Sparkling Wines of California

Video Transcript

"Hi! I am Mark Middlebrook and I am here in the Paul Marcus Wines Cellar. And, in this segment I am going to talk about California sparkling wine. California sparkling wine is based on the French model of champagne. A few producers still, of California sparkling wine, still call their sparkling wine champagne. We do not do that in the wine industry because champagne comes from champagne. But, and fewer and fewer, especially the serious producers, do not use that name. They prefer to make distinction. That is partly true because many of the producers of the higher quality sparkling wine in California are, in fact, spin-offs or subsidiaries of French champagne houses and this is a good example of that. Roederer is a house, a champagne house in champagne that makes some very fine wines. And, Roederer Estate is their California sparkling wine operation. So, the Estate is the indication that you are getting a California sparkler rather than the deal from champagne. This particular wine is grown, the grapes are grown in the Anderson Valley, which is in the west end of the Anderson Valley, which is a cooler climate area. To make good sparkling wine, especially in the champagne style, you really need a cooler climate. Need grapes that do not ripen too much, retain good acidity. You need that really tangy character in the finished wine. And, if you have a really warm climate like the middle of Napa Valley or a hot part of Australia, generally the sparkling wines that are made out of that, champagne style from those regions do not work very well. So, when you are looking for California sparklers, I would suggest looking for some of the cooler climate areas along the coast. Or, Anderson Valley is a good place to look."