Wilson Creek Almond Flavored Champagne – tasting

I conducted my tasting of Wilson Creek’s Almond Flavored “Champagne” (sparkling wine) last evening. I had two bottles shipped from Temecula, California.  In a way, it was much as I expected. It came recommended from a friend, so I expected it to be somewhat competent. Its large bubbles belied its pedigree. Let me say first of all that I understand its appeal. It has an almost overwhelming buttery flavor, but lacks a certain complexity.  

 It’s a medium to full bodied wine. This type of sparkler can remind you that you are drinking wine. A full-bodied sparkler can cause you to notice the wine first and the bubbles become secondary (a nice afterthought). I love savoring a full bodied sparkler, and look for it in quality Champagne’s such as Montaudon’s Classe M.

That said I found it to be sweet. I don’t like sweet wines and if this is the proper dosage (it’s supposed to be a Brut) then almond flavoring causes it to taste sweeter than it is. This is a unique style and as we all know there are as many styles as there are sparklers. It’s just not my style. It seems to be made from a quality base wine and therein finds its redemptive quality. This for me is not an everyday sparkler. For me this is a nice change of pace wine, a novelty and nothing more.  I would suggest if you like this wine try Schramsberg’s blanc de blanc and let it warm a little in the glass.

Happy the society whose deepest divisions are ones of style – Peter Mckay

Sparkling wine-Wilson Creek Label

As I mentioned yesterday my Kenwood Almond Flavored Champagne arrived yesterday. I took the opportunity to read the label which I didn’t have buying it through the internet.  A short note on reading the label will indicate the method by which the bubbles were put into the wine. The quality of the sparklers I drink and prefer is through the traditional Champagne method. It ends up that my new Kenwood is using the less expensive method called Charmat. (See below) This is the method used to make Proseco, which produces less pressure and generally a lighter tasting wine. In addition, I do not like the fact that they use the word Champagne on their label. (As we all know, it cannot be called Champagne if it does not come from a 90,000 acre region of France by the same name). However, I will keep an open mind and also catalogue it for use (if good enough) for future recommendation for those looking for what I assume is going to be very different from a standard Champagne or quality sparkler. Perhaps in lieu of a Mimosa. Stand by.

There are four methods of sparkling wine production: First is simple injection of carbon dioxide (CO₂), the process used in soft drinks. The second is – Charmat process, in which the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bulk tanks, and is bottled under pressure.  The third method is the traditional method or methode champenoise. With this method the effervescence for more complex wines are produced by secondary fermentation in the bottle. As the name suggests, this is used for the production of Champagne and other quality sparkling wines. The fourth method is the “transfer method“. This method takes the cuvee to bottle for secondary fermentation, but then will transfer the wine out of the individual bottles into a larger tank after it has spent the desired amount of time on yeast.

Sparkling wine versus Champagne

I have long been an admirer of certain American Sparklers. There are those whom I have met that feel that they should not be admitted into the conversation with Champagne. This is just not the case. In an article I wrote for Charlotte Living Magazine in spring of 08, I announced the arrival of the first American Sparkler to score a 94 in the 07 blind tasting conducted by Wine Spectator Magazine. In that article I listed, those sparklers that I think make a product just as good as those from Champagne. I have since added one to the list but am always open and trying to find others. (Since then J Winery has come out with what they call their 20 Cuvee and it is spectacular).

Recently a friend of mine who has moved to San Diego came to town to tell me that he was a member of Wilson Creek winery in Temecula, California. He said he and his wife love a sparkler they make there that is almond flavored. Suffice it to say I am very skeptical, but I have two bottles arriving here this week. They list the cost at $16.99. This is very reasonable for a quality sparkler. Again we’ll see if it is.

A good example is that several weeks ago a good friend of mine went to a ritzy-ritz wedding here in Charlotte. The reception was held at a very nice country club and they were free pouring a sparkler. My friend knowing my level of interest took note of the label and passed it along to me. Obviously, the thought was that if these wealthy people thought it good enough for their daughter’s wedding it must be pretty good.

