Tastings

The Adami family purchased this vineyard in 1920 and some of the vines have now reached 100 years of age. Asciutto is an old local term meaning “dry,” in the sparkling-wine sense, and the wine carries up to 20 grams of residual sugar per liter, sweetness that amplifies flavors of lemon curd, mango, white peach and golden apple. Lemony acidity balances the fruit, and a cool streak of salinity brightens the finish. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Subtle flavors of tart kiwi and crisp green apple are tinged with notes of thyme and lemon basil. Tightly wound and infused with acidity, the austere flavors are balanced by a silky texture. This wine is built for the dinner table. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Scents of spearmint and sweet basil lead into flavors of lime, kiwi and green apple skin. The texture is silky, and the light sweetness amplifies the considerable fruit flavors while lively acidity freshens the finish. Those herbal notes may not be typical for prosecco, but this is an interesting and delicious sparkler. —S.J. Winebow, NY

This glossy rosé is 100 percent trepat, a local red grape, offering deep pink-fruit flavors of peach-around-the-pit and tart ruby-red grapefruit. Those fruit flavors feel substantial and firm, lasting along with soft, toasty lees. Chill it for langoustines. —J.G. Kobrand, Purchase, NY

Presented as a Cava-Joven, this gets the minimum allowed aging on its lees in bottle, keeping the ripe red fruit and edges of refreshing acidity at center stage. The wine has a dark, leesy character and lasting flavor—more of a winter sparkler for roast chicken. —J.G. Kysela Pere & Fils, Winchester, VA

Floral and minty, this takes a little time to show its fruit in the glass. As it fills out, it develops flavors of red-skinned cider apples and crunchy orchard fruit. Pour it on its own, or with brandada de bacalao. —J.G. Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA

This refreshing, easy-drinking prosecco offers flavors of white peach and golden apple with appealing hints of lemongrass. Its cool acidity and silky texture make it a versatile wine for appetizers and mild fish. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Vivid flavors of green apple, Asian pear and mango are amplified by this wine’s light sweetness, which is in harmony with refreshing acidity. A versatile wine, it can be enjoyed with fruit and cheese or on its own at a poolside or beach gathering. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

A hint of herbs lends pleasing complexity to the crushed-berry scent in this flavorful pét-nat. It’s creamy and fresh, with an irresistibly chewy texture. A lively wine for summer sipping. —P.J.C. (100 cases) 

Yellow-plum sweetness cushions this cool, refreshing Cava, the fruit ripeness coming through in a creamy texture. It finishes clean and soft, ready to chill for aperitifs. —J.G. Think Global, Santa Barbara, CA

This wine’s flinty salinity gives a smoky edge to its apple-skin bite and honeyed pear flavors. The finish shows more autolytic flavors, a firm, beeswaxy foundation. —C.W. Taub Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL

This is round and ripe, with a silky texture behind the fine bubbles. It has a vegetal sweetness, like roasted red peppers, that suggests a match with cheese biscuits or pimiento cheese and crackers. —T.Q.T. 

Clean and lemony, with mineral overtones reining in a moderate sweetness, this wine is pleasant and bright with a subdued mousse which makes it irresistibly gulpable. —P.J.C. (1,175 cases) 

A clean, brisk blend focused on pinot blanc and riesling, this slightly off-dry sparkler is as juicy as a ripe pear, with orchard fruit flavors that are round and pleasant in a crisp, mouthwatering finish. —P.J.C. (200 cases) 

Although entirely different from Adami’s other proseccos, this is the historical style that the family has been making since the early 1900s, albeit in small quantities. They pick the grapes late to allow more sugar to accumulate, which releases enough carbon dioxide during a second fermentation in bottle to make this a spumante. The lees are not disgorged, leaving a cloudy wine with flavors of bread crusts and toasted grains. Notes of creamy lemon peek through, but this wine is more about the texture and body than fruit, and will feel familiar to fans of unfiltered craft beer. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Scents of sweet strawberry and apple give way to a pinot-like, vinous mouthfeel—warm, creamy and round. For a deep chill and summer sipping. —P.J.C. 

