Browsing Tag

Schramsberg

Sparkling Wine, Wine Reviews
Can Sparkling Wine Age? You Bet!

So as I looked in my wine fridge for a wine to bring to a holiday dinner, I discovered a bottle of Schramsberg Reserve sparkling wine from 1987. What a thrilling discovery – vintage bubbly! But I kind of worried too that I had aged it into a bottle of Napa Valley pinot noir vinegar. Both the front and back labels call it “Napa Valley Champagne.” Back in 1987, a gallon of gas cost 89 cents. The most popular car was the Ford Escort (MSRP $6,895). That was also the year that The Simpsons and FOX Broadcasting debuted and Prozac went on the market. I was barely old enough to drink legally. So much has changed in the past 26 years. Fortunately, well-made sparkling wine can wait. Once uncorked, the wine was a deep golden color with deep notes of golden apple, nuts, toast and Madeira wrapped in mouthwatering acidity.…
December 26, 2013
Food + Recipes, Shopping
Delicious Chocolate & Champagne Candies for Valentine’s Day

Probably because they’re both foods associated with indulgence and pleasure, people love to talk about eating chocolate while sipping champagne for Valentine’s Day. Know what that combo makes me think? Yuck! A typical brut champagne is far too acidic to pair with a sweet food like chocolate, so even your favorite champagne will taste tart and thin. And the wine does nothing to improve the flavor of the chocolate. It’s really a waste of both. Here’s how we can stop the madness: with chocolate truffles that are made with champagne! This way, the champagne lends brightness, fruit and a hint of luxury to the chocolate. If you’re feeling ambitious, it’s easy to make Chocolate-Champagne Truffles yourself with this recipe from Martha. She rolls hers in white sparkling sugar, but it would be fun to use different colors. But if you don’t fancy cleaning chocolate and sugar off your kitchen cabinets…
February 1, 2013
Sparkling Wine
Celebrate New Year’s Eve with the Best Bubbly of 2011

It’s hard to believe another year is coming to a close! As we get ready to welcome 2012, I can’t help but think back to all the delicious champagnes and sparkling wines I’ve enjoyed this year. Here’s some of the bubbly that I’d love to taste one more time as the calendar changes: NV Vouette et SorbÃ©e SaignÃ©e de SorbÃ©e I heard about this grower champagne house in the Aube from both Christine Dufault and Rajat Parr while interviewing them for a story this year. I was thrilled to get to taste the range at the Arlequin Champagne Tasting. Each of the wines had a singular quality; the Blanc de Argile is extremely lean and austere, while the SaignÃ©e de SorbÃ©e is a bold wine, extra-brut with flavors of plum, strawberry, minerals and smoke. About $88. NV Champagne Lanson Black Label I first tasted Champagne Lanson at the Grand Champagne…
December 31, 2011
Sparkling Wine
Beautiful Bubbly: Images from Napa, Sonoma & Mendocino

I know the summer seems a very long way off right now. So just for fun, I created this slide show of some of the places and people I visited this summer on my Bubbly Bar book tour. Maybe these pictures of wineries in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino will inspire your summer vacation plans this year. Cheers!
February 16, 2010
Bubbly Events
Love & Basketball: Behind the Bench, The Bubbly Girl & Schramsberg

Last weekend I went up to Beverly Hills to create a sparkling cocktail from The Bubbly Bar at a luncheon that included the wives of many professional basketball players and a few Hollywood celebrities. Behind the Bench is a non-profit charitable organization run by the wives of current and former NBA basketball players. This year’s festivities culminated in an awards luncheon that honored actress Angela Bassett and director Penny Marshall. Schramsberg’s Cremant was the featured wine at the luncheon staged at the hip and modern SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. A blend of Flora and Gewurztraminer grapes, the Schramsberg Cremant is a sweeter style known as a demi sec. The ladies sipped a cocktail from my book called the Stiletto, a subtly potent blend of Grand Marnier, Navan cognac and sparkling wine as an aperitif. Chef Nikki Shaw and DeShawn Snow formerly of Real Housewives of Atlanta were the co-emcees…
September 28, 2009