Champagne-Style Sparklers, Made in America

What always surprises me is how well Champagne pairs with ANY TYPE of food. No need to contemplate whether you should drink a white or a red, simply go with Champagne and it will work out just fine :-)

Long time listener, first time caller. Hi, Eric! I loved this tasting! I have grown to love sparkling wine through Eric's articles and a career in Restaurants. What a treat to explore 3 interesting American producers. Side note- ALL wine regions produce some cool sparklings, dig in and taste the terroir. Gruet had a dry palate that reminded me of a very good but basic sparkling. I kept thinking it would benefit from a kiss of Cassis. But it was delicious on it's own, especially at the Thanksgiving table with the second round! Made the turkey sing, veggie assortment pop. Liked it, would definitely get it's number and get a second date. The Schramsberg was my favorite. Killed in the first round of Thanksgiving with my first bites of the braised and roasted turkey skin. The hint of residual sugar reminded me of what I love in riesling sometimes. Just enough bring the grape, honeysuckle, touch of butter, and memories of a sweet kiss from a young loves flavored lip balm. And the smooth, oozy, sexy, tight bubbles on this one...in lust. Roederer, all around star. Such balance and poise for a lackluster first sip. It then opened up with every bite of the wide spread on the Thankgiving table and before with snacks. Sipped it pleasantly and got subtle notes of the toast, roundness, and beautiful blend of grape skin aromas balanced with a perfect bubble that was right in between the other two. I want to marry this one, ..and you know what...I think I will.

For the first time we tried the three wines blind. We decided to try them without food and vote for the favorite. We then tried each with popcorn, fried chicken and truffle fries and took a separate set of notes. The Schramsberg came in last. We found it coarse and relatively austere which tarnished any fruit it might possess. It presented itself as a non-food wine that might be good for a celebratory toast. For the price it seemed a disappointment. The Gruet, (which I had had at a family wedding a year ago in Santa Fe) was surprisingly good and did receive a vote or two as favorite. The pairing that worked here was with popcorn. This sparkler did have a graceful side to it. The Roederer Estate was our favorite. It was crisp and complex. It had pear and nut flavors that showed a lot of finesse. When paired with the truffle fries we had a domestic sparkler we could recommend to anyone with or without food. George Erdle – Harper’s Fine Dining – Charlotte, NC

I live in ABQ so I'm excited to see Gruet in the NYT. They have many worthwhile sparkling wines. The Blanc de Blancs just received a 93 point score from James Suckling and the Sauvage and Brut Rosé both received 91 points. Hopefully the NYT will highlight Sheehan Winery eventually; they have some lovely reds.

Just discovered Argyle - a wonderful sparkler from Oregon. Pinot & Chardonnay. Had it @ Thanksgiving & laying it in for our holiday party.

We love Gruet. Amazing quality for the price, better than Prosecco and just as good as many much more expensive Champagnes.

We first tasted Gruet sparkling wine at a café in Boulder, Colorado. Given the price we didn’t expect much, but we loved it. The Blanc de Noirs has been a mainstay for us ever since. It has a depth and aroma I don’t find in their brut, although it’s also quite good. Our guests are amazed: a New Mexico wine? Seriously? I think it stands up beautfully against vintage champagnes that cost several times as much.

We buy/drink about 100 bottles of Gruet a year. Tasty and affordable. Tastier than the Spanish canvas and cheaper than Napa bubblies.

