The Trader Joe’s Platinum Reserve Sonoma Brut NV (2020) is a Trader Joe’s $14.99 non-vintage blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier sourced from vineyards in Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. The back label says this Bubbly was “produced and bottled by” Rack and Riddle, Healdsburg, California. They are an independent wine company…
Read More
The Gerard Bertrand Crémant de Limoux Thomas Jefferson Rosé 2017 is a blend of 65% Chardonnay, 20% Chenin Blanc, and 15% Pinot Noir sourced from the Cremant de Limoux AOC section of the Languedoc in southeast France. Limoux is the birthplace of Bubbly/Sparkling wine the monks from the local Abby started making wine with bubbles…
Read More
The Burlwood Cellars Brut Rose is a $4.99 ALDI exclusive, a Sparkling wine made with the Charmat Method. The Charmat Method is the same process used in the making of Prosecco and is often referred to as the Italian Method though it is used all over the wine world. The back label says this Bubbly…
Read More
The Etienne Doue Brut Champagne is a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir from a Grower/Producer (look for an RM somewhere on the label) sourced from estate vineyards near the town of Montgueux in the Aube section of Champagne in France. Étienne Doué is the father-daughter team of Étienne and Virginie. A Grower/Producer…
Read More
The La Burgondie Brut Rosé is an $11.99 Trader Joe’s import Sparkling wine made in the Traditional Method with grapes farmed in the Burgundy region of France. This is a Cremant which is French for Sparkling wine or Bubbly. The grapes used in this Cremant are 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Gamay. If you are…
Read More
The Presto Sparkling Rose’ is a $9.99 Whole Foods North American exclusive made from the Lagrein and Raboso grapes grown in the Veneto and Trentino regions of northern Italy. Trentino and Veneto are well known for Alto Adige (Pinot Grigio) and Prosecco regions. Lagrein and Raboso are local grapes that are popular in Italy, you…
Read More
The Story The Aria Pinot Noir Brut Cava is a non-vintage Bubbly from the Penedes region of Catalunya, near Barcelona in Eastern Spain. Aria is part of the Segura Viudas family of Sparkling wines. Segura Viudas is in turn part of the Freixenet group that includes Mionetto Prosecco and Gloria Ferrer wines. Cava is produced…
Read More
The Story The Opaline Sparkling Pinot Noir Brut Rose is a non-vintage $7.99 Trader Joe’s wine imported from France. That is the bulk of the information concerning this Bubbly. The label says Product of France which does not narrow wines’ origin down to any great extent. The Opaline does have a very nice bottle. The…
Read More
The Story The Kingsley Sparkling Brut Rose‘ is a $6.99 Trader Joe’s Sparkling wine made in the Traditional Method by Rack and Riddle. That is all I know about this Bubbly, but that might be enough. The first thing to note is that $6.99 for a Traditional Method Sparkling wine is crazy cheap. The Traditional…
Read More
The Story The Anna de Codorníu Brut Rosé Cava is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay sourced from estate vineyards near the town of Lleida in the Cava D.O. of northeast Spain (near Barcelona). A typical Cava uses the three indigenous grapes, Macabeo, Xarello, and Parelada, but since this is a Rose’ and Red…
Read More
The Story The Kirkland Champagne Brut is a $19.99 Costco exclusive produced for them by Champagne Janisson of Verzenany in the Champagne district of France. There was a time when a sub 20 buck real-deal Champagne was unheard of, but ALDI, Trader Joe’s (I think TJ’s French Bubbles has gone up in price) and Costco have…
Read More
The Story The ALDI Monsigny Brut Champagne #3 is a non-vintage $19.99 ALDI exclusive, a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 10% Chardonnay sourced from multiple vineyards in Champagne, France. It seems this is a brand name that ALDI owns and in the past several different Champagne Houses supply the Bubbly for ALDI….
Read More
The Story of New Mexico Bubbly The Gruet Blanc de Noirs is a non-vintage blend of 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards in New Mexico along with grapes from, I believe, California and Washington. The term “Blanc de Noirs” translates to White from Black, yes, I know, White wine grapes are usually green…
Read More
The Story The Saint-Hilaire Brut 2017 is a blend of 90% Mauzac, 5% Chardonnay, and 5% Chenin Blanc sourced from grapes farmed in the Limoux area of the Languedoc in Southwest France. The Sparkling wine of Limoux is 100 years older than the Bubbly of Champagne. Saint-Hilaire is the Abbey were history first records monks producing…
Read More
The Story The Mumm Napa Brut Rose’ is a blend of 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay sourced from as many as 50 different vineyards (depending on the vintage) in the Napa Valley AVA. Mumm Napa started in the early 1970s is the California project of GH Mumm founded 150 years earlier in Champagne, France. Mumm…
Read More
Trader Joe’s Brut Champagne..60% Pinot Meunier 40% Pinot Noir… Family Owned Small Production Real-Deal Champagne…. $21.99
Read More
Today we try a Bubbly from Mendocino. A 60/40 blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir……. THE SCHARFFENBERGER BRUT EXCELLENCE… A Champagne Style Affordable Sparkling Wine
Read More
The Mionetto Rose’ Extra Dry is a proprietary blend of red grapes sourced from vineyards in both the Veneto and Trentino grape growing regions in northern Italy. Mionetto (founded in 1887) is well-known as a producer of Prosecco, but the Rose’ Extra Dry is not a Prosecco. A Prosecco is a very specific thing, it is…
Read More
The Beau Rocher Brut Rose’ is a non-vintage French Sparkling wine, the label says Mousseux which along with Cremant is French for any Bubbly not produced in Champagne. I choose this bottle because it was the cheapest French Bubbly, $5.99, in the store, it may well have the cheapest French wine of any sort on the…
Read More
The Gruet Brut Rose’ is 100% Pinot Noir Sparkling wine sourced from estate and contracted vineyards near Truth or Consequences and a little north of Albuquerque in New Mexico. Gruet is a family owned and operated winery and originally made Champagne (G. Gilbert et Fils, still in business) in the town of Bethon, France (Moet Chandon…
Read More
The Korbel Russian River Valley Natural 2013 is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay with 75% of the grapes grown in Korbel estate vineyards in the Russian River AVA inside the Sonoma County AVA in Northern California. This is a vintage dated wine, most Bubbly in this price range (around $16) are non-vintage wines, using wine…
Read More
The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut Rose’ is a $9.99 limited edition Trader’ Joe’s exclusive produced from a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier grown in vineyards in the North Coast AVA which includes Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa, and Lake County, all of which are north of San Francisco in Northern California. The TJ’s Reserve…
Read More
The Fluteau Blanc de Noirs Brut Champagne is 100% Pinot Noir grown in a single Estate vineyard in the Côte des Bar district of Aube in the southernmost section of Champagne which is located in northeast France. This Bubbly is known as a Grower/Producer Champagne which indicates that the family that owned the vineyard and grew the…
Read More
The Flama D’Or Cava Rose’ Brut is produced with the Trepat grape grown in vineyards near the town of Sant Sadurní d’Anoia in the Province of Catalonia (major city is Barcelona) in northeast Spain, this is where Cava comes from. Flama D’Or is part of Castell D’Or a group of 9 wine communes covering different sections of…
Read More
The Tarantas Sparkling Rose’ is 100% Bobal grape grown in certified organic vineyards near the town of Valencia in the Utiel-Requena DO near the Mediterranean Ocean in western Spain. Bobal is the 2nd most planted Red grape in Spain (behind Tempranillo) and until recently was used for producing inexpensive, everyday jug wine. Tarantas is the oldest all…
Read More