This rosé comes from Elk Cove’s second winery venture highlighting value. A blend of chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling and pinot noir, it’s soft and crushable, with juicy cherry and peach scents and flavors that are all cherry juice. Perfect for a picnic. —P.J.C. (1,530 cases) 

A clean, floral Cava made with organically grown grapes, this wine’s pear flavors have touches of sweetness. Leesy and broad, it will take on pork schnitzel. —J.G. Kobrand, Purchase, NY

This pét-nat leads with a mildly sour scent and white-flower aromas. It’s very dry, with a firm tang. For Chinese takeout. —P.J.C. (100 cases) 

A simple Cava with primary grape flavors, this is mildly sweet and a little buzzy in its mousse. For birthday cake. —J.G. Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA

Lean and lifted, with a bright color and equally bright wheaty scent, this wine has melon flavors with sweet overtones. Chill ice cold for an afternoon sip. —P.J.C. 

The Roederer team in Champagne are rosé specialists, and they have brought their talents to bear on the fruit of their Anderson Valley estate, where Arnaud Weyrich makes this wine. It’s the sixth release since L’Ermitage Rosé was launched in 1999, a sparkler that gains its color from a small portion of pinot noir still wine, the grapes macerating through an extended cold soak, then finishing their fermentation off the skins to capture the fruit rather than the tannins. The 2013 is a mouthwatering wine, refreshingly brisk, integrating its delicate red fruit with savory-saline notes of green olive that add complexity. Graceful enough to enjoy on its own, it’s built as a wine for food—especially a main course, like lobster grilled in its shell. —J.G. (482 cases) 

Firm and angled, this pinot noir sparkler has a pleasant scent of brioche and caramel, with flavors of marzipan and green apple, and a texture marked by an appealing edge of sourness that keeps the wine nervous and bright. It still feels youthful and taut, for a firm whitefish, like barramundi. —P.J.C. (106 cases) 

Clean apple and pear scents carry straight through this wine, deepened by lees aging, brightened by racy, tart citrus notes that draw it into a pleasantly bitter finish. It’s a satisfying sparkler to serve with rich foods, like Japanese grilled eel. Or pour it with amberjack and Hamachi sashimi. —J.G. (3,649 cases) 

This unusual sparkling blend of marsanne and viognier really channels the marsanne, capturing the marzipan and honeyed, quincelike neutral breadth of that variety. The viognier brings a bouquet of summer flowers on the back end, providing some mild phenolic grip. rich and expansive; this is an unexpected pleasure to pour with popcorn shrimp. —P.J.C. (305 cases) 

A far-coast sparkling wine, this fruit grows in Annapolis, where it developed the ripe character of yellow plums and nectarines. There’s a gingery pallor to the finish, combining the spice of the acidity and the richness of the fruit, refreshing and well-knit. Pour it with salt-and-pepper crab. —J.G. (230 cases) 

Nine years from harvest, this wine has lost some of its precision even as it remains flavorful and compelling. It’s all toasted nuts and lemon-lime when first poured, the dried-apple flavors coming forward with air. After a day open, the wine becomes more concentrated, the fruit a bit pulpy in its richness. It needs seafood, like shrimp-and-spring-pea risotto. —P.J.C. (450 cases) 

A hint of herbs lends pleasing complexity to the crushed-berry scent in this flavorful pét-nat. It’s creamy and fresh, with an irresistibly chewy texture. A lively wine for summer sipping. —P.J.C. (100 cases) 

A long élevage, 48 months, gives this posh sparkling wine its nutty, toasty, Sherry-like intensity. Its reductive savor hangs over the glass like a cloud, only to relent with air, as flavors of pineapple, apple and brioche are framed by a tense, lemony overlay of acidity. After three days open, it became a creamier version of itself, suggesting a long cellar life. —P.J.C. (146 cases) 

