Saturday, January 1, 2011

Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs to ring in 2011


How did you ring in the New Year? Dinner, a night of drinks with friends or maybe you just got home from your celebration in which case you need a nap because football heaven starts in just 3 short hours.

After an early dinner we chose to celebrate the new year at home (actually I celebrated as one of us headed to sleep due to having to work this morning) by opening a bottle of Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs. A wonderful tasty sparkling wine. Now I must know more about the winery and its production.

Known as the first sparkling wine house in Sonoma's Carneros region of California (one of my favorites), Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards was established in 1986. It was very interesting that Gloria Ferrer on a trip to the Carneros region, absolutely fell in love with the beauty of the scenery as it reminded her of her homeland Catalonia. Her dream of producing California wine became reality as Gloria, her husband Jose and their 2 sons found a home for Gloria Ferrer Caves and Vineyards in beautiful Carneros. Jose Ferrer who's family was well known in Spain for their excellent sparkling wine production, never forgot his father wish of one day making wonderful sparkling wine in NorthAmerica. Congratulations on reaching that dream from 70 years ago. Kudos as well to today's winemaking team of Bob Iantoska Director of Winemaking who has the title of of creating the most award winning sparkling wines than any other single winemaker, Steven Urberg Winemaker who joined in 2001 and Vineyard Manager Mike Crumly who has worked with Bob for over 25 years. You each have a special gift!

Just loved this sparkling wine. From the first sip to the last the wonderful berry flavor found in my favorite grape Pinot Noir was light and fruity. Combine that with the citrus of the Chardonnay and it was all complimented by a creamy vanilla finish. Perfect combination of flavor and bubbles! I brought in the new year in style with this awesome wine. Gloria Ferrer quotes on her website "For generations, my family has said, ‘When you serve sparkling wine, you are serving a smile." Couldn't agree more.

Cheers
Dan

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