Red, White, and Blue Bubbles

This weekend was my first ever 4 July celebration, bringing to life Bruce Springsteen songs and Tom Cruise movies. During the day I received many comments, sometimes amusing, on how it must be for a Brit to be in the US. As most of my family are Irish I don't really care, but I still enjoyed making fun of the Americans having to rely on the French to be free of the British.

I spent the evening of 4 July at my wife's family home in Chico watching a spectacular firework display, followed the next day by a tasting competition between a Champagne and a California sparkling. A couple of days later I tasted an English sparkling wine, all of which made for a red, white, and blue stand-off.

California

The wine was Schramsberg's 2011 Brut Rosé, a blend of Pinot Noir (61%) and Chardonnay (39%). Schramsberg have successfully carved out a niche for themselves as California's premier indigenous sparkling wine producer, challenged only by Iron Horse and J Vineyards (sadly recently bought out by Gallo). They make their wine in one of the hottest parts of Napa Valley - site of Jacob Schram's winery, one of Napa's earliest - but source their grapes from northern California's coolest regions, Carneros, Sonoma Coast, and Mendocino. Despite those cooler climates, the wines are most definitely Californian: fruit forward with a much lower acidity than a region such as Champagne.

Schramsberg have been making sparkling wine since the mid-1960s - their 1969 Blanc de Blancs was served at the Nixon-Mao summit in 1972 - but there's still a long way to go before their wines match those of Champagne. That balance of acidity, sugar, fruits, and autolytic aromas is a unique combination that is very difficult to find in California. So it was with the Brut Rosé: an onion skin colour, a full, yeasty nose with aromas of strawberries, and a sweetness on the palate that the acidity could not counter. ✪✪✪

France

What distinguishes Champagne from every other sparkling wine is acidity: this is such a cool region that acidity is just as about as high as it could be. Most, though not all, Champagne houses put their wine through malolactic fermentation to soften that acidity, though even then it's still often noticeably bracing. Gosset, however, are a producer who do not do any favours for the drinkers' palate: their wines are made without any malolactic fermentation whatsoever.

The Gosset wine we tasted was the Grand Rosé Brut ($85; 58% Chardonnay, 42% Pinot Noir, 8% red wine) and I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the acidity. That acidity was a key characteristic of the wine, but it was wonderfully integrated with the sweetness (9 g/L of residual sugar), the red fruit aromas, and the light autolytic aromas. This really was Champagne at its integrated, elegant best. As expensive as it is, California really didn't stand a chance. ✪✪✪✪✪

England

And then came along the English, as they often do. The English inadvertently invented Champagne by making it bubbly, but the very recent movement of English sparkling wine was led by two Americans, Stuart and Sandy Moss, who in 1996 founded Nyetimber, whose 2003 Classic Cuvée won best sparkling wine in the world in 2009. Nyetimber's success revolutionised the tiny English wine industry; whereas plantings had previously been dominated by hybrids and German clones, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are now the two most planted grapes. There are many things set in place for England to produce quality bubbles, with the soils the same as Champagne's and a climate getting gradually warmer. The main disadvantage is that making wine is very expensive, and there's a great deal of vintage variation.

The main attribute of English sparkling wine is that acidity is even higher than in Champagne: these are wines that benefit from some sweetness, which is currently unfashionable. Balance that acidity and English sparkling wine could be as great as any in the world.

The wine we tasted was Gusbourne's Brut Reserve 2008 ($30; 36% Chardonnay, 37% Pinot Noir, 27% Meunier). Unlike the Gosset, the wine has undergone full malolactic fermentation, giving a pleasant creaminess to the wine and ensuring a balanced acidity - residual sugar is 10g/L. This was a yeasty, brioche wine, not as subtle as Gosset, but with very attractive mature aromas of bruised apples. ✪✪✪✪

By dad has a saying: the French are arrogant, but they have a lot to be arrogant about. Gosset were founded in the 1500s, and although Champagne has changed greatly over the last four hundred years, the region still produces the world's best sparkling wine.

World Cup of Wine

The World Cup in Brazil has got off to a flying start: some great performances, controversial refereeing, and memorable upsets. I thought it would be fun to match some of the opening round of games with equivalent wine profiles, to see how the wines of different countries compare to each other and if they parallel the actual results.

Brazil v Croatia

Brazil: an emerging wine country that has to overcome very difficult conditions to produce quality wine. The wine-growing areas in the south of the country have a wet tropical climate, meaning that there is no winter in which the vines can rest. Some producers induce dormancy in the vines by pruning them after harvest; others encourage the vines to flower again, creating at least two harvests a year. Despite these less than ideal conditions, the reputation of Brazilian wine is slowly growing, though I am yet to be convinced. Red wines, as in neighbouring Uruguay, are often made from Tannat, but they are just too tannic, like chewing grape skins. The best wines are sparkling, from the Sierra Gaúcha area inland from Porto Alegre.

Campos de Cima Sparkling Brut 2011 (c.£20)

Made using the traditional method, giving it some bready complexity and flavours of sour apples, but rather one-dimensional with a short finish.