You’ll find few sparkling wines drier and racier than the Pashey lineup from Trisaetum’s James Frey. This one is chardonnay from the Ribbon Ridge estate, and the wine is as lean as it gets, with lemon, apple, and breadcrust scents and lemony flavors marked by a live wire of citrusy acidity. The dryness exposes a mineral edge that’s ready for a plateau de fruits de mer. —P.J.C. (150 cases) 

This is an exuberant pinot-blanc sparkler with flinty, smoky mineral accents overlying an apple-blossom sweetness of perfume. It’s bursting with apple and white-plum flavors, lifted by the acidity. Simple and beautiful, it’s a poolside sparkler if there ever was one. —P.J.C. (125 cases) 

This 2015 rouses with a toasty caramel scent. That toastiness doesn’t linger, and instead the flavors take on a lemon-lime briskness that seems impossibly fresh and lively for a seven-year-old wine—it’s balanced, with a chewy give from the lees and oak elements. —P.J.C. 

Like the Blanc de Blancs above, this wine is dry and lean, with salty lemon-lime and breadcrust scents and a green-apple tartness. Sourced mostly from the Coast Range estate, it’s thrilling, texturally, with a razor’s edge of acidity for roast oysters Rockefeller. —P.J.C. (300 cases) 

Crisp apple fruit broadened by a subtle blonde-caramel sweetness gives some heft to this crémant, a blend of mostly chardonnay with some chenin and mauzac. Its energetic mousse helps to lighten the herbal flavors of thyme, sage and mint as they slowly shift into a lavender finish, the flavors lasting, making for leisurely sipping. —C.W. Jean-Claude Mas Imports, NY

Blended from equal parts chardonnay and chenin, this wine is richly fruited with flavors of Anjou pears, deepened by an oxidative edge. Nervy acidity keeps it all firm as the flavors resolve into floral-scented bruised apples—for late-summer or early-fall orchard outings. —C.W. Olema Wines, Calistoga, CA

This wine showcases the rich red fruit of cabernet franc, all Bing cherry and pomegranate. Immediately pleasurable, it remains softly textured as it opens up and draws your attention with a comforting, savory edge. It would be equally satisfying next to smashburgers and fries, or on its own, under the sun. —C.W. Olema Wines, Calistoga, CA

This wine’s flinty salinity gives a smoky edge to its apple-skin bite and honeyed pear flavors. The finish shows more autolytic flavors, a firm, beeswaxy foundation. —C.W. Taub Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL

A svelte sparkler, this is honed to a clean line of flavor, with lemony persistence and mineral clarity. Made in the same way as a Champagne, with a second fermentation in bottle, it develops a toasty warmth with time in the glass, the red-fruit flavors of pinot noir coming up alongside notes of biscuits and fresh cream. The balance between lean and rich makes it particularly addictive, not to mention flexible at the table. —T.Q.T. 

This sparkler feels regal in its golden-hued flavors, from notes of peach and russet apple to mushrooms and puff pastry—a complexity earned during six years on its lees. Citrusy energy keeps the wine feeling fresh, while the gentle bubbles give it a sense of nonchalant opulence. If you’re looking for a sprightly sparkling wine, look elsewhere; if you want sumptuous, toasty elegance to pour with dinner, this will do well. —T.Q.T. 

Light and dry, this pale-yellow sparkler has a crisp, appley crunch. It’s tart and mouthwatering, with a delicate floral note that adds elegance.—T.Q.T. 

Subtle and salty, this is a light, refreshing traditional-method sparkler with lots of tart cherry fruit. The herbal notes bring the pinot noir flavors extra freshness. —T.Q.T. 

This is round and ripe, with a silky texture behind the fine bubbles. It has a vegetal sweetness, like roasted red peppers, that suggests a match with cheese biscuits or pimiento cheese and crackers. —T.Q.T. 

