There is never a shortage of reasons to open up a bottle of bubbly! This week we get to celebrate with a classic tradition (and of course a personal favorite), sparkling wine and New Year’s Eve. Read our guide to some of the iconic sparkling wine styles and regions around the world, and our recommended wines for New Year’s celebrations.
CHAMPAGNE
The Icon. Champagne is still the considered and recognized as some of the best sparkling wine in the world. The name and the wine itself is tied to celebration, luxury, and of course ringing in the New Year. Most Champagne is made of the following three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier (though several other grapes are permitted). The process to make Champagne, known as the Traditional Method, often exhibits toasty, brioche flavors in the wine. This method, in which the 2nd fermentation happens in each individual bottle, is also the hardest and most expensive way to make sparkling wine. This fact plus the prestige of the region is often reflected in the Champagne price tag, with Champagne wine prices starting around $40.
WARIS LARMANDIER RACINE DE TROIS - $64.99
This festive pink bubbly is one of our all-time favorites, no matter what time of year. Best to get two bottles though, or your host gift will be gone before you even walk out the door to the party.
LE MESNIL GRAND CRU CHAMPAGNE BRUT - $54.99
One of our favorite Champagnes returned just in time for the holidays! This Blanc de Blancs Champagne is impeccably well balanced and delicious. Notes of toast, green apple, and blossom linger on the palate with this nuanced bubbly.
MARC HEBRART CUVEE DE RESERVE BRUT - $69.99
Marc Hebrart has long been one of the favorite grower Champagnes here at F44. A pinot dominant blend that showcases notes of ripe apple and toast. An absolute treat.
CRÉMANT
Looking for a Champagne-style wine without the Champagne price? Look no further! Crémant is a category of French sparkling wines that are made using the same method as Champagne. There are eight different regions in France that make Crémant. The grapes grown in each region will be featured in that region’s sparkling wines. For example, Crémant de Bourgogne (Crémant from Burgundy) will be made with the key grapes of Burgundy: Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The styles of wine within this category can vary dramatically, but often there is a high value-quality ratio, making it a fun category to explore.
PAUL NICOLLE CRÉMANT DE BOURGOGNE EXTRA BRUT - $29.99
One of my all around favorite sparkling wines right now. 100% Pinot Noir. Rich and biscuity on the palate - the perfect celebration wine.
CHÂTEAU DU MAUNY CRÉMANT DE LOIRE - $19.99
This beautifully delicious and easy going bubbly is predominantly Chenin Blanc and shows notes of nectarine, baked apple and honey. One of the best sparkling wine values.
PROSECCO
Hailing from the Northeastern region of Italy, Prosecco is a fruitier expression of sparkling wine. It is made using the “Tank Method”, which is faster and less expensive than the Traditional Method which is reflected in the price of the wine. Prosecco is made with the aromatic white grape, Glera. Offering notes of melon, pear, and tropical fruits, Prosecco pairs excellently with a wide range of foods. It is a playful, delicious, and fresh style of wine that is meant to be drunk shortly after purchase! When unsure of what bubbles to bring to a party, Prosecco is always a safe bet.
CANTINA DI CARPI 'VIA EMILIA' BRUT - $14.99
Technically not Prosecco, but same method of production & you’re going to love it. Notes of meyer lemon, peach, and pineapple.
NINO ARDEVI EXTRA DRY - $16.99
A fresh and classic representation of Prosecco. Notes of pear, yellow apple, and a touch of blossom - with just the right amount of sweetness. Any leftover? New Year's day Mimosas!
CAVA
Spain’s answer to French Champagne. Cava mirrors some of the qualities of Champagne. It is made using the traditional method, it has similar aging requirements, and often showcases rich, toasty flavors. Cava, however, is predominantly made with three Spanish grapes: Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are allowed, but are still relatively minor grapes to the style). A major difference between Cava and Champagne is the price. High quality Reserva or even some Gran Reserva Cava is still half or a third of the price of Champagne!
