Of course I adore Champagne, but I love lots of different bubblies. Decanter reported that Nyetimber from the UK beat out Champagnes like Bollinger and Louis Roederer in a competition in Italy. The contest was organized by an Italian wine magazine, so I'm not sure Nyetimber's potential ad revenue to the publication would be influencing their choice of winner. Not that a magazine would ever consider ad dollars when granting ratings.
Anyway, the winemaker for Nyetimber said that "'We don't pretend we taste the same as Champagne".
I happen to be out on the North Fork today, and I had a chance to taste Lenz's 2000 RD Brut and 2003 RD Brut. (Disclosure: I worked a harvest at Lenz.) Given the vagaries of the weather on the east end, I think sparkling wines are one of the best products of the region. The early harvest time (before the autumn rains) is ideal for sparkling wine, and the winemakers out there have all the same tools (barrel-fermentation during first fermentation, sur lie aging) everyone else in the world has, so with proper care (and storage space), wineries have a chance to make a very delicious, special product.
Did the Lenz bubblies taste like Champagne? No. They were a little more aggressive compared to an elegant Champagne. Were they interesting? Yes. Nine years sur lie (for the 2000 Brut) displayed layers of smokiness and including 30% barrel-fermented Chardonnay in the cuvee gave the wines a pretty apricot aroma.The 2003 Brut was lean & focused, with more traditional tree fruit aromas and yeast. The 2003 is 100% Pinot Noir.
I'm not saying that every cold, wet, marginal wine growing region should switch all production to sparkling wines. But I'm certainly willing to taste it.
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