At Naomi’s Wine School Meetup, the food was potluck and the focus was the wines themselves. I often feel unmoored tasting wine without food. However, there were some very perceptive palates at the table, with fine vocabularies. I found myself saying, “oh yeah, I get that” a lot. The Gruet was educational. It was nobody’s favorite (“too bubbly,” “like seltzer”) but our hostess pin-pointed a burnt toast note which, after she called it, I got first on the nose, and then, once identified, clear as a bell in the wine’s taste. Concentrating on it—I happen to like burnt toast—a tiny, welcome bit of caramelization crept in. Another at the table got “something like dusty tarragon” and the descriptions swarmed around vaguely green, herby (“just-peeled corn husks”) ashiness. It made sense to me. The Schramsberg was disappointing. Almost everyone enjoyed its nose and its delicate bubbles, but found its flavors (“honey,” “honeydew”) too sweet. I liked the Roederer more than most did. Maybe it’s a food wine? The consensus was “well done,” “uninspiring.” But I snuck a couple food pairings into the evening and greatly enjoyed the R with a bacon comté frittata and even with a brownie. The Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut was well-liked, after its initial, rank sulfur nose blew off. The night’s winner, though, was an extracurricular Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé, with a rich and generous nose, tiny disappearing bubbles, and berry and green apple fruit. Bet it’d make a great food wine, too!

Wine School may want to educate those who have posted here who clearly know a lot about wine but not as much about the law and have the incorrect belief that American wine makers are prohibited by law from calling their sparkling products "Champagne". France very much wishes this to be so and banned the use of the word in a treaty. But unfortunately for purists the U.S. said "non". Most American winemakers adhere to the practice though and go with "Methode Champenoise". But the law does NOT require this.

Schramsberg is excellent. I love their Brut rose' in particular. If you are ever in Napa take their cave tour, really beautiful. Roederer is also wonderful. I'm not a huge fan of the Gruet, it does remind me of a rough Spanish cava . Iron horse is probably my favorite. The views from their winery are amazing. It's long been the official champagne of the White House. Not it's not champagne ( although these are all made in the same style. There is a reason why California wines hold world class status. I enjoy old and new world wines. Just drink what you like.

Didn't have to work hard to get me to taste these wines. Purchased the Gruet and the Roederer. Because of their price, availability, and quality these are wines I drink a lot. We often take one to a BYOB, as we find them very versatile. They have been especially useful for tasting menus. However, it was nice to have the excuse to compare them simultaneously. We had them with a simple meal of baked salmon with rosemary and lemon,roast potatoes, and asparagus. To me, the Gruet tasted of yeast and butterscotch. It was fairly "strong" and perhaps a bit much for the salmon, but a good wine none the less. It went better with cheese the next day. The Roederer was more subtle with flavors of lemon, apricot, nice acidity, and complemented the salmon. This was my favorite but, to be fair, there wasn't much difference in enjoyability between the two. Both are great values in my opinion. When giving a party for a large group, Gruet is the choice. Fill a bathtub with ice and a case of Gruet and your guests will be happy, guaranteed. For a lighter meal or spring on the patio, pop open the Roederer. Aside to Eric: My wife loves the idea of sparkling wine and popcorn. I can see such a pairing is in my future. She also recommends Prosecco and potato chips. Best enjoyed during happy hour in Rome.

Have you ever left a wine store with a pricier wine than you planned going in? Have you ever enjoyed a lovely wine meal then tried to up it? Have you ever felt an urgent need to make parsnip pinwheels? Through a haphazard chain of events, Sunday dinner just had to be parsnip pinwheels tinyurl.com/w4vbeag , cornbread chicken pot pie and the Schramsberg blanc de blancs. To explain: after enjoying the Roederer so much last week (and even more so after Martin’s report), I had to try another mid-price sparkler. But come Sunday morning cook time, food bought and a $17 Chandon blanc de noirs in fridge, it dawned on me that all my pairing ideas were screaming chardonnay, not pinot noir. Rush online shopping showed an $18 Mumm bdb nearby, but in store the only bdb on hand was the Schramsberg, highly recommended, and priced. In my mind I tasted greatness. First sip was heavenly: soft, plush, disappear-in-your-mouth bubbles, yeasty apple flavors with, what? was that really a hint of sweet cherry? Drier than the Roederer, but certainly not too dry. It tasted like quality. But it was not the wine for this meal. As Martin said of the S (bdn), it’s “a different animal” from the mid-price R. It did best with the sweet apple and delicate flavors of the pinwheels. With the rustic cornbread pot pie, it had that ethereal, too-good-for-this-world champagne aloofness. Wished I were having the easier, earthlier R again, with its palate, as Martina helpfully noted, of pleasant, Sonoma-y oak.