AVINYO RESERVA BRUT - $22.99
Avinyo, one of my favorite Cava producers, continuously delivers on all of their wines. Their Reserva Brut is a steal - with notes of nectarine, ripe apple, honey, and a touch of baking spice.
RAVENTOS BLANC DE BLANCS BRUT - $29.99
Raventos, considered the "First Family of Cava", has long been one of the icons of Spanish sparkling wine. The Blanc de Blancs has zippy aromas of green apple, lemon, and Marcona Almonds.
RAVENTOS ROSÉ BRUT - $32.99
This might be my favorite sparkling rosé that we currently carry. It is elegant, yet complex - fresh, yet subtly toasty. If you are thinking rosé, choose this!
PÉT-NAT (PÉTILLANT-NATUREL)
As they say, “everything old is new again”. The original method for sparkling wine production that has become fashionable in the past decade or so, and has made quite the splash into the market recently. A few short years ago we had a handful of Pét-Nat wines and now we have an entire section from all over the world! Although “Pét-Nat” is a loosely defined term, wines labeled as such often (though not always) follow these general rules:
- Made using the Ancestral Method (part way through the first fermentation the wine is bottled and then the 1st fermentation finishes in the bottle resulting in carbonation)
- Bottled unfiltered/without disgorgement. Yes, there may be sediment or even chunks in your wine (yummmmm chunky wine…). It is harmless and will settle to the bottom of the bottle if undisturbed.
- Topped with a metal crown cap instead of the traditional sparkling wine cork.
- Often slightly lower in alcohol
- Less carbonation than traditional method sparkling wines like Champagne
Pét-Nats range in style from fresh and fruity to funky, sour, almost kombucha-like wines. The wines below fall more in line with the former.
MATIC 'MEA' ROSÉ PÉT-NAT - $24.99
This Slovenian Pet-Nat tastes like salted grapefruit and lemon zest. It's delicious, it's organically farmed, it has a stunning electric pink color, and playful packaging - it has it all!
IL MOSTRO RAGANA BIANCO PÉT-NAT - $24.99
The Il Mostro wines have been some of the most popular Pét-Nats since they arrived here a couple years ago. Certified organic, refreshing, and just tasty.
Pick up our house blend of 
Classes through WSET go beyond our public classes; think of these classes as a larger picture look at wine around the world, as opposed to the more focused, deep-diving topics that we cover in our public classes. Certification through WSET not only helps to inform you as a beverage consumer in what you like and why, but it also leads to enjoyment of libations on a more thoughtful level. 
WSET Level 1 is like baby step into the world of wine: think of this level as the elementary school level of wine; it’s the least intimidating of the four levels, and a great way to get the basics if you have really minimal knowledge around wine. Our first ever WSET Level 1 course is scheduled for January 28, 2023, and entails just one 6-hour in-person course, with the exam being completed at the end of the day. 
You can treat WSET Level 2 like high school – there’s more content to learn here, but it’s still not too intense of a course. You’ll expand more on what wines from certain regions taste like and begin diving into grape growing methods. You’ll also begin to taste wines deductively at this level, meaning tasting wines for their core flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel. WSET Level 2 is scheduled as a 3-day course, with class held once per week beginning February 5, 2023. 
At Level 3, you begin to explore wine at a more “college” level. Why do wines taste a certain way, what wine growing and production methods are used where and why, and so forth. At this level, the exam consists of multiple choice, essay questions, as well as a blind of two wines; it’s geared more towards those with a comfortable background in wine or those who have completed level 2. Our Level 3 course will be held once a week, from March 13th through May 29th of 2023. 
I admit that before my visit, I knew very little about these lakes. Located south of Lake Ontario, these 11 ‘finger’ lakes are the direct result of glacial activity some 2 million years ago. This activity, carved out long, narrow, deep lakes that stretch north to south like fingers reaching up to Lake Ontario. The extreme depth of these lakes (Seneca is 630 feet deep!) creates a moderating climatic influence on the vineyards of the region. This special lake effect helps make viticulture possible. 
