🍷 NWR Weekly: Sparkling Rosé, the Story of SOFIA, and the Birth of a New Whisky Style

SMARTER SPARKLERS

Sparkling rosés can offer “superior complexity” to their still counterparts when done right, says Christy Canterbury MW. “A bottle-fermented wine that spends extra time marinating with the yeast lees that give the wine its bubbles will have more flavor than even some of the new-fangled, oak-fermented and oak-aged still rosés.” Among the helpful tidbits from Christy’s story:

• Brut Nature is trending upwards—we’ve got three bottles you should look out for. 

• Italy has created an entirely new denominazione: Prosecco Rosé DOC

• Most pink sparklers come in clear glass to show off their pretty colors. But this isn’t great for the wine, which can undergo an effect similar to beer skunk. So store these clear bottles in a dark place—don’t keep them in your refrigerator for too long

STAY ON BUDGET IN HEALDSBURG

Wine country isn’t for the faint of wallet. But Virginie Boone has lots of terrifically thrifty recommendations for visiting Healdsburg, including riverside slushies, a happy hour with $10 truffle fries, and a $25 estate flight at a historic tasting room.

If that doesn’t do it for you, ride a horse, rent a pontoon boat, or follow one of our many other high-quality/low-cost recommendations.

RESEARCH WILL PAY DIVIDENDS

NWR’s 2022 tasting brief from St. Émilion and Pomerol is here, and there’s much to behold. Though irrigation is generally forbidden in Pomerol, it was allowed this year due to the unusually dry weather. Unfortunately, by the time the decision was made, many grapes had already been lost. What to keep in mind about the vintage:

• Brand consultants pushed for extraction over infusion. “The same cellars also applied ample new oak, again per their consultants’ advice,” says Christy. “These two decisions indelibly marked those wines.”

• There are as many notes reading “better to taste this again once it is in bottle” and “wait for it to come around” as there are “it’s already delicious.” Revisiting these wines down the road will yield valuable insights—and help you buy more intelligently.

A TRAILBLAZER’S QUIXOTIC QUEST TO BRING JAPANESE RICE WHISKY TO AMERICA

Susannah Skiver Barton has the story of one man’s determination to create an entirely new category of whiskey.  

Several years ago, an importer pulled out an unlabeled bottle and gave Chris Uhde a taste of a rice-derived spirit that “tasted like 1970s tax-stamp bourbon.” Thus began Uhde’s long, maddening, but ultimately successful quest to bring koji whisky to the United States (alongside others who saw the potential in the Japanese spirit). The creation of this whiskey, and this whole category of whiskey, “sparked controversy and questioning about the nature of whisky itself.”

PINOT NOIR’S HIGH POINTS

“For a grape that already inspires heated discussions about its ability to exude a sense of place, the added dimension of altitude is a worthy way to expand your understanding of what Pinot Noir is capable of,” Virginie Boone writes in her report on high-elevation Pinot Noir.

SCOTCH LOVERS UNITE

“Susannah’s Scotch tasting brief includes peaty Islay releases, the world’s best-selling single malt scotch, a group of independently bottled single malts, and much more.

WHAT WE’RE DRINKING AND LIKING RIGHT NOW

✨ Virginie tasted the 2019 Penfolds Grange and (added bonus!) Brut Rosé collaboration between Penfolds and Champagne Thiénot

🧊  Brittany slurped a frozen negroni from a sunny sidewalk table at Capri Club in Eagle Rock

🐟  Susannah sipped the 2021 Couillard et Fils La Butte Sauvignon Blanc alongside a decadent truite au bleu

🌞  Christy says the 2017 Bachelet-Monnot Maranges Les Fussières Premier Cru is singing with summery, Pinot-y freshness

VALUES, BARGAINS AND FINDS*

• A single pot still Irish whiskey for less than New York City’s new congestion toll, or, $22.

• An Armenian Areni/Syrah/Sireni blend, grown partially on volcanic rock, for $15.

• A “definitive” unoaked Chardonnay for $16.

• The Coulon "Heri-Hodie,” Latin for “Yesterday-Today,” 1er Cru, Brut for $44.

*NWR is not compensated for the links in this section

AROUND THE WINE (AND WHISKEY) WORLD

📈 Market research shows steep growth for organic wine within the decade.

🏅  NYT’s Asimov asks: is Abariño the next great white wine? 

🛰️   NASA is working to spot grape disease from high up in the sky before it’s visible to the human eye.

Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Santé!

The NWR Editors

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