Sparkling Wines
Not all that sparkles is Champagne. This month's dozen wines criss-cross not only the global map, but also within our own country. Look to this article to not only broaden your effervescent horizons, but also to help you understand the difference between how production methods relate to quality and price paid.
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AWS Wine & Travel
The Charleston Food & Wine Festival
By Gregory D. McCluney

Held March 4-7th, 2010, the Charleston Food & Wine Festival has been entertaining people for five years. They have an impressive line-up of internationally-recognized Chefs, local superstars (Kevin Gillespie, Eli Kirshtein, Anne Quatrano, Linton Hopkins, Richard Blais), and international wine professionals. >>> Read More on this "Treasure for Foodies"

World of Reds--High End Edition (50% Booked)
Tuesday, March 16th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructors: P. Kelly Wheeler

World of Reds takes guests through eight (8) wines, all RED, spanning the globe. ALL WINES WILL BE AT LEAST $60/BOTTLE RETAIL. These classes are great for gaining familiarity with new wines, as well as understanding how wine styles and selections are impacted by region and climate. >>>> More Info

For Beginners ONLY (9 Seats Open)
Thursday, March 18th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: P. Kelly Wheeler

Sure you can drink it, but can you pair it? Can you speak it? Come to terms with it in a special tasting that helps you express yourself in the world of wines. Don't be left standing there holding the bottle--get more confidence and find more pleasure in every sip.

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The Big FOUR (25% Booked)
Tuesday, March 23rd (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

The Big Four account for over 3/4 of the world's wine. You may like an Australian Shiraz, or a Chilean Cabernet once in awhile, but what the world is drinking most of the time is Italian, French, Spanish or American (Californian). >>>> More Info

Introduction to Wine, Level II (SOLD OUT)
Thursday, March 25th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructor: Michael Bryan

This four-class course builds on Level I, now it's time to understand what makes a great wine great, how to assess the aging potential on a wine, how to analyze older wines, and understand food & wine pairing. Level I is NOT a prerequisite, but call our office to discuss to ensure this is the right level for you.
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Introduction to Wine, Level I (25% Booked)
Monday, March 29th (AWS Wine Room, Roswell)
Instructors: Multiple

Spiral-bound book & tasting guide, riveting interactive lectures, and six to twelve wines to taste per class. This course takes the wine curious and creates wine enthusiasts! >>>> More Info

• A Taste…for Boys & Girls Clubs
  Tickets are now on sale for a wine tasting to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta – DeKalb County. Come raise your glass on April 17, 2010 at a wine tasting, auction and raffle benefiting the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta -DeKalb County. The evening will feature wine tastings from Quivira, Tandem, Torbreck, Silver Oak Cellars, Niner Wine Estates, Maroon Wines among others; an auction including wines and a Napa Valley getaway; a raffle for wine and fine dining packages; live music and more! >>> Learn more and purchase tickets online.
• Earthquake Rocks Chilean Wine Industry
  Chile's wine industry was not spared from the effects of the devastating 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the southern part of the country early Saturday morning. Wineries in both the Curicу and Maule valleys, which are not far from the epicenter, were especially hard hit, and wineries further north in Rapel and Maipo also reported damage. >>> More
• Three "Hometown Boys" Advance to the TOP Sommelier Area Competition Level
  Three wine experts from Atlanta’s restaurant and beverage trade have received top scores in the on-line preliminaries of The US Sommelier Championship and have qualified to move on to the TOP|SOMM Area Competitions. Christopher Gaither of Restaurant Eugene, Eric Crane of Empire Distributors, and Matthew Olson of Eric Solomon Selections will join a total group of 50 advancing to the next stage of competition. >>> More Information
• Paul Dolan Video on Organics/Biodynamics
  There is a growing interest in the steps involved in growing grapes--growing them the way people did over a century ago. Here is a Youtube video on Paul Dolan, one of the thought-leaders behind organic growing and the agricultural philosophy of biobynamics. >>>Check out the video
• The French Don't Just Eat Well, Their Appreciation of Food Begins Very Early in Life
  Do you have children of school age? If you are not packing their lunch everyday, relying on the school to provide their meals, then what is the school feeding them? Do you have ANY IDEA? Want a clue how America is so obese, and how the "French Paradox" might work? >>> Read On
• Want to Influence People's Perception of Wine Tastes & Flavors? Change Your Light Bulbs
  Recent research contends that lighting can influence both how wine tastes and how much consumers are willing to pay for it. “Ambient Lighting Modifies the Flavor of Wine,” details conclusions from three German experiments in which more than 500 people tasted Riesling wines under different lighting conditions. >>>More

Jane's Monthly Dozen: Sparkling Wine
by Jane Garvey

In January 1981 on the night Iran released the American diplomat hostages, I decided to open something bubbly to celebrate. My mother-in-law wanted no part of it, but I said she just had to have some to mark the occasion. She made a face, then dutifully put the flute to her lips and brought the glass down to the table quickly. I had to watch out of the corner of my eye, because I was about to chuckle, as the glass slowly returned to her lips and then again slowly to its spot on the table. The business repeated twice more and then she said: "Oh, is that was it’s supposed to taste like?"