Our family prefer Champagnes and certain US versions to most wines. And we are lucky to live in a town where Roederer Estate costs $22 (often $18 on sale) and Mumm Brut Prestige less. Sure the Champagnes are wonderful but the two above are also great.

Ok, so it GruET (like Claret), or Gruet (like Vouvray)?

I do not have a lot of experience with American methode champenoise, and I was able to find all three sparkling wines in the same store, so bought and tasted all three. I have had Gruet before in the rose' version and really liked it. I thought the Brut was extremely enjoyable - especially for the price point! The bubbles were the most coarse of the three wines and the flavors relatively singular. I wouldn't use the word "refined" to describe the wine - more like "everyday." This wine really reminded me of Cava. In fact, I was curious if Gruet was somehow linked to a Spanish family, given the very rooted Spanish history in New Mexico, and was surprised to see that there was a French family behind it. As people who most often drink Champagne or Franciacorta as classic method bubbles, we both most attracted to the Roederer, we thought it tasted most "old world," with finer bubbles and a finesse on the pallet, but a use of oak that reminded me of Sonoma (I found this pleasant). The Schramsberg was the most thought-provoking. The first day, the nose was very expressive, and the wine smelled like a rose', with raspberries and strawberries, but the pallet was very thing and flat. The second day, the nose was muted and the pallet was bursting with raspberries. I found this also to have the softest bubbles - I felt like I was like drinking a fluffy pillow! I would serve the Gruet at Thanksgiving - it had the crowd appeal and simple enough flavors to be a pan-pairing.

I would like to make a Cointreau Royale (pour 1 oz. of Cointreau in a flute, top with champagne). Would the quality of the sparkling wine matter much for this drink? Thanks

There are two wonderful Midwestern producers to look for as well: Mawby out of Suttons Bay, MI and Illinois Sparkling Co, in Utica, IL. Both have been at it for years, and thoughtfully so to best re-create the traditional Champagne method, in the Midwest.

This year on St. Martins Day we didn’t roast a goose. Instead we opened a bottle of Schramsberg 2015 and enjoyed it with butter seared sea scallops finished with dry Martini (https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019116-sauteed-scallops ) and butter popped popcorn with Irish cheddar. It was like a plush firework of tropical fruit, mango and peach, later pear and apple. Perfect how the tart fruit was counterpointing the buttery richness and sweetness of the scallops. Not your typical Champagne but we loved it. Bubbles moderate, wine graceful. Let’s do this again on New Years Eve. Roederer Estate had the most perfect bubbles of the three. It was more subtle, more introverted and to me the most Champagne like of the three wines. Lots of finesse and grace here. It was somewhat metallic with green apple and cinnamon notes. My liked the Schramsberg better but I think it is a different animal and deserves its own stage. We had the Gruet at several occasions. Lot’s of bubbles here they form a tall white foam head that quickly collapses. I was surprised how good it was. There were certain golden toasty and cinnamon qualities that you find in a real champagne. It was a great value, but it didn’t wow me. Best pairing was roast chicken stuffed with herbs (lavender, rosemary, thyme, sage all garden fresh) and cured lemon, second best was white cheddar popcorn.

Really? American sparklers "rarely receive much attention," says Mr. Asimov. Not here in California where I can find all three featured wines at every supermarket in every town across the state, and where they earn equal respect from wine writers as their European inspirations. The Roederer is among the best values in sparklers anywhere in the world, and the Schramsberg is a classic, notable as much for its long history as for its quality. I've always found Sonoma's Korbel Brut or Natural and Napa's Domaine Chandon's Brut NV better values than the Gruet. And yes, Sonoma's Iron Horse and Gloria Ferrer are making some of California's great bubblies as well. Not sure why East Coast drinkers have such a hard time appreciating the way California bubbly leans slightly more toward fruit than toast and mushrooms, but that's their loss. Salut.

