Sparkling Wine Archives - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

How Two Oakland Women Created A Million Dollar Wine Business During The Pandemic

When TheSipSociety.com co-founder and CEO, Erica Davis, realized that many wine marketing firms were targeting women of color as only drinking sweet wines, she became concerned. As an avid wine lover, especially of dry high-end Champagne, she wanted other women to be able to explore different sparkling wine styles in order to discover what they liked. The Sip Society Co-Founders: Erica Davis, CEO and Catherine Carter, COO, THE SIP SOCIETY & ROB WILLIAMSON “The way the wine industry was marketing didn’t work for us,” Davis reported in an online interview. “So we decided to create a space where people could [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2022-04-01T11:30:22-07:00April 1, 2022|

Celebrate Champagne Day This Friday with These Ideas!

This Friday (Oct 23) marks the 11th annual global Champagne Day. Besides sharing a bottle with family and friends, learning about the art of Champagne (see resources below), you can also try some delicious Champagne food pairings while playing a special Champagne playlist. Although it comes in a great variety, Champagne in general is surprisingly versatile to pair with different types of cuisines and tastes. Credit: Comite Champagne Know Your Dryness/Sweetness First, pay attention to the sweetness/dry scale of your Champagne. If you are serving more than one bottle, start with the driest, working up to the sweetest.The designations for [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T17:29:53-08:00October 21, 2020|

Breathless Winery Wins “Rising Wine Star Winery of the Year” Award

In less than 10 years since it opened, Breathless Wines has already won multiple awards, including the San Francisco Wine Competition, American Fine Wine Competition, Wine Enthusiast, among others. This time, it is awarded by LuxeSF, a luxury marketing organization, as their “Rising Wine Star Winery of The Year”, after a tough competition with 74 other nominations across 5 award categories, selected by a 14-person panel of respected industry veterans. Have you tried Breathless Wines yet? They are currently offering a special duo Blanc De Noir and Brut Rose pack at $60 including shipping this week until September 18. Better [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T17:33:57-08:00September 14, 2020|

A Legacy Sparkling with Personality

Hailing from a pioneer winemaking family in Napa, Paula Kornell is a Napa native who has seen the region’s rise from idyllic countryside to a world-renowned premium wine destination. Paula has acquired decades of experience throughout the wine industry, having held management positions at Mondavi, Phelps and other wineries. She has been a member of the Board of Napa Valley Vintners and served a term as its President, and has also chaired the famous Napa Wine Auction several times. Paula Kornell serving her wines at home. Meeting Paula Kornell and Tasting Her Very First Vintage Now, Paula is carrying on [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T17:35:43-08:00September 11, 2020|

A Breathless Experience: My First Time Breaking A Wine Bottle With a Saber

Have you seen a champagne or sparkling wine bottle being broken open with a saber? I have not, until I was very lucky to have a chance to try it at Breathless Wines, known for their traditional method (the original method for making Champagne) sparkling wine in Healdsburg when Dr. Thach and our group visited! What is Sabering? A saber is a type of sword with a curved blade associated with light cavalry in the early modern and Napoleonic periods. The technique of breaking open a champagne bottle using a saber, called “sabrage”, was popularized after the French Revolution, when [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:12:34-08:00July 28, 2020|

Not Just Your Average Canned Wine – Tips on Finding the Right One for You!

They are everywhere: from Trader Joe’s to online stores, pop-up bars to your friend’s party. Since Sofia Coppola’s pretty pink cans of blanc de blanc sparkling debuted in 2004, canned wines have exploded especially in the past few years. According to Nielsen, canned wine sales grew 69% year-on-year in 2018, and 79% in 2019. The variety is now diversified to seltzers, wine coolers offering “zero sugar” and “lower alcohol” options, even sake and more. Sofia Coppola's Brut Rose. The Case for Canned Although canned wines often have no vintage, specific AVA or vineyard, and are not meant to age like [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:33:05-08:00July 2, 2020|

Hey, I Want to Taste the Moscato in the Blue Can!

Just in time for summer, New Jersey-based Royal Wine Corp. is releasing one of America’s most popular Italian-imported Moscatos, Bartenura, in a new format of 8.5 ounce cans – about 1.7 glasses per can – in packs of 4. Bartenura was one of the first premium Moscatos in the U.S, with continuing growth every year since it was introduced in 1980s. Credit: Bartenura Refreshing Summer Drink With a refreshing with a hint of sweetness, slightly effervescent and relatively lower alcohol content of 5% ACV, Bartenura is a perfect summer drink. Royal Corp has been trying to find alternative packaging formats for Bartenura [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:33:56-08:00June 25, 2020|

Pink Prosecco is Coming in 2021!

Great news! If you enjoy Prosecco, a new “pink version” called Prosecco DOC Rosé will make a sparkling debut in 2021. This past week the Prosecco DOC’s trade Consortium announced the hallmark decision by the Italian National Wine Committee to finally approve introduction of Prosecco DOC Rosé after years of discussion. A Glass of Sparkling Pink Prosecco Rules for Producing Prosecco DOC Rosé While sparkling rosé wines are nothing new, Prosecco DOC wines, like Champagne, is a protected designation in which wines must follow strict regulations (such as percentage of grape varieties used and fermentation methods) to be labelled as [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:45:45-08:00June 2, 2020|

Prosecco Production Keeps Up With Growth Projections Amid Covid-19 Concerns

According to the Prosecco DOC Consortium, data from end of March showed that Prosecco DOC production quantities continue to meet expected demand to meet growth projections at least until the next harvest, despite current supply chain impacts of Covid-19. Available quantities ending April 1 amounted to at least 2,217,000 hectoliters, with an extra 550,000 hl in reserves from the 2019 vintage if demand increases. Vineyard in Prosecco Region Ongoing Challenges However, multiple challenges remain which the Consortium is closely monitoring. According to Stefano Zanette, President of Prosecco DOC Consortium, the 2020 harvest is expected to have lower than average fertility. Additionally, producers [...]

By Fiona Fang|2021-01-30T21:54:16-08:00May 15, 2020|

Learn About Champagne from the Experts – Free!

What do you think of when you hear “Champagne”? While the name is sometimes used generically for sparkling wine especially in the United States, Champagne only comes from Champagne, France. The name is actually protected by French statutes since 1887, with over 120 national jurisdictions today restricting the use of the name to sparkling wines exclusively produced from grapes in the French region and using the traditional method (méthode champenoise, also is a protected designation). Sparkling Glasses of Champagne. Photo Credit: Comité Champagne The Official Comité Champagne Behind its exclusivity and luxurious connotations, Champagne – both the wine and [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T19:48:18-08:00April 23, 2020|

What Dessert Pairs Best with Sparkling Wine? Korbel & Bianchi’s Provide Some Answers

Erica Mandl of Korbel Champagne Cellars For the last tasting of the semester at the SSU WineSense Club, we focused on a holiday theme of sparkling wine and dessert. The beautiful Erica Mandl, head winemaker at Korbel Champagne Cellars, led the tasting by introducing five different Korbel bubblies. These were matched to delectable desserts from the new bakery in Rohnert Park, Bianchi’s. How Sweet is Your Sparkling Wine? Erica cautioned that it was important to understand the level of residual sugar in a sparkling wine, in order to determine the type of dessert with which to pair it. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:10-08:00December 16, 2012|