That did me in. I couldn’t help chuckling out loud. Score another convert, and this one was not easily convinced. What's more, I did it NOT with a Champagne, but with a very inexpensive Loire sparkler, albeit one made by a great house: The Bouvet Brut from Taittinger, then priced at about $8. Taittinger also provided her last taste of bubbles, a much appreciated sharing of the Comtes de Champagne. Its price is markedly higher, depending on the vintage, with the Brut Rose typically costing a bit more than the 100% Chardonnay-based Blanc de Blancs.

Located in Reims, Taittinger is one of the premier Champagne houses; its extraordinary cellars make a spectacular tour. They have been closed for renovation, but are slated to re-open March 8, 2010. Be sure to carry a wrap if you plan a tour as it’s cold down there, even in summer’s heat.

But not all that sparkles is Champagne. That term is reserved, including in France, for those wines that come from the Champagne region, just a short drive east of Paris. Other French bubblies may be called "Cremant," as in "Cremant de Loire," de Bourgogne, d’Alsace, and so forth. Taittinger won’t use the term "Champagne" on wines coming from its vaunted California operation, Domaine Carneros.

"Champagne" as a term denotes also a particular method of making sparkling wines, one in which a second fermentation occurring in the bottle results in the sparkle we’ve all come to love for celebrations. Other methods also create sparkling wine, such as the "charmat" or tank method in which the second fermentation occurs in a tank. To be sure of what you’re getting when you purchase a bottle, see that the label says “fermented in this bottle.” Other countries, to protect the Champagne brand, have agreed to replace it with terminology devised to denote the same method, specifically "cava" in Spain, "Cap Classique" in South Africa, and metodo tradizionale or metodo classico in Italy. For the moment, at least, we in the English-speaking world seem stuck with the rather dull "sparkling wine" moniker.

But although different from Champagne, other methods can craft splendid sparkling wines. For instance, when made sparkling, Prosecco relies on the charmat method, which means its second fermentation occurs in a large, pressurized tank. And that's established tradition. It also accounts for why "frizzante" Prosecco is less expensive than Champagne, but even within the genre, there are clear gradations in quality among producers. Some consumers--as one told me recently--don’t like Prosecco, but I suspect it’s because they haven’t tried a really good one. Moreover, Prosecco isn’t the sum total of Italian sparkling wines, as many are made in the traditional method.

Also traditional methods may be used with fruits besides classic V. vinifera, with red grapes as well as white, and with fruits other than grapes. Tracy Chesser of Chesser Island Winery (Gusto Brands) near Folkston (SE Georgia), not only produces a very tasty sparkler in the traditional manner from Muscadine grapes--as does Lakeridge Winery in Clermont, FL--but also makes a blueberry sparkling wine (Billy Bowlegs Blue) that tastes for all the world like a sparkling Shiraz from Australia.

Nearly all wine-producing regions are making sparkling wine in the traditional manner. In South America, Chile’s Valdivieso and Saurus (from Familia Schroeder in Patagonia) produce excellent examples of sparkling wine (both at New World Wines). Argentina’s Trapiche, a well-known producer, does a sparkling extra brut that sells in surrounding states but not in Georgia (Republic National, about $14). Germany’s Riesling-based “sekt” (pronounced "zeh-kt") and North Carolina’s Biltmore Estate “Chateau Biltmore” sparklers, made from estate-grown fruit, exemplify the reach of a wine style that, at its outset, was highly controversial only 200 years ago.
While Champagne pricing has bottomed in the mid-$30 range, other sparklers available at lower prices still provide fine quality. As you peruse the following choices, also look at last year’s bubbly column for some other ideas that still have validity. The article is in our archives, located specifically here.

Resolve to enjoy sparkling wines, including Champagnes, at all your wine occasions, not just for celebrations. Why limit oneself? Acquire some good glasses for the purpose--and these need not necessarily be flutes--and serve them at cool but not over chilled temperatures. Traditionally recommended serving temperatures of 45F/5C may well be too cold; they are for me. Recently attending a tasting of Champagne Henri Giraud (Prime), I was delighted when the presenter advocated a warmer serving temperature and used a white wine glass rather than a flute for his demonstration. (Maximilian Riedel makes flutes, but he doesn’t like them either and moreover advocates decanting Champagne!)

I like bubbles with everything. I’ve enjoyed it with barbecue, Asian fare, Mexican fare, pickled herring (Roederer Estate), Creole French onion soup (Roderer's Hermitage) and on and on. The week of March 4-7, I will attend the Charleston Wine & Food Festival, and drop in on a seminar entitled “Champagne & Charcuterie,” designed to challenge the business of pairing food and bubbles. I’m all set!