Good Morning: Have tried multiple online searches regarding Gruet and labor practices. "Gruet Winery unfair labor practices" represents one example, "Gruet Winery difficult to vendors" another. So far, nothing. Can anyone tell me which keywords to use? Thanks in advance.

I have tried a number of sparklings from the Finger Lakes when I vacation there. Some, like the $25/bottle Bubbly Bantan from Rooster Hill are not bottled as "champagne." Most tend to be a bit sweet, but not all. The Pleasant Valley Wine Company (Hammondsport, Lake Keuka) bottles some under the ironic brand name of Great Western. I like the Burgandy Chanpagne, my wife prefers the sweetish Spumante Champagne. If you visit Watkins Glen, they have a tasting room by the harbor. If you taste tends towards the more expensive brands, I'm not sure you would like the Finger lakes variety. But I would think it's worth the trip if you're in the area.

I want to like American sparkling wines and every couple of years I do a blind tasting vs. Champagnes, especially with inexpensive brut Champagnes ($25-$30 range). And every time I find I don't like the American ones much. I don't think I've tried any from Oregon yet, though. And since I do like Oregon pinot noirs I'll see if I can find one to include next time.

Gruet is an adequate local sparkler. Multiple levels. Some quite good. Yet, they are known in New Mexico for unethical practices with workers and vendors. The Gruet family is well known in New Mexico to be difficult and vicious to employees, peers, vendors, and state regulators. Schramsberg, on the other hand, so lovely a wine and such fine and ethical people, as I have met them.

I have enjoyed Gruet for several years now. Love it with Thai and Indian cuisines especially. In Santa Fe we were able to enjoy their full line, which isn't as available in NJ.

Not a huge fan of bubbles and western fascination with "Brut" is puzzling a bit. We had Schramsberg with sushi (and then followed with Soave from summer wine school). Complex and somewhat on a nectar-y side which is my preference. Someone mentioned buttered toast here, seemingly spot on. Thank you Eric!

The Roederer is a favorite. It is a good value and it makes a nice host/hostess gift. We bought the other two to try. The Gruet was at Wegmans and the Schramsberg at Joe Canals. I think shrimp and sparkling wine combine nicely so I served Melissa Clark's Coconut-Lime Shrimp. The shrimp was so delicious I had trouble getting my husband to focus on the wine. The bubbles broke through the creaminess of the coconut milk and the lime went with the citrus flavors in the wine. The Schramsberg's bubbles were finer than the Gruet's. Why? Both wines were nicely balanced but the Schramsberg had more complexity. It made me think of buttered toast but still with the citrus fruit, too. I will definitely buy this one again. Yes, these wines are graceful. You know they take effort to make but they don't make the labor obvious. Like Goddesses dispensing beauty without showing what it took to achieve.

New York has produced some very nice sparkling wines too.

Here in the Midwest we have two sparkling wines that I would hold up to any around the US and even beyond. > Larry Mawby (Traverse City) has two lines (budget and premium) both lines are quite tasty. > Mark Wenzel of Illinois Sparkling Wine. It's hard for wine lovers to accept that great sparkling wines can be made with French American hybrid grapes but embracing the acidity of our cooler climate harvests is key to producing a good sparkling wine and both these wine makers are able to balance their wines to create a unique product.

Years ago while living near Orleans in the Loire Valley of France a doctor friend of mine recounted the story of a colleague who had just told a patient that she had a non-treatable and fatal .cancer. The very distraught woman slumped in her chair and after a long moment and in a pleading voice asked her doctor, " Isn't there anything to be done?" "Yes", the doctor replied. " You can drink a bottle of champagne every day for the rest of your life."

You definitely should have included some of our Oregon sparkling wines - amazing and delicious. Winderlea did their first this year, and oh boy I hope they continue - it's a beauty. I also enjoy Soter's sparkling rosé, and Argyle is always dependable.

