It is always fun to taste sparkling wines. For this wineswinging meetup, our goal was to have a French Bubbles crash course for our wine club. We had to pick only five wines and make some tough calls because bubbles are produced all over France.

Many sparkling wine lovers are unfamiliar with Alsace region despite being the source of some of the best bubbles in France outside of Champagne and often at bargain prices considering the exceptional quality. That's why we started with 100% Pinot Noir "Albrecht Cremant Brut Rosé Tradition" from Alsace. This sparkling with a beautiful pale pink color with an orange hue was a delight in a glass. The palate had an excellent balance between sweetness and acidity and delicate flavor profile of ripe strawberries and pink apples and dry firm aftertaste.

Luc Belair Rosé from Provence was next and became one of the favorites of the evening. The deeper vibrant pink color came from Grenache, Cinsault, and Syrah. It wowed everyone with its distinct flavors and aromas of ripe red apple, red currant and strawberry and made a splash on our taste buds.

Cremant de Bourgogne 2008 Louis Bouillot Perle d'Or has all the hallmarks of some of the best and more expensive Champagnes: golden straw color reflecting the age, fine mouse and creamy bubbles, quintessential brioche on the nose, refreshing acidity and a sophisticated palate filled with apples, pears, and minerality. I would pick this bottle over some of the Millesime from respected Champagne houses I've tasted before. And the kicker, Perle d'Or is half or a third of the price of its famous Champagne brethren.

The fourth bottle in the line-up was 2002 Palmes d'Or Brut Champagne by Nicolas Feuillatte. Did it blow our socks? Yes, it was a treat.
Complex aromas of walnut, dried pear, and ripe apple reflected the richness of the vintage. Flavors weaved together by the time seduced us with baked apple, almond croissant, cassis, a touch of anise and lemon zest with mineral and lightly smoky finish. This was a crescendo of our evening of tasting sparkling France.

We anticipated that it might be challenging to top our experience with Palmes d'Or and decided to finish with something sweeter, light-hearted and altogether different kind of bubbles.
We finished our flight with 2016 Poiré Granit Perry (pear cider) by Eric Bordelet. The pears that Bordelet uses to make this Perry come from 300-year-old, 60-foot trees on his estate in Normandy, France. 300 years old! Just think of it! Planted some time at the beginning of the 1700s. It's like drinking history from the time when Louis XIV ruled France.
The flavors and aromas of pear, apple, lemon zest, minerality and tannins from the pear skin all dancing together and creating an intensely flavorful palate. Refreshing acidity with just the right level of sweetness highlighting the fruit aromas. It was a great finish to the majestic wine exploring evening.

It's stunning to live in times when in the course of one evening we can travel the time and space without leaving our homes with the help of magic called Wine. In a matter of ours were able to traverse across France from the slopes of Vosges Mountains in Alsace to the coast of Provence. Then go wineswinging on the wine-time machine to Bourgogne of 2008 and Champagne of 2002 and finish the evening sipping the drink from Normandian pear orchard that Louis XIV might have had over 300 years ago.
Cheers!