Let me just start by saying that if you haven’t visited the museum before, you are truly missing out. The building was built in a Spanish Colonial-Revival style, with impressive arches inside and out, Romanesque windows, and stone carvings throughout the space. This dramatic architectural design can be explained by the fact that in a previous life, the building housed a church. Even with the soaring ceilings, though, the space makes for a surprisingly warm and cozy environment. 
Our first of the series will focus on Dr. Konstantin Frank, one of the most influential figures in North American wine. Russian-born and Ukraine-raised, Frank helped to shape the grapes and styles of Finger Lakes wines. If you’re looking to try domestic wines that are produced in a more European style, this class will be an eye opener for you! We’ll taste a flight of Finger Lakes wines while discovering the many ways his legacy impacted the domestic wine industry, what in the heck trockenbeerenauslese means, and why you should be drinking more East Coast wines, all while basking in the Museum’s gorgeous art collections. 
For our second class of the series, we’ll spotlight André Tchelistcheff — AKA “The Winemaker’s Winemaker.” This Russian-born winemaker helped to shape the wines of California and Washington as we know them today. Through his legacy of peer-mentorship as well as his development of some of today’s most widely used winemaking techniques, Tchelistcheff played a key role in establishing North America on the wine map. We’ll guide you through a variety of wineries that his influence directly touched, and learn how his role in the 1973 Judgement of Paris helped to positively change the trajectory of domestic wine.
The third class of the series focuses on one of the most ancient winemaking regions in the world: Georgia. After perusing the museum with a welcome beverage in hand, you’ll taste through a flight of Georgian wines in the main exhibition of the museum. We’ll explain how their generational wine techniques persevered through the Soviet era, what a Qvevri is (and how many people can fit inside the largest ones), and why fermenting wine underground leads to some of the most complex and interesting wines. 
We’re capping off the series with a bang! Champagne and Caviar. Need we say more? We’re taking more of an experiential approach for the final installment of our partnership with TMORA, leading you through a luxurious tasting experience of what is perhaps the world’s best food and wine pairing. Your ticket will get you samples of six of our favorite champagnes, accompanying small bites, and, of course, caviar (roughly 15g caviar for each guest). As you taste, you’ll learn about the history and production process of Champagne, and discover why it is such a magical pairing to this iconic delicacy. 
We’re partnering with MN local cider house Keepsake Cidery for this class, so you can expect some really incredible apple ferments from them, and we’ll be picking some of our favorite ancestral method sparkling wines to enjoy as well. We’re as much educators as we are event lovers at France 44, so you can still expect a 30-45 minute class to give you some info on what exactly a Pét-Nat is, why you should be drinking more cider, and what to eat with both. 
Afterwards, you’ll get to take control of your evening. We’ll have various picnic-style seating options available for you to cozy up at, and we will also be bundling up some of our favorite goodies to picnic with from the Cheese Shop for each group. Several stations of wine and cider samples will be available for you to peruse after the class as well. Ask us all of your burning questions and we’ll deep dive into all of the details of each wine and cider with you, or find your cozy corner and enjoy a beautiful evening with snacks, wine, and good company. 
Keepsake is a family run orchard, cidery, and tasting room that focuses on wild fermented (aka Pét-Nat) ciders. They are located in the beautiful Cannon Valley region in Dundas, MN. Nate and Tracy started their orchard out of a passion for farming, community, and nature. They bring these fundamentals to everything they do. The cider is a highlight that helps them showcase local farms in their tasting room, local restaurants in their Friday night cookouts during the summer, and the markets they host for local businesses through the year. When you drink their cider, you are drinking something that is part of a larger community dedicated to sustainability, family, and community. They can tell you where every apple they used comes from and give you background on why they chose that apple. Keepsake educates and entertains while you drink their cider and share the experience. At the class, you need to be sure to ask how many animals are currently at the orchard (natural pest control, natural fertilizer, etc.) and where the name Keepsake came from. The true heart of Keepsake comes out in the cider they make. Check out some of our current favorites!
