Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Subscribe10 Great Sparkling Wines You’ve Never Heard Of
by Joe Czerwinski
Around the holidays, there’s no better way to make a gathering special than to pour some sparkling wine. Just the appearance of a froth-topped flute is enough to energize a room. This season, don’t play it safe with the same old Champagnes and California sparkling wines, jazz up your parties with some of these offbeat selections.
 1. Blanquette de Limoux
Billed as the world’s oldest sparkling wine, Blanquette de Limoux comes from an out-of-the-way portion of southwest France. Containing at least 90% Mauzac–the region’s indigenous grape–it lacks the crisp, razor-edge acidity of Champagne, but offers soft, easy-drinking instead. Recommended producers: Saint-Hilaire, Sieur d’Arques, Antech-Limoux and Château Rives-Blanques. $10-20.
 2. Vin du Bugey Cerdon
It’s pink, off-dry and lightly sparkling. It’s also a throwback style of sparkling wine. The wine is bottled before it has finished fermenting, in what the French call méthode ancestrale. The yeasts continue to ferment any remaining sugar while the wine is in the bottle, generating the carbon dioxide that makes the wine sparkle. The cheerful, delicate strawberry fruit is best showcased as an apéritif. Recommended producers: Bottex, Renardat-Fâche. $15-20.
 3. FRV100
A fun win–say it in French to get the joke (eff-er-ve-cent)–from the Beaujolais region and the mind of Jean-Paul Brun. It’s sparkling Gamay made using the same méthode ancestrale as in the Jura’s Vin du Bugey Cerdon, with a similar result: frothy pink-purple bubbles ideal for a party. $20-25.
 4. Vouvray Mousseux
Made from Chenin Blanc, sparkling Vouvray is just another facet this versatile grape can express. Usually made in a brut style, with plenty of racy acidity for balance, these wines can age up to 20 years. But the variety’s hallmark hints of wet wool take on greater pungency with age, so if that doesn’t interest you, opt for young vintages. Recommended producers: Château Moncontour, Domaine Champalou, Domaine Huet L’Echansonne, Domaine Pichot. $12-25.
 5. Clairette de Die
Situated in a small offshoot of the Rhône Valley, this obscure appellation’s wines are soft, sweet sparklers comprised of at least 75% Muscat, with the remainder being Clairette. Serve them with lightly sweet, fruity desserts where their delicate floral aromas won’t be overwhelmed. Recommended producers: Caves Carod Frères, Cave Jaillance. $12-20.
 Think all of the 10 are going to be French? They probably could be, but here are some choices from other parts of the globe.
 6. Hillinger Secco
This delicately colored pink sparkler is made entirely from Pinot Noir, but Austria’s Leo Hillinger crafts it in a style reminiscent of Prosecco (hence the name). It’s soft and creamy, bursting with succulent fruit, and just barely off-dry, at 7 g/L of residual sugar (many bruts are technically sweeter). $16-24.
 7. Pelorus
Named after a locally famous dolphin, this is Cloudy Bay’s sparkling wine, a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Marlborough, on New Zealand’s South Island. It comes in both NV and vintage models, both of which can often be mistaken for Champagne in blind tastings. It’s not inexpensive, but it convincingly makes the point that New Zealand is capable of making some awfully good bubbly. Unfortunately, it’s only intermittently available in the U.S. $NA.
 8. Jansz
Tasmania, where Jansz is located, is becoming increasingly renowned for its cool-climate wines—the biggest problem in the U.S. is often availability. Because Jansz is owned by Yalumba, it has pretty good distribution in the U.S. The brut and the brut rosé are classically styled méthode Champenoise offerings crafted from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. I often find them a bit crisper than similarly priced California counterparts. $16-25.
 9. Gruet
Crossing the Pacific and heading inland, the Gruet family has been making méthode Champenoise wines in New Mexico for more than 20 years. The family is originally from Champagne, so they had a leg up in terms of their know-how, and that has translated into reliable Chardonnay- and Pinot Noir-based sparkling wines at reasonable prices. $14-46.
 10. Sakonnet
They make wine in Rhode Island? Yes—since 1975 in fact—and it’s a pretty good sparkling-wine house, although they also make a wide range of still wines. The entry-level sparkler is still called New England Champagne, which is like fingernails on a chalkboard, but it offers some toasty, yeasty notes and bright fruit. $15-30.
 11. Bordelet Poiré Granit
As a special bonus for those of you who’ve read this far–I’m told blogs are supposed to be short–here’s a sparkler made from pears, not grapes. Eric Bordelet’s Normandy ciders are legendary, and none more so than the Granit, made from the fruit of 300-year-old pear trees. In truth, it’s as vinous as any wine I’ve ever had–and is a sure stumper for your wine-geek friends in a blind tasting. $20.