Croatia: a greater history of wine production, but one that suffered under communist rule in the twentieth century. With plenty of indigenous grapes, Croatia is certainly capable of producing very good wine that hopefully will attract interest as the industry grows and becomes more confident. The country's wine-growing areas are divided into two: inland, where the most interesting grape is perhaps Graševina as well as other international grapes such as Chardonnay, and coastal, where the potential for exciting reds is in Plavac Mali (also known as Primitivo and Zinfandel).

Golden Valley Graševina 2012 (£8.99)

Refreshing acidity, with stone and tropical fruits, and a very dry finish. Lacking complexity, but good structure to the wine.

Fred falling over

wine result a narrow victory from the developing yet distinct Croatia over the developing but disappointing Brazil. Brazil 0-1 Croatia

actual result a flattering victory for Brazil, helped greatly by a shocking refereeing performance and a dubious Croatian goalkeeper. With better performances from those two, the result could have been the same as the wine's. Brazil 3-1 Croatia

Chile v Australia

Chile: we may now think of Chile as an established wine country - and plantings date back to the 1500s - but the industry only really got going in the early 1990s, with significant plantings of international grape varieties. Chile's reputation is based on inexpensive, familiar wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Merlot, which makes it attractive to the regular customer; however, the flipside of this is that it has yet to establish itself as a producer of premium, high-quality wines. The influence of cooling Atlantic winds on this long, thin country ought to help the production of distinctive wines, but they are still few and far between.

Santa Rita Casa Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 (£23)

This is quite a sophisticated Cabernet, with 14 months in French oak giving the body real backbone and structure to the black fruit aromas. Like too many Chilean wines, blackcurrants rather boringly dominate - it would make sense to blend the Cabernet with other Bordeaux grapes.

Australia: plantings go back to the early 1800s, but, like Chile, Australia only really emerged on the international scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A hot country whose population and wine regions are all found along the coast, it too has gained a reputation for affordable, fun Shiraz and Chardonnay, but it's fighting to convince consumers of the quality of its premium products. There's no doubting that the best Australian wines are as good as any in the world.

Wynns Cabernet Sauvignon Coonawarra Estate 2007 (c.£16)

A very good value Cabernet Sauvignon from Australia's classic area for the grape, with blackcurrant, menthol, eucalyptus, cloves, and cedar aromas.

wine result Australia came through with class and value for money in a high-quality contest. Chile 2-3 Australia

actual result a surprisingly even and exciting contest on the field, Australia impressing against the much-fancied Chileans who finished off an engaging game with a late decider. Chile 3-1 Australia

England v Italy

England: the chalky hills of Kent and Sussex are almost identical to those of Champagne across the Channel and therefore ideal for the production of high-quality sparkling wine. The downside is that it's a very cool climate, which makes it difficult to make wine of desired quality on a regular basis. Production has only been in earnest since the 1990s, and it requires a significant financial investment that isn't guaranteed any returns.

Chapel Down Pinot Reserve 2008 (c.£25)

A blend of Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc that has spent five years ageing on its lees, this is a full-bodied bready, biscuity wine missing a touch of subtlety.

Andrea Pirlo, the world's classiest footballer

Italy: been making wine at all levels of quality for millenia, including sparkling wine. Since the 1960s, winemakers have been concentrating on the hills of Franciacorta in the north of Italy to make sparkling wine in the Champagne style - same methods, same grapes. The results have been wines of exceptional quality, but expensive and small production.

Bellavista Brut Cuvée NV (c.£30)

Subtle bready notes with a beautifully balanced acidity: a very classy wine.

wine result a match up of youthful promise against timeless class and sophistication. England 1-2 Italy

actual result a match up of youthful promise against timless class and sophistication. England 1-2 Italy

Germany v Portugal

Germany: like the national football team, Germany's wines divide opinion, with their flair and style overlooked. Germany produces some of the greatest, most complex white wines in the world, from dry to sweet Riesling. Some great Pinot Noir (Spätburgunder) comes out of the country too, particularly from Baden.

Meyer-Nakel Spätburgunder Rosé 2013 (c.£20)

This is a very classy, sophisticated rosé, with real depth of flavour. Like all good rosés, it has appealing, light red fruit flavours, but it has an added complexity with a spicy cinnamon character. A very good summer wine, on its own or with salad.  

Portugal: more famous for its fortified wines, Portugal has nevertheless been producing great - and great value - wines since the late 1980s when EU investment allowed modern wine-producing techniques to be introduced. Most wine is made from grapes unique to the country, making their wines distinctive and full of character.

Mateus Rosé NV (c.£5) 

a worldwide famous brand, known for its unusual bottle shape, Mateus was the rosé of choice in the 1970s. It's far less fashionable now, but nearly 2m cases a year are still sold. Despite its cheap, cheerful, unfashionable image, Mateus isn't that bad a wine: lightly sweet and sparkling, it's refreshing, balanced, and far more palatable than many popular white Zinfandels.

wine result a surprisingly strong performance from the Portuguese brand up against a small German producer, but the class of the Spätburgunder shone through. Germany 4-2 Portugal

actual result: a dominant performance from Germany, crushing a weak and ill-disciplined Portugal. Germany 4-0 Portugal

second round matches to be featured in the next blog: USA v Portugal, Spain v Chile, and Japan v Greece