Full Review

O Brien Vineyards

O Brien Vineyards
2020 Épicé Sparkling Wine, Gewurztraminer, Old Mission Peninsula

Pair this wine with:
Chicken

Category: Other Sparkling

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 11.9% RS: 1%
85 Points
Silver Medal
Highly Recommended
$40

O Brien Vineyards
2020 Épicé Sparkling Wine, Gewurztraminer, Old Mission Peninsula

Pair this wine with:
Chicken

Category: Other Sparkling

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 11.9% RS: 1%
Straw color. Aromas and flavors of peach and pear, citrus, and leather, and white flowers with a velvety, bright, spritzy, dryish light-to-medium body and a tingling, medium-length finish with notes of orange and peach slices, flintstone vitamins, and white flowers. A sparkling wine with strong citrus character and minerality.

Tasting Info

Wine Glass Style: Crisp & Lively
Aroma Aroma: peach and pear, citrus, and leather, and white flowers
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with notes of orange and peach slices, flintstone vitamins, and white flowers
Sweetness Sweetness: Dryish
Enjoy Enjoy: Now
Recipes Pairing: Oven Fried Chicken, Chicken Kebobs, Cobb Salad
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A sparkling wine with strong citrus character and minerality.

The Producer

OBrien Vineyards

The Producer

Other Sparkling

Wine Glass Champagne.jpg
Serve in a Champagne Flute
Sparkling wine covers many countries, grape types and quality levels. What all of these wines have in common are bubbles.

How the bubbles get there define the type and quality of the sparkling wine. The most famous sparkling wine of course is Champagne, from the eponymous region in France. These are made by what is known as the Champagne or "classic" method, where the secondary fermentation that produces the sparkle is done in an individual bottle. Other sparkling wines that use this method include Franciacorta and Alta Langa in Italy as well as Cava from Spain.

Other sparkling wines are made when the bubbles (or carbonation) is created in large tanks. While there are many inexpensive, simple sparkling wines made in this method, there are some excellent examples, most notably Prosecco.

Sparkling wines in many cases are meant to be drunk upon release, although the best examples of Champagne can age well for more than a decade. As sparkling wine is celebratory in nature, it is often used for toasting a special event, such as an anniversary or birthday. Yet the finest dry sparking wines work beautifully with a huge array of foods. These wines are arguably the finest food wines in the world.

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