Champagne versus The World: Part IV..Champagne Brings Reinforcements!

Apparently more than 40 renowned chefs, sommeliers, and wine educators just sent an open letter to Congress, asking for the body to address mislabeling of wine bottles. Specifically, the labeling of American sparkling wine as Champagne, when it is not in fact Champagne. This somewhat contentious issue has been going on for five years now, since the U.S.-E.U. Wine Accords were signed in 2006. I know Congress has a reputation for dragging its feet, but that's rather amazing.

According to the Champagne Bureau, the region's trade group here in the States, 50% of sparkling wine sold in the United States is still mislabeled. The point of contention here is the use of Champagne on sparkling wine that isn't from the actual region of Champagne in France. In the brief press release that appeared in my inbox this morning, the Champagne Bureau also reported on other countries efforts to end mislabeling. Notably, Australia is going to phase out all mislabeled Champagne and Port by September 2011.

Why is the United States dragging its feet on this issue and perhaps more worrying, why is the wine industry in this country not voluntarily removing Champagne from its sparkling wines? I know a great many producers have ceased using the word, or never used it in the first place, but why does Korbel for example still insist on using it? Perhaps it's my cynical nature but the first word that flashed into my brain was "MONEY". The recognizable word carries certain connotations and those are great sales points for a sparkling wine.

A condition of the Wine Accords was the grandfather clause that allowed wineries who had been using Champagne on their labels for something like 20 years or more to continue using it. Wineries are hiding behind that clause five years later. I'll say right now: it's flat out unethical to use the word Champagne on a wine that isn't from Champagne.

Can you imagine the furor if all of a sudden, some cheap Italian or Languedoc wines start calling themselves "Napa Blend" or "Meritage"? In our litigious society, lawsuits would be filed faster than Charlie Sheen on a four day bender. Americans would cry foul, accusing European wine producers of playing off the good (great, even!) name of California wines in an effort to deceive customers and poison the world's water supply. Wait, I think I got my James Bond plot mixed up with my nefarious-mislabeled-wine plot.

Yet we have plenty of wineries here in the U.S. that continue to use Champagne, arguing that it's become synonymous in the consumer consciousness with sparkling wine. They're right, every day I get people asking for "Champagne" who then want something cheaper, i.e $5 versus the $20 that Champagnes start at. I think most consumers also know that real Champagne is French and if you tried to sell them something like "California Champagne", they would happily accept (because it's cheap, duh!) but might wonder how it's different than the French example.

Wine education is perhaps the key and the Champagne Bureau needs to understand that. I bet 99% of my friends and family have no clue who any of the over 40 wine professionals are that sent the letter to Congress. Yet out of all my wine drinking friends, I can easily state that more than 75% would love the opportunity to taste and compare Champagnes and other sparkling wines side by side, as well as learn more about why Champagne is unique. Therefore my question is this: how is the Champagne Bureau reaching out to local wine stores to encourage a consumer education campaign?

As for me, I'll buy sparkling wine and Champagne interchangeably depending on how much I want to spend at the moment. For my dollars, Cava from Spain is the supreme value sparkler and California delivers some outstanding sparkling wine at lower prices than Champagne producers charge. That might also be something the Champagne Bureau should look into...

Beau Carufel

Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava, Wonderful and Inexpensive!

 (img from http://www.blogyourwine.com)

Cava. Spanish sparkling wine made in the traditional method. Elaborating further, the "traditional method" means that the secondary fermentation (where the bubbles come from) takes place in the bottle. Said bottle is then aged, Spanish rules for Cava requiring a minimum of nine months. There is no "Cava" in Spain, the word means "cave" and refers to the caves which were (and still are) used to age Spanish wine, both sparkling and still.

Right now the demand for Cava is soaring, mainly because it delivers good quality at a great price. This compares to Champagne which often delivers good quality at a high to "OH MY GOD" price. The Cava I was sampled on has a new label, one that states this Cava is in no way related to the Cristal Champagne made by Louis Roederer. I can see how people would get confused, because the bottles look so similar and the difference in price is only $10 for the Jaume Serra and $250 for the Cristal. Still, the legal eagles at Roederer didn't want their brand's image sullied by a high-quality-just-not-expensive sparkling wine so they sued. And won, as it were.

The Cristalino Cava from Jaume Serra comes from fruit sourced via contracted local growers and the estate's own vineyards. Jaume Serra's roots go back to the 17th century, so they've been making wine for a long, long time. Within the Penedes region, the grapes Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo are used for Cava wine production. Penedes is in Catalonia, the region of Spain just south of Barcelona, the city which held those lovely Olympics back in the Summer of '92. Forget that I was nine years old, wasn't the original Dream Team cool?!

Have I held your attention until now? Hopefully the answer is yes, because now we get to talk about how the Cava tasted!

I chilled the Jaume Serra Cristalino in an ice bucket for about 30 minutes prior to opening, not because it helps me taste better but because I prefer my sparkling wines to be cold. In the glass, a pale golden color with medium bubbles, clear and looking delicious.

Clean citrus on the nose, like a faint whiff of lemon cream tarte and a bouquet of flowers. I admit that for a lot of us, smelling a sparkling wine and getting more than two or three main flavors is tough. Or it is just tough for me to do and I'm trying to feel less inadequate as a blogger. Take your pick! Back on topic, I liked the nose, a lot. There was no complex orange peel mixed with bread dough and hints of star anise there, just a lovely floral note and the citrus, for me lemon tarte.

