ingredient there? GINGER! The slight sweetness in the wine contrasts perfectly with the spice coming from the ginger. The Thousand Islands Winery Riesling is a New York State wine that falls into the sweet section of the IRF scale but can still be enjoyed by drier wine drinkers. The citrus and apricot in the wine bring out the nutmeg and cinnamon in the cookie. Why does this pairing work? The sweetness of the cookie tames the sweetness in the wine.

Peanut Butter Kisses – DOW’S Late Bottles Vintage Porto 2007

Peanut Butter Kisses are my all time favorite cookie! There is something special about the chocolate and peanut butter combination that just seems heavenly. Port is an excellent choice of wine to go with desserts because it is going to be sweeter than the food. This way the sweetness in the food is not masking the sweetness in the wine. The DOW’s LBV Porto is expressing its dried fruit characteristics that pair well with the chocolate kiss in the center of the cookie, while the nutty and oxidative notes will pair with the peanut butter cookie. 

Butter Cookies – Peirano Estate Vineyards Chardonnay

The category of butter cookie includes tea cookies, shortbread cookies, and spritz cookies. As you can imagine the primary ingredient in these cookies is butter! The Peirano Estate Vineyards Chardonnay is coming from Lodi, California. This Chardonnay is made in both French and American oak giving it flavors of vanilla and grilled pineapple that will pair with the simple butter cookie. It also goes through 50% malolactic fermentation giving it a creamier texture and a toasted buttery flavor to match the butter cookie. 

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies – Francis Ford Coppola Winery Pitagora

The chocolate crinkle cookies are a very rich treat covered in powdered sugar. The Pitagora Red Wine Blend is primarily Syrah but also has Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Petite Sirah. This red blend gets its fruit from a variety of locations in Sonoma California including Dry Creek Valley, Alexander Valley, and Knights Valley. Each grape adds a different component to the wine; it has everything from floral notes to spicy aspects with dark fruit and a high tannin backbone. This bold red blend can measure up to to the rich chocolate crinkle cookie.

Snowball Cookies – Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio

Snowball cookies can be a variety of things to different people, some people would call them Russian Tea Cookies, others the Italian Wedding Cookie, to me they are snowballs. They are a relatively neutral cookie and may even fall into the butter cookie category but they are covered in powdered sugar and have chopped walnuts or almonds in them, depending on your recipe. The Santa Cristina Pinot Grigio is coming from the Delle Venezie region in Italy. It is a fairly neutral wine with flavors of green apple and citrus (classic white wine description am I right?!?) but these cookies will bring out a slight nuttiness in the wine. 

Sugar Cookie – Chloe Prosecco DOC

Sugar cookies another basically neutral cookie shared at Christmas time! These are great because you can decorate them as ornaments, trees, snowmen, Santa, etc, etc. Since the cookie itself is rather neutral the frosting is the key pairing, whether you do a butter cream topping or almond frosting it will pair with BUBBLES! The Chloe Prosecco is a DOC wine from Italy. This fresh and fruity sparkling wine will prepare your palate for each bite of that delicious sugar cookie.