Here’s a Champagne with which few American’s are familiar. It’s the #2 selling brand of Champagne in France
Category: Country
Wine Of The Week: NV Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rosé
My wine of the week for March 17-23 is the NV Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta Rosé. Franciacorta, refers both to the territory, located in the Lombardy region of Italy, and the sparkling wine produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the territory. Since 1995, Franciacorta has had DOCG status, the highest echelon of Italian wine…
Wine Of The Week – 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia
My wine of the week for March 10-16 is the 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia. Man that’s a long name! If you’re not familiar with Spanish, let me break it down for you – “Rioja Blanco” means White wine from Rioja – “Crianza” refers to how long the wine is aged…
T.G.I.F. Champagne And The Like…NV Nicolas Feuillatte “Blue Label” Brut Champagne
Have you ever wondered what’s the best-selling brand of Champagne in France? Sure, all the big names in Champagne are there, but I’m thinking the average middle-class French consumer doesn’t have the coin for Moet and Mumm on a regular basis. The answer is the maker of this week’s bubbly, Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte. Feuillatte…
T.G.I.F. Champagne And The Like…2008 Murgo Brut Rosé
Check out this surprisingly good Italian sparkler from Sicily!
Value Alert – 90pt Gem From Spain for $12!
Several months ago, I attended a La Mancha tasting in San Francisco. I blogged about it in a post entitled Is La Mancha Ready For Primetime? Of course, most of us are familiar with La Mancha thanks to the famous book by Miguel de Cervantes entitled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (or perhaps…
Value Alert – 90pt Stunner from Italy for $13!
I love it when I find a great value such as this wine – the 2007 Leone de Castris Salice Salentino Riserva, especially when it’s from a wine region and made from a grape varietal new to me. I’m still very much in the “promiscuous” phase of my wine lover evolution, so I like to…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava
Elyssia is separate label produced by Freixenet (pronounced ‘fresh-eh-NET) one of the largest producers of sparkling wine in the world. You may know Freixenet from their ubiquitous black Cordon Negro Cava, which is the #1 imported sparkling wine in the world. This Cava is different in that none of the grapes used in the traditional…
Everything You Need To Know To Enjoy Sparkling Holidays!
More than any other time of year, the holiday season is the time for bubbly. The challenge is the terminology around sparkling wine can be confusing. For example, and bubbly labeled “Extra Dry” is actually sweeter than one labeled “Brut”, which is the standard for dryness in sparkling wine. And since retailers are heavily…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2008 Raventos i blanc Cava L’Hereu Reserva Brut
For this week’s sparkler it’s back to what’s becoming a favorite of mine, Cava. Unlike Champagne, Cava isn’t from a particular region, rather it’s a term used for Spanish sparklers made in the traditional method (known as Méthode Champenoise) used in France. While there are some other regions in Spain that also make Cava, about 95%…