Naked Vine One-Hitter: Pas De Deux, a Wine Not Meant for Me

"The wine quickly gained an enthusiastic following, particularly with women who enjoyed its aromatic effervescence with a hint of sweetness and its year round quaffability."

OK, seriously -- what am I supposed to do with that?

Now, I'm never one to look a gift from the wine fairy in the mouth before putting it down my gullet, but it's clear that I'm not the target audience for this particular sparkler from Biltmore Estates called Pas de Deux. As I've written about in the past -- wineries market differently to women and men.

According to Leslie Sbrocco, author of "Wine for Women," women "look for the experience" in wine. "We think about who we're with, what we're eating," she said. "Women buy visually, paying attention to packaging. They look for a transition between day and night, work and play."

This is one of the few bottles of wine I've received (shoutout to Lisa Klinck-Shea at Folsom, by the way!) where the press release and shelf talkers concentrated more on the wine's packaging than on the flavor and winemaking process. Most releases generally don't discuss the "attractive floral palette" of the label and the "sophisticated foil treatments in hues of pink" that create an "overall effect that is contemporary, fun, and of high quality." 

I don't mean this as a rip on Pas de Deux. Shoppers picking out a bottle take less than a minute to decide on a wine, in general, and the label and bottle design weighs heavily on the decision for most wine drinkers. Let's just say that while I'm quite partial to pink wine, I'm not necessarily as likely to snag a ballet-themed wine, especially when the pairing recommendation is for "toasting the end of the work week or brunch with best friends -- and of course, chocolate-covered strawberries!"

The winemaker, Sharon Fenchak, was inspired to make this wine after spending some time in Prosecco country in the Veneto. She wanted to create a similar wine for Biltmore -- so, 10 years ago, she experimented with a methode champenoise-style sparkling wine using Muscat Canelli sourced from California instead of Prosecco grapes. The result was a wine called Pirouette, eventually renamed Pas de Deux. 

Anyhoo, what is this wine? Muscat Canelli is better known as the grape that Moscato comes from. Now, this isn't a bad thing in and of itself -- Moscato d'Asti is a favorite brunch wine of mine. But regular "Moscato" that's not sparkling is normally similar in flavor to a non-pink white zin. Needless to say, I was hoping for the former. 

Since there's a winemaker in North Carolina inspired by Prosecco, making wine from the same grape as Moscato, who carbonated the wine via a traditional French method, how'd it end up once it was chilled down? Like an amalgamation all of those things. Prosecco tends to be very dry and apple-flavored. Moscato (especially Moscato d'Asti) is somewhat sweet and peachy with a light carbonation. 

Pas de Deux reminded me of a more highly-carbonated Moscato. It's quite floral and pineappley on the nose. There are some strong peach, orange, and strawberry flavors that creamily wash over your tongue. I was reminded a little bit of a Dreamsicle. The bubbles are even and lasting. The finish is pretty sweet. 

We tried it alongside brunch, and I would have imagined it would have been good with something like fruit crepes. Honestly, it didn't do a lot for me. I'm not really into sweet wines at the moment, but if I did want something along these lines for a fruity brunch, I probably would have gone with either the original Prosecco or the Moscato d'Asti, rather than a fusion of the two.

For what it is, it's a pretty well put together wine. It's just not *my* well put together wine. Pas de Deux retails for $19.99, but I've seen it on sale recently for $13.99. 

Naked Vine Double Bubble -- Mumm Napa and Biltmore Estates

OK, folks – we’re coming down the home stretch to New Year’s. Do you have your sparkling wine for your big end-of-year bash? If you’re planning to spray bubbly all over your fellow partygoers, feel free to load up on Korbel and Asti Spumante. However, if you’re looking for something with a little more complexity and style, you can still find perfectly good bubbly without shelling out fifty bucks for Taittinger or Veuve Cliquot.

Thanks to the good folks at Folsom, I had the chance to preview a spread of sparklers in the $20-30 range, which in my opinion, works just fine for an end-of-year celebration.

