Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Brut Rosé has fruitful aromas of strawberry, cherry, watermelon, and orange, complemented by notes of rose petal, shortcake, cinnamon, and white peach. A crisp, bright entry leads way to a juicy fruitful center with bountiful flavors of nectarine, apricot, yellow apple and raspberry cobbler, and ends with a lingering finish.
Enjoy this rich, delicious sparkler on almost any occasion: at your favorite restaurant, a special dinner at home, at a beach picnic or a backyard barbecue. A very versatile wine; try it with sushi, salmon, rock shrimp, pizza, roast chicken, BBQ ribs, caprese and Panzanella salads, red berry tarts, and an array of cheeses, charcuterie, nuts and fresh fruit.
Blend: 62% Pinot Noir, 38% Chardonnay
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Gorgeous aromas of strawberry, rose petal and watermelon lead to rich yet steely flavors that glide off the lingering, lovely finish.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This is a first-rate Rosé in every way starting with its wonderful fruity depth, but the creamy complexities borne of its skillful champenization provide it with a seriousness that elevates it well above above simple fruitiness. It boasts a generous, very well-sustained and wonderfully foamy, mouth filling mousse, and, although it has the slight vinous grip expected of a fine Rosé, it is, at every stop, as refined as it is insistently rich and, in sum, is a carefully crafted bubbly with the energy and the exemplary balance to age gracefully for a good many years to come.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium cherry-pink in the glass, the 2018 Brut Rosé is scented of baked apples with tones of flint, mushrooms and toast. The palate is dry and energetic with a slightly foamy mousse, rounded acidity and a savory finish.
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Tasting Panel
If this petal-pink blend of 62% Pinot Noir and 38% Chardonnay were a scoop of ice cream, it would be called Mineral-Raspberry Swirl, with sprinkles of rose, baking spice, and vanilla on the nose. Flavors of peach and honeyed Fuji apple converge with a gliding texture on the medium-bodied palate, lingering there softly.
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Wine Enthusiast
Lively, pure raspberry and red-cherry flavors infuse this elegant wine with life while a tangy balance and fine-grained bubbles make it refreshing and substantive on the palate. The red fruits carry through nicely to the finish.
In 1965, Jack and Jamie Davies founded Schramsberg and set out to make world-class sparkling wine in the true méthode traditionelle style on the property originally established in 1862 by German immigrant Jacob Schram. There were only 22 bonded wineries in Napa Valley and fewer than 100 acres of California vineyards planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Schramsberg was the first California winery to provide a Blanc de Blancs in 1965 followed by a Blanc de Noirs in 1967. Now their son, Hugh Davies, leads the winery’s management and winemaking team.
The Schramsberg estate in Napa Valley’s famed Diamond Mountain District is a registered historic landmark with Napa’s first caves, hand-dug in the 1880s, and its first hillside vineyards. Quality focus drives all aspects of wine production starting with access to over 120 cool-climate sites in Carneros, Marin, Mendocino and Sonoma, which result in over 200 separate lots. Unique among California sparkling wine houses, Schramsberg ferments about 25 percent of its juice in oak barrels to produce rich, flavorful, complex wines.
Most of Schramsberg’s viticultural and winemaking practices are carried out by hand: grapes are hand harvested, the wines are handcrafted, and the bottles are stacked and riddled in underground caves. The family and the winery embody excellence and innovation in winemaking, as well as preservation of their land, their history and their community.
What are the different types of sparkling rosé wine?
Rosé sparkling wines like Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and others make a fun and festive alternative to regular bubbles—but don’t snub these as not as important as their clear counterparts. Rosé Champagnes (i.e., those coming from the Champagne region of France) are made in the same basic way as regular Champagne, from the same grapes and the same region. Most other regions where sparkling wine is produced, and where red grape varieties also grow, also make a rosé version.
How is sparkling rosé wine made?
There are two main methods to make rosé sparkling wine. Typically, either white wine is blended with red wine to make a rosé base wine, or only red grapes are used but spend a short period of time on their skins (maceration) to make rosé colored juice before pressing and fermentation. In either case the base wine goes through a second fermentation (the one that makes the bubbles) through any of the various sparkling wine making methods.
What gives rosé Champagne and sparkling wine their color and bubbles?
The bubbles in sparkling wine are formed when the base wine undergoes a secondary fermentation, which traps carbon dioxide inside the bottle or fermentation vessel. During this stage, the yeast cells can absorb some of the wine’s color but for the most part, the pink hue remains.
How do you serve rosé sparkling wine?
Treat rosé sparkling wine as you would treat any Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and other sparkling wine of comparable quality. For storing in any long-term sense, these should be kept at cellar temperature, about 55F. For serving, cool to about 40F to 50F. As for drinking, the best glasses have a stem and a flute or tulip shape to allow the bead (bubbles) and beautiful rosé hue to show.
How long do rosé Champagne and sparkling wine last?
Most rosé versions of Prosecco, Champagne, Cava or others around the “$20 and under” price point are intended for early consumption. Those made using the traditional method with extended cellar time before release (e.g., Champagne or Crémant) can typically improve with age. If you are unsure, definitely consult our Customer Care team for guidance.
Reaching up California's coastline and into its valleys north of San Francisco, the North Coast AVA includes six counties: Marin, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake. While Napa and Sonoma enjoy most of the glory, the rest produce no shortage of quality wines in an intriguing and diverse range of styles.
Climbing up the state's rugged coastline, the chilly Marin County, just above the City and most of Sonoma County, as well as Mendocino County on the far north end of the North Coast successfully grow cool-climate varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and in some spots, Riesling. Inland Lake County, on the other hand, is considerably warmer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Sauvignon Blanc produce some impressive wines with affordable price tags.