The Adami family purchased this vineyard in 1920 and some of the vines have now reached 100 years of age. Asciutto is an old local term meaning “dry,” in the sparkling-wine sense, and the wine carries up to 20 grams of residual sugar per liter, sweetness that amplifies flavors of lemon curd, mango, white peach and golden apple. Lemony acidity balances the fruit, and a cool streak of salinity brightens the finish. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Hints of soft tarragon accent this wine’s flavors of white peach and melon. The texture is pure satin, the finish fresh and balanced. This is such a classy wine. —S.J. Baldocchino Fine Wines, Novato, CA

Subtle flavors of tart kiwi and crisp green apple are tinged with notes of thyme and lemon basil. Tightly wound and infused with acidity, the austere flavors are balanced by a silky texture. This wine is built for the dinner table. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Scents of spearmint and sweet basil lead into flavors of lime, kiwi and green apple skin. The texture is silky, and the light sweetness amplifies the considerable fruit flavors while lively acidity freshens the finish. Those herbal notes may not be typical for prosecco, but this is an interesting and delicious sparkler. —S.J. Winebow, NY

This refreshing, easy-drinking prosecco offers flavors of white peach and golden apple with appealing hints of lemongrass. Its cool acidity and silky texture make it a versatile wine for appetizers and mild fish. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

Vivid flavors of green apple, Asian pear and mango are amplified by this wine’s light sweetness, which is in harmony with refreshing acidity. A versatile wine, it can be enjoyed with fruit and cheese or on its own at a poolside or beach gathering. —S.J. Dalla Terra, Napa, CA

By adding monastrell from vines planted in 1974, Pepe Raventós turns this sparkling wine toward intriguing red fruit and roses. The pale ripeness of xarel-lo, parellada and macabeu underscore this wine’s depths of raspberry and pink grapefruit. It tastes clean and wholesome, with a cedary complexity in the end. It’s remarkably easy to drink, and you may find that the bottle goes very quickly. —J.G. Valkyrie Selections, Healdsburg, CA

The Raventós family discovered that the red variety they planted in 1974, believing it to be monastrell was, in fact, a local version of Rioja’s graciano. Pepe Raventós calls it bastardo negre and grows it in stony soils at a high point on the estate, alongside two other local varieties, the red sumoll and the pink-skinned xarel-lo vermell. He blends all three in this taut, rich sparkler, its elegant bubbles carrying fruit freshness up through the autolytic underpinnings. There’s a note of underripe peach, a savory taste of salted caramel, a lasting impression that’s mature and heady. Built for food, it would enliven a dinner of Dungeness crab. —J.G. Valkyrie Selections, Healdsburg, CA

This wine spends at least 40 months resting on its lees, in bottle, under cork. Riddled and disgorged by hand, it is finished without dosage, the age and care lending it richness and refinement. The fruit is markedly fresh for a seven-year-old wine, layering pale nectarine and the red blush of a peach over the fresh-nut scents of lees. A clean wine with a salty hint of the sea, this is ready for any raw shellfish. —J.G. Think Global, Santa Barbara, CA

This glossy rosé is 100 percent trepat, a local red grape, offering deep pink-fruit flavors of peach-around-the-pit and tart ruby-red grapefruit. Those fruit flavors feel substantial and firm, lasting along with soft, toasty lees. Chill it for langoustines. —J.G. Kobrand, Purchase, NY

Presented as a Cava-Joven, this gets the minimum allowed aging on its lees in bottle, keeping the ripe red fruit and edges of refreshing acidity at center stage. The wine has a dark, leesy character and lasting flavor—more of a winter sparkler for roast chicken. —J.G. Kysela Pere & Fils, Winchester, VA

Floral and minty, this takes a little time to show its fruit in the glass. As it fills out, it develops flavors of red-skinned cider apples and crunchy orchard fruit. Pour it on its own, or with brandada de bacalao. —J.G. Grapes of Spain, Lorton, VA

Yellow-plum sweetness cushions this cool, refreshing Cava, the fruit ripeness coming through in a creamy texture. It finishes clean and soft, ready to chill for aperitifs. —J.G. Think Global, Santa Barbara, CA