First off, a pair from one of my favorite California sparkling producers, Mumm Napa:



Mumm Napa (NV) “Cuvee M” Napa Valley Sparkling Wine – I would certainly recommend this as a classy aperitif. The Cuvee M is a soft, slightly sweet sparkler that explodes on the palate with a rush of pear and peach, followed by a nice zingy acidity. The peach blossom bouquet is quite pretty, and it holds up all the way to the creamy, fruity finish. All in all, just a very pleasant, friendly, subtle wine that brought a smile to my face. The smile broadened when I tried this with some paté. Sparkling wine is usually good once you’ve “got a little fat in your mouth,” and this was no exception. If you’re doing a swanky party with a spread of nice appetizers, you’d be well-served to pop a bottle of this alongside.

Mumm Napa (NV) Napa Valley Brut Prestige – If the Cuvee M is the greeter, then the Brut Prestige is the dignified hostess, making sure everyone’s glass is filled, needs are met, and that all are having a good old time. “Elegant” is one of the terms I put down for this, and I found drinking this to be a lovely experience. The nose is full of ripe melon and bread yeast scents, which leads to a very tight, persistent “bead” (WineSpeak for “those wonderful bubbles”). Once you take a swallow of this wine, you can feel the bubbles tingling as they make their way tummyward. The melon and peach flavors transition to an expansively dry citrusy finish that’s just delicious. One of our traditions around here is bubbly with homemade pizza – and we had a bit of an odd one to pair: prosciutto, artichoke, roasted tomato, and olive on a thin crust with pesto. Not to fear – it went together like it was made to do so. Thumbs up.

Both the Mumm wines retail for around $22. Money well spent.

As you know, I love doing experiments with wine. And did ever I get a good setup with this pair of wine from the Biltmore Estate winery, which I’ve written about on a couple of other occasions. I’ve never had the opportunity to try two wines from the same producer, made in the same fashion with the same grape – except that the grapes were grown on opposite sides of the country. To wit:

• Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs 2009 Methode Champenoise Brut
• Biltmore Estate Blanc de Blancs 2010 Chateau Reserve Methode Champenoise North Carolina Brut

Both these sparklers are 100% Chardonnay. They’re made in the traditional “Methode Champenoise” style, which to review, works like this: After a wine has barrel-aged for what a winemaker deems a proper length of time, the wine is bottled with a little extra sugar and yeast and capped. The additional yeast and sugar causes fermentation -- but since the CO2 cannot escape, the bubbles are forced back into the wine, carbonating it. However, as most wine drinkers prefer a clear product, after the carbonation is complete and the wine has "rested on the lees" for an appropriate length of time (usually at least a year, the wine is “riddled.”

During riddling, the bottles are racked with the neck pointing downward about 45º. The yeast settles into the neck of the bottle. The bottles are turned a quarter turn every day or more often and the downward angle is increased. After a month or two, we are ready for the removal of the yeast or "dégorgement." At this stage, the neck of the bottle is plunged into a sub-freezing liquid, and the settled yeast freezes into a plug. When the plug is fully formed, the cap is removed and the carbonation forces the plug from the bottle. The bottle is then quickly corked and "caged." There are, of course, less expensive methods of bottling, but méthode champenoise tends to create the best quality of carbonation (meaning the tiniest, longest lasting bubbles) and flavor.

The differences? Well, one you can guess. One bottle is made of chardonnay grapes from the Biltmore’s North Carolina vineyards, while the other is sources from the Russian River Valley in California. The other difference is in aging. The California wine is aged in the bottle for 24-30 months before dégorgement. The North Carolina version ages for 12-16 months. Oh, also – the California one retails for around $25. The North Carolina is about a $30 bottle.

Side-by-side tasting, you ask? Absolutely. We cracked these at the same time and gave them a try. First impression? I expected the NC bubbly, as with most whites I’ve had from North Carolina, to be a little sweeter. Not so! This was a brut that earns its stripes. This wine is bone dry. As a refresher, when it comes to sparkling wine, the classifications from sweet to dry go: Doux, Demi-Sec, Sec, Extra Dry, and Brut. There’s actually a dryness level beyond Brut called “Brut Sauvage” – and the NC wine reminded me of one of those. There’s pineapple and apple and a nuttiness to go with the tight sparkle. It’s very refreshing.

The California Blanc de Blancs is still “brut,” but there’s more of a roundness to it. There’s more of a creamy yeastiness, along with a basketful of Granny Smith apple flavor. The bubbles are tight and firm with this wine as well. It’s much more of an elegant wine than its Carolina-based cousin. Both wines are quite good. It just depends on the mood you’re in.

