One of the remarkable stories in California wine over the past five years has been the steady rise of the Gloria Ferrer Champagne Caves, the sparkling wine house on the Sonoma side of Carneros that is owned by Spain’s giant Freixenet wine company.
What is most remarkable is the striking difference between the Gloria Ferrer bubblies of today compared with its earliest efforts, which were competent but bland. The Gloria Ferrer wines of today (including its underrated pinot noirs, chardonnays and merlots) have verve and complexity, striking qualities that have made them increasingly popular on the wine competition circuit.
In recent years Gloria Ferrer has entered a number of different cuvees – Royal Cuvee, Carneros Cuvee, Blanc de Blancs, Va de Vi and Brut Rose – that have taken the top prize for sparkling wine at prestigious wine competitions.
The most recent triumph came in the first week of the new year, when it’s 2006 Blanc de Blancs ($28) was voted Best Sparkling wine at the 2012 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
Look for more of the same from Gloria Ferrer this year.
Over the next year you will no doubt hear a good deal from the growing and ever more vocal “Drink Local Wine Crowd” that seems to have its roots in Texas, where some of the local wines are actually pretty good.
I have no quarrel with the movement other than the underlying message that somehow it’s a betrayal of regional fidelity to enjoy a Cotes-du-Rhone from France or a juicy malbec from Argentina.
I wish the local vintners well, but if it’s not in the bottle, it’s not something I can support. Near where I live in San Diego there is one outstanding winery, Fallbrook, and about 30 others that range in quality from occasionally acceptable to barely mediocre.
I’m afraid I owe it to you, dear reader, not to steer you in the direction of bad wine. Try the local wines, yes. Embrace them only if they’re delivering the goods.
Expect wine prices to inch up this year as more people adjust to economic conditions and step out more often for the splurge wine purchase. I’m hearing that sales of wines priced at $20 to $40 – a category that was fairly dead a year ago – are on the move again, though we all know deals abound at every turn.
We’ll see how all of this pans out, but I’m kind of enjoying the boom in moderately priced wines, particularly in restaurants, where the sweet spot is holding steady at $30 to $50.
The backlash against wines that emphasize power and heft over elegance will gain momentum. It got a boost when the San Francisco Chronicle wine editor, Jon Bonne, selected Cathy Corsion as the Chron’s 2011 Winemaker of the Year.
Corison is a Napa Valley icon because of her magnificent Cabernet Sauvignons down through the years at Chappellet and now Corison Winery on Highway 29 in the heart of the valley. Choosing her as the year’s top winemaker is a serious statement, for her Cabs have always been about finesse, complexity, balance and elegance.
Corison held to her notion of what makes great Cabernet and never delved into the realm of the high-alcohol fruit bombs that play so well with some of the more prominent wine magazines.
I’ve tasted verticals of Corison Cab going back more than 10 years and the wines have aged splendidly, which I attribute to their impeccable balance.
The Chronicle wine section is closely watched throughout the California wine industry. Bonne’s admiration for the Corison style will not go unnoticed.
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