I sipped a few times before jotting down my impressions, that often happens with sparkling wines because I like to let the effect of the bubbles dissipate a bit. This wine was creamy and rich across the front palate with a very nice finish, it is just dry enough to leave you wanting more but at the same that ripe, rich sensation gives the Cava some depth and complexity. Good interplay between the acidity and body, which I'd characterize as a yeasty note. That's a good thing by the way, something I really enjoy in sparkling wines.

So my conclusion was the Jaume Serra Cristalino is an accessible, very tasty Cava. I gave it a B+, strong BUY recommendation. For under $10, you can't get much better and I look forward to tasting more sparkling wines in 2011. I recommend this as a good accompaniment to those massive plates of holiday hors d'oeurves that are a common sight at holiday parties. If you're sipping this without the party, try pairing it with potato chips (I kid you not!) or..get ready for it..fish tacos! Seriously, I got a couple of fish tacos from the place up the street from me and it was wonderful! Just don't put spicy salsa on the tacos, try the green salsa.

This wine was received as a sample for review purposes.

Beau Carufel

Making Sense of Turkey Day Wines

Gobble effin' Gobble.

Thanksgiving seems to put a normally sane, rational person into a state of mental (and often physical) paralysis. My belief is the logistics of this oh-so-American holiday have become overwhelming because as we're so wont to do in this society, Thanksgiving MUST be a GIANT CELEBRATION!!!!


I must respectfully call b.s. Perhaps not even respectfully so. Those of you who are reading this and are considered the "wine expert" or "wine guy/girl" in your circle of friends know all too well that around this time of year, the "what wine should I pair with Thanksgiving" question creeps back to life like a zombie in Shaun of the Dead.

Lots of experts and "experts" will tell you all sorts of cool wines to pair with your Thanksgiving meal. Wine Hipsters, those smug denizens of New York City wine bars, trade tastings, and San Francisco restaurants will suggest off-beat, funky wines that you have no chance in hell of ever finding. Stuff from some random obscure producer in the Loire Valley that makes 2 barrels of amazing wine, of which somehow seven 3-packs make it to the States.

Even better, you can listen to the cacophony of voices espousing the "Natural Wine" way of life. Who doesn't want an un-sulfured 2010 Viognier/Pinot Blanc/Marsanne blend that's just come 2200 miles across America's highways while still fermenting? Yummy! Who needs racking and barrel aging when you have potholes and brake-checks?

My point is this: on Thanksgiving, simplify the wines you choose! Let's face it, is there any one, singular flavor you'll be assaulting your palate with on the Big Day? I doubt it, and therefore trying to pair a wine with each dish or opening that crazy/unique/rare bottle will get tiresome and frustrating. My advice is to pick three wines, and get multiple bottles of each one.

Here's my short-list:

1. Sparkling wine: This could be some delicious grower Champagne or some German Sekt, or even a cheap Cava. Of course, I personally prefer the dry flavors of a Brut Champagne but if YOU like sweet, go with sweet. Bubbles are the key, they'll keep your palate fresh while the alcohol will help you and your guests chill out a bit. Keep multiple bottles of whatever you pick on hand and serve it when guests start arriving, a nice mellow tone to start the night will lower your stress levels.

2. White wine: I'll get flack for this, Wine Hipsters will roll their eyes and bloggers will castigate me via Twitter, but I suggest a Fume Blanc/Pouilly-Fume or Riesling. Keep the white wine simple, chilled and accessible to all your guests. For the vast majority of people, the stress of wondering whether your special bottle of Norwegian Roussanne/Gewurztraminer will work with potatoes au gratin just isn't worth it. With the Fume Blanc or Pouilly-Fume, that nice kick of acidity that's been softened by a bit of oak will work with a lot of the veggie dishes and can stand up to some of the creamier sides. An off-dry Riesling will add some fun with it's sweet but light blend of flavors. If you cook a turkey that has herbs added, the pairing will work with that too.

3. Red wine: I can sense the sharpening of attack-talons now, the jeers are going to rain down..Or worse, this entry will get relegated to the "that guy's full of shit" blog heap. Pinot Noir or Zinfandel. Either of these will work beautifully provided they're well chosen. Since the average Thanksgiving guest cannot taste the difference between a $740 Grand Cru Burgundy and a $90 Willamette Valley Pinot, why even worry? Grab two or three bottles of something that costs about $40 a bottle and you'll be getting some delicious juice. For Zinfandel, try to avoid a jammy fruit-bomb from Paso Robles, instead check out some stuff from Mendocino or Sonoma Counties. $30-40 gets you a slam dunk Zin that stands up to the turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes yet doesn't leave you feeling like you just inhaled mixed-berry jam from Smuckers.

The Thanksgiving that most of us...no the vast majority of us will celebrate will have a mix of wine fans and those who drink it because there's alcohol in it and everyone else is doing it. We who love to explore wine need to realize this and accept it. There are 364 other days in the year to explore new and interesting wines, so calm down with the Thanksgiving madness, take a deep breath, and just enjoy the way wine brings people together.


No turkeys or zombies were harmed in the making of this blog.

Beau Carufel