Though we opened both, we decided that we’d save most of one bottle and have the other later (and if you don’t have a sparkling wine stopper – run, don’t walk, and get one). We decided to start with the NC bubbly. We had this with a smorgasbord of appetizers – bacon-wrapped scallops, liver pate, and creamy cheese with crackers – and it was simply delicious. Get a little fat in your mouth with this one and you’re golden.

The California sparkler we saved for one of the Sweet Partner in Crime’s homemade pizzas. I stand by my notion that pizza is second only to KFC as a perfect sparkling wine accompaniment. The pizza – with roasted tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, lots of garlic, and shredded parmesan couldn’t have made a better match for this wine. Delicious.

If you’re looking for some wines that fall into the “classy” range but you don’t want to break the bank – any of these four will do you. I am interested in seeing if North Carolina can consistently create sparkling wine like this, though. If they don’t take advantage of what seems to be good terroir, they’re missing a big opportunity.

(Thanks much to Michaela and Kate at Folsom & Associates for the samples.)

Back to the Biltmore

I’ve written about wines from Biltmore Estate Winery once before. Back in July, I went to a conference in Asheville, North Carolina – home of the aforementioned Biltmore Estate. When I returned from the trip, I found samples of their “Century Red” and “Century White” waiting on my doorstep. While I didn’t have a similar crossing of paths this time around, I recently snagged some samples of their “sweet sipping” collection.

One of these samples was my second go-round with the Century White. The others were a Riesling and a sparkling wine. I’ve not had much of a wine-related sweet tooth these days, but I was bound and determined to give them a fair shake. So, let’s take a little trip to Carolina in our minds. (Perhaps we can swing by the Dean E. Smith Center, where the wailings of demoralized UNC-CH fans still echo through the rafters a after their basketball teams’ twin weekend demolitions by the Devils from Durham…)

Biltmore Estate (NV) American Riesling – My favorite Rieslings are typically those from the French region of Alsace. Alsace Riesling typically has lots of minerality, light body, lean fruit, and a slight alkaline flavor in its dry finish. American and German Rieslings tend not to have those particular qualities, as they’re generally made in a “heavier” style. This offering from Biltmore is a pleasant exception. I found that this wine had plenty of those Alsatian characterics, except they’ve left a little residual sugar to make it more…interesting to the American palate.

The result is a very quaffable, yet still complex white. It’s got some nice floral aromas and a little sweetness on the palate that gets calmed down by an interesting minerality. Melon and peach flavors abound, followed by and a semi-sweet finish. It’s OK on its own, but I tried it with both a spicy Thai chicken soup and a flavorful turkey chili. Both pairings were quite nice. I’d think it would be a nice choice to go with almost anything spicy. ($11)

Biltmore Estate (NV) Century White Wine – My reaction to this one was a bit different the second time around. The last time I tried this blend, I thought it made a pretty decent glass. This time, it wasn’t nearly as friendly with the ol’ palate. I discovered that they’d changed the grape blend. Last time, Gewurztraminer was the primary grape. This time around, it’s Muscat Canelli, which often creates a heavier, sweeter still wine. I thought it was cloyingly sweet and very heavy on my tongue. There’s fruit, fruit, fruit and sugar, sugar, sugar. As our neighbor Minnesota Marlene put it, smacking her lips, “This has got lots of apricot,” and that’s it. (If Marlane ain’t talkin’, it ain’t workin’.) It’s a substantial wine that works with spicy cuisine well enough, but is too heavy to be enjoyed on its own. If you like really sweet wines, perhaps give it a try. Otherwise, give it a pass. ($16)

Biltmore Estate (NV) Pas de Deux Sparkling Wine – Pink is the dominant color of the packaging and there’s a pair of ballet slippers on the label. The back label promised a wine that’s “slightly sweet,” and I saw that it was made from 100% Muscat Canelli. I mentally braced myself for “tooth aching levels of sugar” as I prepared to pop the cork. Sweeter sparkling wine usually says “brunch” to me. As a result, The Sweet Partner in Crime and I decided on “breakfast for dinner” to go alongside: a scrumptious “trout benedict” concoction.  We plated it up, poured, let the bubbles settle – and the Pas de Deux caught me completely off guard. It’s downright tasty. Yes, it’s a little bit sweet, but not overly so. I thought it exhibited some really nice tropical fruit flavors with a surprisingly crisp finish. It reminded me of a more highly carbonated Moscato, and this is not a bad thing in the slightest. I thought it was a fun wine and I’d consider giving it another run for brunch sometime. Nice work. ($19)

Biltmore Estates

 “I never thought this would happen to me. I am an administrator at a small Midwestern college and I was on my way to a conference in Asheville, North Carolina…”

No, you’re not reading the start of my letter to Penthouse Forum. There are no scantily-clad medical students with heaving bosoms whose car overheated, stranded on the side of I-75. There were no offers for me to “accompany them on their Grand Rounds” once I got them into the college van and escorted them to safety.

