Displaying items by tag: sparkling wine

By Dan Clarke

All right, it’s been a lousy year. Most of us want to put 2020 in the rear-view mirror and look forward to what must be a better 2021. 

By Fiona Fang

Hailing from a pioneer winemaking family in Napa, Paula Kornell is a Napa native who has seen the region's rise from idyllic countryside to a world-renowned premium wine destination.

2017 Napa Valley Blanc de Noir

TASTE News Service, December 4, 2019 – Taste California Travel’s editor has long been a fan of deviled eggs and has dressed them up with many embellishments. 

Prosecco Brut

TASTE News Service, October 9, 2018 – Korbel California Champagne once again held the “Spray-Off” Challenge at Silverado Resort in Napa.

Ferrari Brut N/V

Ferrari

Alcohol: 12.5%

Suggested Retail: $25

2014 Claim Jumper Rosé

Riverbench

Santa Maria Valley

Alcohol: 12.1%

Suggested Retail: $42

“This sparkling wine is made in the méthode Champenoise from 100% Pinot Noir grapes that were estate grown in the Santa Maria Valley of Santa Barbara County. The location on California’s Central Coast receives considerable marine influence and is cooler than many realize. As such, it is prime growing country for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

2012 Brut Rosé

Domaine Carneros

By Taittinger

Carneros

Alcohol: 12.3%

Suggested Retail: $37

“Good sparkling wine is appropriate for celebrating the new year. It’s also appropriate for just celebrating life in general and is a treat too frequently thought of as only for special occasions.

“Sparkling wine is the generally accepted term that encompasses all wines containing bubbles, from pricey top-of-the-line imports through the cheap stuff served at all-you-can-eat Sunday brunches. Most California producers have agreed that the word Champagne refers to products that come from a particular part of France and should no longer be appropriated by wineries outside that region. Wonderful as wines from Champagne are, they’re no longer necessarily superior to their California counterparts.

Oro Puro Prosecco Superiore

Valdo Spumanti

Valdobbiadene, Italy

Alcohol: 11.5%

Suggested Retail: $19.99

“Prosecco is a sparkling wine made in the northeast of Italy. Unlike Asti Spumante, a sweeter carbonated wine, Prosecco is much closer in taste to Champagne and New World sparkling wines. In recent years Prosecco has surged in popularity, in part because of its affordability. However it’s not just price that is driving Prosecco sales. It tastes good, too.

“Made entirely of the Glera grape (which was once known as Prosecco), the Oro Puro is the Superiore or better of two Proseccos Valdo markets in this country. Their basic product we found just o.k., but this one is excellent and justifies the approximately $5 price difference. The Oro Puro carries the D.O.C.G. label designation (Denominazione di Originie Congrollata e Guarantita), which assures that the wine comes from where it’s supposed to and has passed muster with a Italian government panel of tasters.

“Valdo’s Oro Puro, may be gold in color, but very faintly so. Its bubbles are fine and persistent. We find aromas and flavors of crisp green apples, Asian pears and white peaches and white nectarines. There’s crisp acidity, yet a rich and ‘round’ feeling, too, that nicely balance each other. The finish seems both clean and lasting.”

Food Affinity: “Mixed nuts. Thinly sliced Asiago cheese on bruschetta. Gnocchi in any white sauce. Grilled Branzino (a Mediterranean sea bass), stuffed with lemon slices and thyme."