Sparkling Wines

The holidays are fast approaching as is the PWS Sparkling Wine event featuring wines from the United States and Europe that are unique and flavorful.  Come join us for this festive event on December 1^st and taste some new sparklers you’ll want to add to your repertoire.

We’ll start with one of the most unique wines we’re tasting, Aquilini Già Bella Brut Rose Red Mountain 2020, from Washington State’s prestigious Red Mountain AVA.  Even hardcore oenophiles have tasted few, if any, Cabernet-based sparkling wines.  This 100% Cabernet Sauvignon sparkling wine is so different that it’s worthy of standing on its own at the beginning of the evening. One might expect a Cabernet sparkling to be heavy but it’s not – it’s bright and lively and will start our evening off well.

The next two wines, both from Europe, will be paired with the first plate of hors d’oeuvres, the Spanish Cava and the Italian Prosecco.  Our Cava is from “one of Spain’s finest Cava producers” (Wine Advocate).  This flagship wine of Juvé & Camps is cellar-aged, organic and seeks to be Spain’s answer to champagne at a fraction of the cost.

The prosecco will not be your ordinary, “add to orange juice for a mimosa”, Prosecco.  As wine expert Kermit Lynch has said, “For most wine drinkers, “Prosecco” is a stand-in for a cold, crisp, sparkling white wine that should be pretty cheap. There’s nothing wrong with that desire, but there is such a large range of wines bearing the Prosecco DOC and DOCG that they are worthy of as much understanding and differentiation as any other style of wine.”  The prosecco poured at this event will be worthy of exploring; it will be neither ordinary nor cheap!

The Livio Sassetti Pertimali Prosecco Superiore Brut is a blend of 90% Glera, 10% Bianchetta from the Valdobbiadene DOCG.  The wines of Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG represent Italy’s highest-quality designation in the Prosecco category. For over a century, the Sassetti family has been cultivating some of the best vineyards in the area, thanks to the very favorable terroir.

For our middle wine pairing, we are in the southwest of the United States with a New Mexico produced Blanc de Noirs and a California champagne style brut from Anderson Valley.  Both are a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes and produced using the traditional method, méthode champenoise, but the Blanc de Noirs is predominantly Pinot Noir (75%) and the Anderson Valley sparkling wine is predominantly Chardonnay (60%).  It will be quite interesting to compare similar but different wines in this pairing.

The last pairing of wines are two wines from the same region of the Languedoc-Roussillon in southwest France – Limoux. However, the wines are very different.  One is a Crémant Rosé – similar in style to a Champagne rosé and based on Chardonnay blended with Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir – and the other a Blanquette de Limoux – an ancient style wine that was one of the first styles of sparkling wines ever produced.  The Blanquette de Limoux is 90% Mauzac, a white aromatic grape that ripens late permitting a slow initial fermentation with plenty of residual sugar to facilitate the natural second fermentation in the bottle the following spring.  Its name is derived from the French “blanc” meaning white because a fine white down grows on the bottom of the leaves so when the wind blows the vines look white.  Unless you’ve had a wine from Limoux, it’s unlikely you’ve tried a Mauzac-based wine so this should be a treat!

The wines:

Aquilini Già Bella Brut Rosé Red     Mountain 2020

Juvé & Camps Reserva de la Familia Gran Reserva 2017 Cava

Livio Sassetti Pertimali Prosecco Superiore Brut

Gruet Blanc de Noirs

Roederer Estate Brut Anderson    Valley

Gerard Bertrand An 825 Crémant de Limoux Brut Rosé 2020

Domaine Martinolles Le Berceau Blanquette de Limoux

Wines will be served with small plates prepared by the Hilton Culinary Team:

Halibut Fritter w/Red Pepper   Marmalade

Sweet Potato Latke and Grilled Shrimp Salad

Wild Mushroom Puff Pastry Tart w/ Caramelized Shallot & Truffle Aioli

Please inform us of allergies well in advance in reservation notes or email to the Treasurer

Don’t forget there is a door prize of wine flutes from Lehman Glass of Rheims, France for one lucky taster!

Deadline for reservations is November 28^th and our holiday sparkling events often sell out so don’t wait, sign up today!

      Member – $80

      Patron – $75

      Nonmember – $100

You may MAKE RESERVATIONS via the SHOPPE PAGE of this website.   Please note any food allergies EARLY in the notes section of your reservations or email the treasurer with concerns.