USA SPARKLING Flashcards
First modern sparkling producer
Schramsberg
Blanc de Blancs in 1965 = first commercial Chard sparkling
Moet & Chandon entered USA when?
1973
Domain CHandon
Traditional method Chard and Pinot style
Medium intensity ripe apple, lemon, toast
Medium (+) acid
Brut
California: premium sparkling grapes grown in what kind of areas?
Coastal regions cooled by cold Pacific OcEAN
Cooling influence of Pacific does what?
Grapes with ripe flavours yet high acid and moderate alcohol = good for premium sparkling
Anderson Valley located where?
Mendocino County
Close to Pacific
northwest of Napa - furthest north on map
Roederer Estate in what AVA?
Anderson Valley
What makes Anderson Valley good for sparkling
Cool ocean breezes and fog Navarro river valley Moderate temperatures, reduce sunshine hours Wide dirunal range High levels of acidity
Russian River Valley in what county?
Sonoma County
What makes Russian River Valley good for spakrling
Cool breezes and fog via the river and the Petaluma Gap
Korbel in what AVA?
Russian River Valley
Pioneering producer in Russian River Valley
Korbel
Two big producers in Carneros?
Gloria Ferrer (Freixenet) Domaine Carneros (Taittinger)
Cooling influence for Carneros (not coast!)
San Pablo Bay
Is Napa Valley suitable for sparkling?
Mostly too hot
Some important producers here eg Schramsberg
Now source their grapes in cooler areas
Appeal of Monterey for sparkling?
Professors Winkler and Amerine at UC Davis (1940s)
Heat Summation Scale
Monterey has cool zones 1-2 (Chard Pinot suitable)
New vineyards developed
Salinas valley
Central Valley and Lodi suitable for sparkling?
Too warm for premium sparkling
But large companies eg Weibel make tank method in large volumes
Washington State largest sparkling producer
Chateau Ste Michelle
What’s good about Washingston State?
Northerly latitude
High diurnal range
High acid grapes
Large pioneer producer in Oregon?
Argyle
Argyle does what?
Oregon sparkling
Oregon company for outsourced sparkling
Radiant Sparkling Wine
Schramsberg Blanc de Noirs weird why?
10% Chardonnay
allowed do that in US
Custom crush in California?
Rack & Riddle (Sonoma)
Brut Custom Crush (Napa)
Three types of sparkling producers
1) specialist sparkling wine producers eg Roederer Estate, Domain Chandon
2) still-wineries that also make premium small batch sparkling eg Schramsberg
3) large companies make inexpensive fizz eg Barefoot
California sparkling losing market share to what?
Imports especially Prosecco