Recently, I had the pleasure of trying the rose cremant Bellefleur de Haute-Serre (Georges Vigouroux). It had a beautiful aroma and some of the finer mousse bubbles my tongue has had the pleasure to know. Also of note for me is Laetitia Brut Rosé, which unfortunately has gone AWOL in Texas (a state that doesn't allow out-of-state distributor deliveries). Anyway, cheers.

Great article. Always have Gruet on standby in my house. I'd also really recommend sparkling wines from Laetitia, known for their Pinot Noirs and Sparkling wines in the Arroyo Grande Valley of the Central Coast. Their Brut Rosé is my favorite for sure.

I guess my question here is that since you specifically mentioned the fact that sparkling wines from France, Spain, and Germany are all exempt from the tariffs, why did you chose to feature a line up of all American sparkling wines?

Ordinary wine glasses are most definitely worse for sparkling wines than flutes.

Good Evening: Curious! Have enjoyed wines from all 3 producers, and already tried 2. Therefore went with the Gruet--have never had an American Sparkling Wine. Quiet dinner to end a quiet Sunday. Food: roast lemon chicken with Baharat spice blend; ratatouille; garlic bread with Brie; caper berries and olives; maple pecan pie for dessert. Music: my Cesaria Evora digital mixtape. Color: very pale yellow. Nose: melon, peach, lemon, yeasty, toasty. Taste: same as the nose, plus steely, mineral, orange peel, grapefruit. Soft bubbles. Decent finish, body and mouth feel. As it warmed, became a little sweet, but very pleasant. Food pairings. Excellent with the chicken; if you haven't used Baharat before, strongly recommend you give it a try. Very good with the garlic Brie bread. Good with the caper berries, only fair with the olives, not so good with the ratatouille (not a surprise). Biggest surprise: the maple pecan pie. Had replaced half of the corn syrup with maple syrup as an experiment--make that a triumphant experiment. Sparkling wine tends to do well with a lot of desserts, esp. cake, but did not expect it to go well with the pie. But they tasted good together, a lot of fun. Gruet and Cesaria Evora? Great combination; she was a sparkling singer, no pun intended (well, maybe). The Gruet proved a very good wine and an excellent value. Who else makes "American" appellation wines, bubbly, red, rose or white? Worth investigating!

Many, many thanks for encouraging words about sparklers. Where the wines are bubbly all day.

Saturday night we popped the cork on the end of Malbec month with a popcorn appetizer, garlicky, oily roast asparagus, a bacon cheddar quiche and the Roederer, a happy dinner indeed. Wasn’t sure what to expect. The American sparklers (“sham-pagnes”?) I’ve had up to now have been cheap party wines: some pleasant, none that I’d rush to taste again. Just from its price tag, the R had to be better than those. But even loftier Champagnes have often left me flat. “Bone-dry” is not my thing. And some are so refined and ethereal—the very quality that helps them “go with everything”—that they barely connect with anything. And I wondered about our cheddar quiche. Too horsey and rich for an untried, delicate bubbly? First sip was promising, with a fresh yeastiness, bits of citrus and green apple, and, thank goodness, that minimal hint of sweetness that my taste buds can’t be happy without. Barb echoed my thoughts: “I like that it’s not that dry.” Cold from the fridge, it did seem aloof. No problem with the popcorn, but it didn’t exactly marry either. As the meal progressed, though, and the wine got warmer, everything fell together. The wine gained some mineral heft that held up fine against the cheddar and the salty bacon. Best single pairing might have been the simple asparagus, but best of all was the quiet little exclamation mark the R tacked on to everything it came near. A “graceful” wine? Maybe more so in the manner of a gymnast than a ballerina… and all the happier for it.

Gruet is definitely one for the "How did I not know about that?!" file. You don't often see it on restaurant menus, but it's starting to appear more often. The Brut is excellent, and the price is right, even (usually) in a restaurant.

Gruet is and has been one of the great bargains produced here in the USA. Don't pass up an opportunity to visit them when in Albuquerque.