Schramsberg Reserve is our top Pinot Noir-focused brut sparkling wine. Typically representing about three percent of our annual production, this richly-flavored and full-bodied sparkler is made from only the finest base-wine lots produced each year. Six years old upon release, this fruitful, yet dry, toasty and creamy bubbly will age gracefully for a good 20 years beyond the vintage date.

More than 80 cool-climate vineyard sites in Carneros, Anderson Valley and the Sonoma and Marin coastal areas are managed each year to achieve the best possible fruit for our sparkling wines. Hand-picking, early-morning harvesting, and light pressing are critical. Small amounts of select Chardonnay are included in the blend to lend additional backbone and length to the palate. Distinct barrel and malolactic fermentation lots are layered in to provide viscosity and depth. Extensive tasting is conducted over the winter months, with as many as 200 base wines being taken into consideration. Following bottle fermentation, each bottle is aged in contact with its own yeast in our historic Diamond Mountain hillside caves for a minimum of nearly five years. The finishing dosage is the result of comprehensive trials to fine-tune balance of flavor and acidity.

Our Reserve is well-suited with a main course, such as fruit-stuffed veal and pork tenderloin, roasted duck with mango, cedar-plank grilled salmon and curried chicken salad. This flavorful bubbly also can be served as an apéritif with smoked oysters, caviar and such hard cheeses as aged Swiss Sbrinz, Sonoma Vella Jack or Irish Coolea.

Principal Pinot Noir Blocks

Napa-Carneros: Hyde, Richburg

Anderson Valley: Corby 32, Corby Old

In 2000, mild spring weather paved the way for a long growing season. Cool and foggy weather in June and July set the course for harvest to begin mid-August, allowing some of the cool vineyard sources to mature into October. This weather dynamic produced Pinot Noir with ripe red fruit, refined tannins and lively acidity.

The aroma profile of our 2000 Reserve combines guava and lichee with baked Braeburn apples and Asian pears. There are also hints of toasted cinnamon, nutmeg and caramelized fruit essence. Its broad depth of exotic and autumn fruit flavors is integrated with bright acidity and barrel influence to produce a full, rich and complete aged sparkling wine that can be enjoyed now or for years to come. Hugh Davies and Craig Roemer, Winemakers