Several different methods can be employed to produce those bubbles we love to drink. Ernie Weir, owner and winemaker at Hagafen Cellars, employed the traditional method, known as méthode champenoise, to make our sparkling wine. This style of winemaking was discovered by Dom Parignon, a cellarer in a Benedictine abbey in France who around the 18th century stumbled upon a bottle of wine that had inadvertently undergone secondary fermentation in the bottle and survived the result pressure build up. The region of France where this historic moment occurred is known as the Champagne region and imparts that name to sparkling wine produced there to this day.
Brut designates a sparkling wine that is very dry with a residual sugar level in the final blend between .5 and 1.5%. Cuv means a vat or tub where a blend is prepared; this is the traditional French method of making a sparkling wine.

Our 2007 Brut Cuvee is a wine of tremendous complexity and length made from two esteemed mid-Valley vineyards: 78% Pinot Noir from California Soleil and 22% Chardonnay from Hall Vineyard. It presents aromas of citrus, red fruits and white chocolate with hints of melon, tea, and toast. On the palate is an even more complex combination of flavors, including tropical fruits, citrus, red berries, chocolate, tea, and bread. The finish is long and satisfying, a classic example of excellent New World Sparkling Wine.