The trip to and from was uneventful. When I returned home, however, there was a mysterious package waiting for me. I was expecting one set of wine samples (the ones from Pepperwood Grove, which I’ve posted about already) – but a second set of samples showed up unannounced. I long ago learned not to look a gift horse in the (bottle) mouth.

These wine samples turned out to be from the Biltmore Estate Winery. For those of you unfamiliar, the Biltmore Estate is an enormous chateau-style house built in the late 1800’s by George Washington Vanderbilt II. It’s still owned by the Vanderbilt family today. The Biltmore Estate Winery was a dairy farm until the early 1970’s. It is currently the most-visited winery in the United States with over a million visitors annually.

So, why is this of note? The Biltmore Estate and its associated winery are in…Asheville, NC. We just missed each other. I could have saved them some shipping charges, although I don’t think the Vanderbilts are hurting for cash these days.

Like ships passing in the night...

 Anyway, the Biltmore winery itself grows about 250 tons of grapes a year. On site, they grow Chardonnay, Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. They sell about 140,000 cases of wine per year. One ton of grapes yields about 60 cases of wine. Since the estate’s grapes can only provide a little over 10% of that yield, grapes get sourced from other growing regions – largely in northern California.

In the mysterious Biltmore box was one each of the red and white from the Biltmore’s “Century Collection.” These wines, which retail for $13-16, were first bottled in 1999 as tasting-room only offerings. The Biltmore’s winemaker, Bernard DeLille, said that he was trying to create a wine that would allow a wine drinker to “re-live their Biltmore experience at home by simply opening a bottle and pouring a glass. As the wines grew in popularily, they expanded production and began making them available through retail outlets.

Biltmore (NV) Century Century Red Wine – This red, sourced from three locations in California, is a blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Zindfandel. The Sweet Partner in Crime swirled this and exclaimed, “Vanilla!” For sure. The first whiff is powerful vanilla, followed by a bunch of dark fruit. Blackberries and cherries, predominantly. This is a wine that really improves with decanting as, straight from the bottle, the finish is clipped and the flavors don’t last long. With some air, the flavors brighten a bit. It’s a “firm” wine, but the finish stayed quick, even after decanting. The fruit flavors are quite nice while they’re there and the tannins are mellow. We had this alongside a grilled flank steak, some sautéed mushrooms, and a salad. The vinaigrette wasn’t the best match with the wine, but the crystallized ginger we’d thrown in the salad was wonderful with it. The steak and mushrooms were tasty enough matches. A decent enough bottle for an everyday quaffer.

Biltmore (NV) Century White Wine – Ninety-eight percent of the juice in this wine comes from Mendocino and Monterey. Two percent is actually from North Carolina. It’s a blend of some very aromatic grapes – Gewurztraminer, Muscat Canelli, Riesling, and Symphony (which is a cross between Muscat and White Grenache). The nose is peppery and peachy. I thought it smelled very much like a Gewürztraminer from the Pacific Northwest. The major flavors are ripe pineapple with some cloves and cinnamon underneath. It turned out lighter than I expected. I thought it would be a bit more palate-coating considering the residual sugar level. The finish is peppery with a good deal of sweetness, as the residual sugar finally shows up. Again, a very solid wine – flavors like a Gewurz, but milder and not quite as heavy. If you were trying to introduce the notion that “not all sweet wine is bad” to a friend, this wouldn’t be a bad start. Conversely, if you wanted to start moving an “I only like sweet wine” person towards the light, this would laos be a good starting point. Foodwise, we had this alongside a Thai-style chicken, shrimp and rice soup since gewürztraminer goes so well with those flavors. This one was no exception.

This was my first time with Biltmore wines. I can only hope I have the same good fortune after my upcoming trip to Oregon…aforementioned medical students optional.