T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – Great QPR Sparkling Rosé from S. Africa!

My virtual trip around the wide world of sparklers continues this week with a sparkler from Graham Beck of South Africa, which has over a three-hundred year history of grape growing.  Although, until relatively recently, most of the grapes were used to make cheap distilled spirits, or grape juice concentrate of which South Africa is…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like – N.V. Chandon Blanc de Noirs

This week’s selection is an old favorite, a “go to” sparkler that I’ve enjoyed over the years – Chandon Blanc de Noir.  Blanc de Noirs (a French term literally meaning “white of blacks”) are sparklers made with black, or red-skinned grapes – in this case Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier. Domaine Chandon was the first…

T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2004 Korbel Le Premier

This week’s sparkling wine is a Korbel’s “ultimate reserve champagne”, from the 2004 vintage.  Korbel, which sells the largest volume of sparkling wine (over 1 million cases) produced using the Méthode Traditionnelle, makes a very modest 1400 cases of this “prestige” cuveé.  It’s unusual to see a vintage sparkler at this price point.  So what’s the difference…