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Relax. Nothing shows sophistication like Champagne – if you can afford the product from the Champagne region of north of Paris, where the concept of sparkling wine originated. Lesson one: All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine can legally be called Champagne. Lesson two is that there is a broad array of delicious sparklers produced around the world that sell for a variety of prices, often much less than Champagne. You can broaden everyone’s palate by serving a sparkling wine they never experienced before. Here are some suggestions to help add a little effervescence – at a reasonable cost – to the last night of 2012. Haden Fig Pinot Noir from Oregon has a suggested retail price of $18 and tastes much better than other wines from the region that have a higher price tag. Trying to remember every wine I’ve tried this year is like attempting to remember every at-bat the Giants had at AT&T Park. Narrowing it down to wines I actually enjoyed is akin to detailing each one of Marco Scutaro’s hits — I know there were a lot, but I only remember a few. These five wines stick out: Viña Tabali Sauvignon Blanc, Talinay Coastal Limestone Vineyard, 2011 (Limari Valley, Chile) : My faith in Chilean sauvignon blanc has been restored. A departure from the canned peach-tasting renditions of yore, this wine from the coast is one of the best sauvignon blancs I’ve tried all year, New or Old World. It is like licking limestone. Massively minerally but with grapefruit, lime and fresh white peach, the mere thought of it makes me want to open a bottle. During the last 12 months, the St. Helena Star and Napa Vintners Tasting Panel met each month to review local wines in the Rudd Center at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. The panelists, mostly Napa Valley winemakers, judge a wide range of wines produced by the Napa Vintners’ 430 members. The panel started and ended 2012 by tasting and judging cabernet sauvignons of different vintages — very fitting, given that cabernet sauvignon is our signature red variety. In January, panelists found a lot to like from the 2008 vintage of cabernet sauvignon. The wines chosen for this tasting were all single vineyard wines. For those who love to taste the expression of a single vineyard location, names such as To Kalon, Dr. Crane, Stagecoach and Morisoli can conjure up great excitement. One of the first vineyard designated wines in Napa Valley was the 1966 Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, which proved to be so successful, the vineyard owners (Tom and Martha May) and the Heitz family continue their relationship today. (See sidebar for specific wines recommended from each tasting.) In December, a full crowd tasted and ranked wines that were labeled 100 percent cabernet sauvignon. Most of the panelists decided the designation “100 percent” cabernet sauvignon was not as important as singling out single-vineyard wines. The assessments on the wines were varied with panelists commenting on the lower alcohol levels in the 2008s, the ripeness of the 2009 wines, and appreciation for how the 2010s are developing. The most colorful response came from Jac Cole, winemaker at Spring Mountain Vineyard, when he spoke of the varietal wines overall, “They may be a little Disney in how Technicolor they are, but they are absolutely delightful.” In November the panel also gathered to taste and rank cabernet sauvignons, this time made from grapes grown on the hillsides. Matthew Mead / AP Sparkling wines work well with many food pairings, especially the rich offerings of the holiday table. Copyright 2012 The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Like Robert De Niro playing another mob wiseguy or quirky parent, or Jennifer Aniston in yet another romantic comedy, it's time for Champagne and sparkling wine to shed its typecasting. Dave DeSimone is a member of the American Wine Society. He can be heard daily on KQV Radio with the Wine Cellar reports. His Wine Cellar column appears Wednesdays in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. have only myself to blame. Instead of following the time-tested wisdom of shopping early for year-end sparkling wines, I waited — with predictable results. Depleted selection, a crowded store and harried clerks awaited me at the nearest PLCB Premium Collection store. One clerk even chastised me, rather than offering to assist, when I tried to help myself by using an in-store computer terminal to check available inventory.
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