Feel free to suggest more offbeat sparklers you’ve enjoyed in the past.
Filed under: Connoisseurship, Sparkling Wines, Wine Recommendations
13 Comments
13 Responses to “10 Great Sparkling Wines You’ve Never Heard Of”
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October 6th, 2010 at 12:34:02 PM
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Wine Enthusiast, Joe Czerwinski. Joe Czerwinski said: Latest blog: 10 Great but Unknown Sparklers http://bit.ly/cnpZDx [...]
October 6th, 2010 at 7:16:34 PM
Any reviews of the lovely Cremant d’Alsace?
October 7th, 2010 at 10:29:40 AM
Hi,
recently tried some pink moscato from De Bortoli in Australia. Loved it!
October 7th, 2010 at 11:37:21 AM
Thanks Joe, I can’t wait to try some of these. I’m always looking for affordable bubbles. My only comment is this… why wait for the holidays? Isn’t the fact that it’s Thursday reason enough for a glass of bubbles?
October 7th, 2010 at 11:39:47 AM
Thanks Joe, I’m always looking for reasonably priced bubbles. My only comment is this… why wait for the holidays? Isn’t the fact that it is Thursday reason enough for a glass of sparkling?
October 7th, 2010 at 3:44:30 PM
Great post. Taking it shopping tonight!
Thanks!
October 11th, 2010 at 11:46:50 AM
Okay…second attempt…hope it doesn’t double post…
I’ve actually had 6 of these and while I’ve not had Jansz, I have had Clover Hill and Taltarni Brut Tache from Tasmania.
I would also add: L. Mawby from Michigan (who makes 13 different sparkling wines from local and international varieties); Graham Beck from South Africa (I love their rosé and demi-sec best) and good Lambrusco (not from the big name everyone knows). I also look forward to the day when we can try some of the infamous sparkling wines being produced in England.
October 18th, 2010 at 7:16:26 AM
For another delicious sparkler from the South of France, try Cremant de Limoux from Gerard Bertrand. 60% Mauzac, 20% Chenin, 20% Chardonnay. Second fermentation in the bottle. Light, fresh, vintage dated (currently 2007) for less than $15.00, without the yeasty qualities of Champagne. Also available in a Rose. Super value!
October 18th, 2010 at 5:34:19 PM
First time to make a comment, but when I saw the name Gruet I had to speak out. For years we purchased Gruet faithfully and we enjoyed sharing it with our family and friends. That was until we had the opportunity to visit their tasting room. The staff in the tasting room were very rude, no one broke a smile and you had to ask them to stop their conversations with each other in order to get a pour. They had no knowledge of the wine and in a room with about 23 other people trying to get some service we headed out the door, and vowed never to purchase their wine again. Unfortunate!
October 19th, 2010 at 11:13:48 AM
Great article, wish I could find any of these at the local wineshop!
October 20th, 2010 at 10:45:50 AM
Thanks for all the comments. Sorry about the delay in getting them up–we had some technical difficulties.
@Rick Dickens: I’m not surprised these weren’t easy to come by. That was sort of the point. Maybe next time I’ll blog about “Palatable Mass Market Sparklers You Can Find Anywhere” One great way to locate hard-to-find wines is this site: http://www.wine-searcher.com
@Gregory: That is unfortunate, and if I had your experience, I would feel the same way. It goes to show how important customer service and personal relationships are in determining wine purchases.
@John Coco: Bertrand is a reliable producer; glad to hear they are selling their Crémant de Limoux here in the States.
@ Kevin Glowacki: Thanks for the Mawby and Graham Beck suggestions. I’ve had a Chapel Down sparkler from England that was pretty good.
@KelKeagy: Truth is, I’m not a huge sparkling wine drinker, so I need the excuse of an occasion to pop one open. But go ahead, Thursday’s as good a night as any!
@Janice: De Bortoli is bringing in a whole line of varietal sparkling wines under its Emeri line, including Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Moscato and the Pink Moscato you tried. It will be interesting to see if any of them catch on.
@Loup: I guess I consider Crémant d’Alsace to be too well known for this blog. It’s a big part of a feature story on Crémants in our December issue, along with Crémant de Bourgogne and Crémant de Loire.
October 25th, 2010 at 5:47:12 PM
A must try is Scharffenberger Cellars – Brut, Est 1981 from California’s Anderson Valley, Represented by Maisons Marques& Domaines Inc. Can be purchased at Fred Meyer or Costco for approx $15. This is not as dry as Bruts go but is very nice light in yeast and very sparkly.
December 1st, 2011 at 11:03:06 AM
talking about new sparkling wines…you should taste the italian spumante Luna y Sol , a real novelty, 100% Nero d’Avola grapes , white bubbles so excellent and at a fair price!