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5th Annual Sparkling Wine Tasting

Posted in: Bang for Your Buck, Bon Vivant, Events, Tried and Trues, Wine Facts, Wine Recommendations, Wine Reviews, Wine vocabulary, Wineries and Vineyards

So many bubbles…

I was lucky enough to recently attend Drink What you Like‘s 5th annual Virginia Sparkling Wine Blind Tasting.  A line up of 11 sparklers was presented to the tasting panel of 10 local winos at the very hospitable Tarara Winery in Leesburg, Virginia.

And if you were wondering, yes, there are worse ways to spend an afternoon!

3 sparkling winesThe event was straightforward- all dry blanc de blanc (chardonnay!), all bubbly, with a Virginia focus and a straightforward ranking system.

The rankings might be surprising to bubbly drinkers and champagne lovers, alike.

If you had told me several years ago that my focus would be so heavily focused on Virginia wines I would’ve dismissed the notion. However, even this Francophile was astonished when the ranking lineup was revealed!  Virginia offers some outstanding sparklers and surprising value.

Although the wines were primarily from Virginia, there were also examples of sparkling chardonnays from New York, California and France, as well.

The winning wines, ranked from left to right:

sparkling wine blind tasting ranking

Virginia took the top 4 spots!

1. Trump Blanc de Blanc (VA)
2. Green Hill Blanc de Blancs (VA)
3. Stone Tower 2009 Wild Boar (VA)
4. Boneyard Blanc de Blanc (VA)
5. Flat Rock Cellars, * (Niagara, NY)
5. Roederer Hermitate 2004 * (California)
7. Trump Reserve (VA)
8. Thibaut-Janisson Blanc de Blanc (VA)
9. FIZZ (VA)
10. Piper-Hidseck (Champagne, France)
11. Louis de Sasy Champagne (Champagne, France)

Sparkling wine against the backdrop of Tarara Winery

Sparkling wine against the backdrop of Tarara Winery

I was partial to the Trump sparklers, as well as the Roederer Hermitage- and when I refer back to my notes what really pushed these wines to the top for me was their more feminine, elegant and well-balanced qualities.

bubblyMost of the tasting panel was surprised at Trump’s placing so highly over the esteemed Thibaut-Jannisson, a self-professed favorite for most. However, the esteemed French winemakers take cues from Champagne, marrying the gold standard of bubbly production with the unique Virginia terroir.

As is true in most cases, much of the voting likely had to do with the day- a perfect 70 degrees with a light breeze.  Although I usually love the toasty, yeastiness of a true Champagne (the wine geek term for this quality is “Autolytic”), the first notes of spring had me craving something lighter.

The number one ranked wine is a superb value, ringing in at just $24, far less than the Piper-Hidsek, which typically runs between $40 and $50.  All this goes to show that even trained palettes don’t always pick the priciest bottle when drinking blind, and the day’s circumstances really can influence even the most ingrained preferences.

Do you drink Virginia Sparkling Wine? What’s your favorite?

cheers

 

(5) Comments

  1. I’m so envious! I’ve read about this event and would love to attend one day! It’s exciting to see that Stone Tower’s sparkling ranked so high. I have a bottle of it chilling right now. Thanks for the write up!

  2. Pingback: Guest Post on VAWIMP- Stone Tower Winery | Bon Vivant

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