Winemaker Notes
The Bluebird Cuvée Sparkling is designated as a Brut level of sweetness. Expressing aromatics of apple blossom, lychee and hints of white peach, the mouthfeel is bright and vibrant with notes of unripe pear and lime zest. Dry on the palate, it finishes crisp with a lingering mineral flavor — a vibrant wine that dances on the palate.
Serve with specialty cheeses such as Manchego or Triple Cream alongside prosciutto, olives and almonds. Shrimp, oysters or smoked salmon pair delightfully with the Bluebird Cuvée, followed by dessert of lemon meringue or fruit sorbet.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A new wine from Sokol Blosser, the 2016 Bluebird Cuvée Sparkling Wine is a blend of the Oregon and Washington appellations (70% Oregon and 30% Washington) made from several different white varieties and aged on the lees for 13 months. It's billed as a Brut, containing 14 grams per liter of dosage, and was disgorged in January 2018. It opens with floral notes of acacia and hawthorn blossom with a streak of bright citrus—candied lime peel and grapefruit zest—over a core of honey-drizzled Golden Delicious apples. It’s dry and lively in the mouth with a great line of minerality, floral accents and ripe orchard fruit with fine, lively bubbles and a lingering finish.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
From Alabama to Wyoming, each of the fifty United States produces wine—with varying degrees of success. Many of the colder northeastern states focus primarily on American or French-American hybrid varieties like Concord and Vidal, while Muscadine is the grape species of the warm, humid southeast. In Alaska, grapes are grown indoors in greenhouses; other states specialize in fruit wines, like the pineapple wine of Hawaii. New York and Virginia have thriving wine industries, and New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Idaho, and Ohio are all worth keeping an eye on.