
By Tom Marquardt And Patrick Darr
It feels like it’s been forever since French champagne producers first purchased land in Napa Valley to produce their own sparkling wine. Moet & Chandon were the pioneers of this endeavor in the 1970s, creating only a few bottles with the help of Trefethen winery. Nowadays, Domaine Chandon stands as one of the leading sparkling wine producers in the region, and other notable French vineyards including Taittinger and Mumm have joined them.
While Champagne is still considered the premier wine-growing region – and the only one allowed to use the eponymous name — there are more sparkling wine alternatives than ever.

More sparkling wine is available to consumers but with success has come noticeable price increases, especially in the California marketplace. The top Domaine Chandon cuvees, for instance, can cost $50 to $80. Domaine Carneros ranges from $40 to $125. Even Iron Horse sells for more than $50 a bottle. These prices are in the range of real champagne – Nicolas Feuillate, Pommery and Veuve-Cliquot can be purchased for less than $50 a bottle.
This lofty price range opened the door for Prosecco. Twenty or so years ago prosecco was the name of a grape and a relatively unknown sparkling wine from Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia in northeastern Italy. Modern EU labeling issues required the grape name to be changed to Glera. Today prosecco is the top-selling sparkling wine in the world, outselling the number two and three sparklers combined.
Make no mistake about it, there is a world of difference between prosecco and champagne. Prosecco is made in large tanks from a minimum of 85 percent Glera grapes. Also different is fermentation and where it is bottled. Champagne and Spanish cava are fermented in individual bottles in a process that requires much more labor and ultimately costs significantly more. The joy of prosecco is its simplicity — a fruity bubbly sparkling wine that tastes of apples and possibly peaches and perhaps a dollop of sweetness to balance out the glera’s acidity.

Prosecco rosé was approved and introduced to consumers in 2020. The formulation is straightforward: make a conventional prosecco, ferment twice as long for regular prosecco and add up to 15 percent pinot noir to create the appropriate pink hue.
We were curious to ascertain what differences, if any, we could detect between prosecco and prosecco Rosé aside from the color. So, we compared two widely available brands side by side. We also added the Valdo Numero 10, a higher quality vintage-dated prosecco made in the classic bottle fermented style from the prestigious Conegliano-Valdobbiadene region.
We tasted the Josh Prosecco DOC, a relatively new widely available prosecco from California-based Josh Cellars. The sparkling wine offered apple and pear notes with a hint of citrus. We then tasted a prosecco Rosé from Josh and a Valdo Prosecco Rosé to get a sense of their similarities and differences.
The Valdo Prosecco Rosé ($17) and Josh Prosecco Rosé ($15) were remarkably similar in texture and flavors, each presenting a slightly heavier weight in the mouth and a hint of cherries and berries. Try them with heavier food.
We also sampled the Valdo Numero 10 Method Classico Valdobbiadene Superiore 2019 ($33). This prosecco wanders outside the normal rules for prosecco. Although it only utilizes glera grapes, this sparkler is bottle fermented, vintage-dated, and only utilizes grapes from the prestigious Valdobbiadene DOCG. The result of this effort is a classy prosecco that begins to emulate some of the finer qualities of champagne with apple and pear notes and a distinctive yeasty element.
Champagne and prosecco aren’t the only sparkling wines.
Spanish cava is off-dry, inexpensive and easy to find. While Champagne and Napa Valley use the traditional grapes of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier, Spain draws blends from xarel-lo, parellada and Macabeo grapes. Big producers include Codorniu, Freixenet, and Segura Viudas.
When asked to compare, we advise people to follow their palates. We love champagne and have visited the region several times, but it’s too expensive to serve to a crowd. Few people will enjoy an expensive bottle served at a wedding or another large gathering where it is just a prop. Save expensive champagne for small, intimate parties where guests appreciate its finer character. Pour the prosecco and cava to crowds.
Here are a few suggestions to put a sparkle in your summer daze:

(Vivino)
Billecart-Salmon Nicolas Francois Brut 2008 ($240). Okay, we’re starting at the top. This is a wine to share with no more than one other person because it is that good. Exquisite, refined, and balanced first come to mind. Created in 1964 as a tribute to the founder, it is loaded with stone fruit and almond aromas to augment complex citrus and, fig and raspberry flavors.
Mumm Napa Brut Prestige ($22). Apple and raspberry notes with a dash of spice.
J Vineyards Cuvee 20 ($40). Very nice white peach notes with lemon and bread nuances.
Antica Fratta Franciacorta Essence Rosé ($30). Chardonnay and pinot noir grapes go into this sparkling wine from Italy. Nice red berry and stone fruit notes.
Banfi Rosa Regale Sparkling Rosé ($20). If you like sweet wines, especially those with bubbles, this a wine for you. Strawberry and raspberry notes.
Cleto Chiarli Brut de Noir Spumante Rosé ($16). Spumante gets a bad name because of all the misfits that are produced in this region of Italy, but there are many quality versions that appeal to consumers who want a bit of sweetness with their bubbles. Low in alcohol, it is a blend of Lambrusco grasparossa and pinot nero grapes. Bright red fruit character.
Cleto Chiarli Centenario Lambrusco de Modena DOC Amabile ($14). We remember drinking lambrusco in our younger days when it was the only affordable bubbly we could buy. But the cheap fizz reputation is a thing of the past as producers today have dialed back its sappy sweetness. This wine is still sweet, however, so buyer beware. But those who like their wines off-dry will be enjoying the fruitiness of Lambrusco.
Wine picks

Diatom Chardonnay Santa Barbara County 2021 ($21). A clean citrusy chardonnay with no overt oak influence. Only slight malolactic fermentation has created this lemony delight with a hint of ripe peach.
Calera Central Coast Chardonnay 2020 ($28). You would be hard-pressed to find a better value in chardonnay than this one. Although Calera makes an outstanding, complex chardonnay from its Mt. Harlan vineyard ($60), this one from Central Coast Vineyards delivers good bang for the buck. Orange, lemon and green apple notes dominate the profile. Good acidity makes it a perfect food wine. If you can spare the change, the Mt. Harlan chardonnay is spectacular with a special toasty character we loved.
Republished with permission
Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly wine column for more than 30 years. Additional Wine reviews on MoreAboutWine
All photos are randomly selected and do not indicate any preferred wine. Listed prices are subject to change and do not include tax or shipping.
You can send questions to Tom Marquardt marq1948@gmail.com
Always drink responsibly![/vc_message]
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components