The Raventos I Blanc Textures de Pedra 2014 is a vintage, bio-dynamic, Estate grown Sparkling wine from the Penedes district of the Catalonia region of Spain (think Barcelona). While this is a Sparkling wine produced with the traditional method (like Champagne) it is not Cava. Raventos I Blanc is part of a wine family that…
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The Mumm Napa Brut Prestige is a non-vintage blend of 45% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir, and 10% Pinot Meunier and Pinot Gris. Those are the 4 main grapes approved for use in Champagne, France. There are actually a couple of other approved grapes but they are seldom used. Mumm has been in Napa since the…
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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…
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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…
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The Story The Tourner Sparkling Brut is a $6.99 ALDI exclusive produced in the Traditional Method from grapes grown in California. And that is just about everything I know about this Bubbly. The back label has a few words concerning tasting notes, but nothing that would give clues as to the grapes used. The number…
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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…
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The Story The Roederer Estate Brut is a non-vintage Sparkling wine with a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir. Roederer Estate (founded 1982) is the Mendocino County, Anderson Valley in particular, branch of the nearly 200-year-old (founded 1833) Louis Roederer Champagne House in France. Roederer Estate has 600 acres of vineyards and grows…
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The Story The Trader Joe’s RSVP Brut is a $6.99 TJ’s non-vintage exclusive, sourced from grapes grown in California and produced with the Traditional Method, the same techniques used to make Champagne. CWF reviewed this wine way back in 2010 and then it was a blend of “92% Chardonnay and 8% shhh…it’s a secret“. Why they felt…
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The Story Quake and Dave sample a bottle of Mionetto Brut Prosecco from their Prestige Collection. It is a light, crisp and delicious DOC Prosecco from the Treviso region in northern Veneto section of Italy. It may be crisp, light, and refreshing Bubbly, but it has loads of flavor: apple, lemon, pear, honey, and grapefruit,…
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The Story The Trader Joe’s Reserve North Coast Brut is a Trader Joe’s $9.99 non-vintage exclusive and is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. The North Coast AVA consists of Sonoma, Napa, Lake, Mendocino, along with the lesser-known Marin and Solano AVAs. This Bubbly is made for Trader Joe’s by Rack and Riddle, a company…
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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…
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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…
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The Story Dave talks about one of his favorite categories of value-priced wines…Bubbly. When folks want to splurge of expensive Bubbles they buy Champagne, that leaves all the other Sparkling wines competing in a more value-oriented price range. Wines from all other the world, that would be glad to charge you more if they could, but no, you only…
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The Story The Maison de Joie Brut Sparkling Wine is a non-vintage $11.49 ALDI wine produced in New Mexico from mostly New Mexico vineyards, but also grapes from California and Washington. The name translates to “House of Joy“. The label says American Sparkling wine because grapes come from more than one State. Before you say,…
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The Villa Sandi ilFresco Brut Prosecco is a DOC classified non-vintage Bubbly, 85% Glera, 15% Chardonnay & Pinot Blanc sourced from the Treviso region of Veneto (Venice) in Northeast Italy. Villa Sandi has been a wine estate since 1622, though Prosecco, as we know it today, has only been around for a little over 100 years. The…
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The Dark Horse Brut Sparkling Wine is a non-vintage Chardonnay based Bubbly sourced from grapes grown in more than one California grape growing/wine-producing AVA. Dark Horse is one of E & J Gallo’s (the largest family owned winery in the US) many wine labels, here are links to our posts on Dark Horse Double Down Red and…
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The Chiare’ Blanc de Blanc Sparkling Wine (Chiare’ is Italian for clear) is a $7.99 ALDI’s vintage dated Bubbly sourced from vineyards in Monterey, California. CWF reviewed the 2014 vintage (it was $6.99 then) and thought it was worth twice the price. ALDI must have showcased the 2014 in its advertisements, because we learned that vintage…
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Trader Joe’s Brut Champagne..60% Pinot Meunier 40% Pinot Noir… Family Owned Small Production Real-Deal Champagne…. $21.99
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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
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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…
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The Hacienda Methode Champenois Brut California Sparkling Wine is 100% Chardonnay sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. This is one of Bronco Wines (yes, the 2 Buck Chuck folks) over 100 wine brand labels, they have 18 different Sparkling wine labels. Bronco wines is a huge operation and virtually all…
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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…
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The Clos du Bois Lightly Effervescent Chardonnay 2016 is sourced from vineyards in more than one California grape growing AVA. The “Lightly Effervescent” in the title indicates this Chardonnay has some bubbles, it’s not a full-on Sparkling wine/Bubbly, bit it does bubble up your glass (they recommend a regular White wine glass, no fancy stems are…
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The Bervini 1955 Spumante Rose’ Extra Dry is a blend of Glera (the grape used in making Prosecco) and Roboso (a local Red grape, this is where the Rose’ color comes from) sourced from vineyards of the family owned estate in the Friuli Venezia Giulia in the northern most eastern part of Italy. The Prosecco DOC…
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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…
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