Fortunately we here in Charlotte have several Total Wine locations (discount retail wine stores) and I was able to go in and order two bottles of Kenwood Yulupa Cuvée Brut. The cost was very reasonable at $9.99 per, and therefore scary. It is made the traditional Champagne method so . . . . .

Well suffice it to say it sucked. You know with just about any sparkler you can hide its flaws by serving it very cold. Most low quality sparklers rely on that very thing.  This wine gives Champagne and quality sparklers a bad name. I discarded it after a glass and a half. The second glass I actually let the wine warm a little and that’s when the bad happened. I would not recommend this wine under any circumstance. It is extremely poor quality.

On the other hand, my Kenwood Almond Flavored Champagne has just arrived and I hope to have a review of it posted by next Monday.

Champagne “a matter of style”

Certified Wine Educator and Wine Expert Ed McCarthy who is a regular contributor to Wine Enthusiast, The Wine Journal and also coauthored four previous For Dummies  wine books has a great quote with regard to the best wine in the world.

He writes in his book Wine for Dummies (and I somewhat paraphrase) the following:

“I have a game I play with my wine aficionado friends, I ask; if you were stranded on a desert island and could only drink one type of wine for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To a person they all say Champagne.”

The reason for this, as someone who has drunk Champagne as an avocation is understandable.

Champagne and some of the quality sparklers offer the most contrast in styles available in a wine. Think for a moment, it is fermented twice to start with. This gives the wine maker twice as many opportunities to influence the final product. They can use any combination of still wine from three grapes (I will go into that later). The yeasts that the wine makers use, in the second fermentation, are varied and can impart different character to the finished product. Add to that the fact that they can age the second fermentation varying amounts of time, and you get a wine of limitless style. Champagnes can range from crisp and light to meaty and bold. A myriad of tasting notes from orange, wildflowers, toast, ginger, smoke, mushroom, herbs, pear, berries and brown bread.  The list of tasting notes while countless, can also include clean, white flowers, vanilla, toffee, lemon, lime, slightly spicy and tart. Since they are truly countless, I will stop trying to count them. The worst Champagne I ever had was great, but a real Champagne drinker will develop preferences like anything else.

I will never let my preference stand in the way of identifying a great style, but will rather put choices to the test with blind tastings. There is nothing I enjoy more than the feedback I get from testing different sparklers against each other in a blind. This serves to establish for me what I like to refer to as my crowd pleasers and generally only include non-vintages, as these tend to offer the best values in Champagne.

Champagne and Sparkling wine Expert

For years now I have been tasting dare I say drinking only Champagne and its cousins various sparkling wines.  I have been hired to do tastings for birthdays and recently a tasting for some realtors. The later I was working for a mortgage company promoting a particular real estate project. After reading everything I could get my hands on and drinking the same, I have come to the conclusion that I have some original thoughts on the subject, and have been convinced to do something about it.  I don’t know much about blogging but will try to write down my experiences with Champagne and Sparkling wines, along with my learned insights.

In my quest to try everything,  in an effort to find the best values, I am currently awaiting delivery of  two bottles of Wilson Creek (Almond flavored) Sparkling Wine from California.  A good friend of mine who moved to San Diego joined this winery and talked up this novelty wine.  Again I will try everything made in the traditional Champagne method. I don’t have very high hopes, but will drink it with an open mind. This time next week I should have a review.  My taste has become very elevated but hey I’ve drunk lots and lots of good Champagnes and sparklers. It’s like years ago when I started smoking cigars. A $3 cigar was just fine until someone gave me a $5 cigar. Those were great until I bought an $8 cigar, and so on.

Typically this can happen with just about anything. The term is called refinement. Our tastes can become more refined the longer we indulge in a particular thing. So now for many years I have studied and drunk many a bottle of  Champagne and sparkling wine.