{"id":1893,"date":"2021-07-30T13:21:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-30T13:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1893"},"modified":"2021-07-30T13:40:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-30T13:40:14","slug":"taittinger-and-domaine-carneros","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/?p=1893","title":{"rendered":"Taittinger and Domaine Carneros"},"content":{"rendered":"

Champagne is a sparkling wine.\u00a0 If it\u2019s really Champagne, the grapes are grown and the wine is made in the Champagne region of northern France.\u00a0 Sparkling wine made in California isn\u2019t called Champagne, with a few exceptions.\u00a0 There are a few, such as Korbel and Andr\u00e9 that had been using the word historically, so they were allowed to continue using it.\u00a0 (Many of us had our first taste of sparklers that come from those two producers, but if you\u2019re into wine tasting, you probably haven\u2019t had any of their wines for decades.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Taittinger visiting facility in Reims, France.\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Many of the better French producers have established wineries in California.\u00a0 Among them are Mo\u00ebt & Chandon\/Domaine Chandon and Mumm\/Mumm Napa.\u00a0 Taittinger<\/a> in Reims developed Domaine Carneros<\/a> in 1987, and the Napa Valley site is among the most visited wineries in the region.\u00a0 Although the two wineries have the same ownership, they are operated completely independently.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Domaine Carneros, surrounded by vines.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the wine-tasting visitor, there is a broad comparison between the French and American wineries. \u00a0The French winery is essentially a factory complex on an urban street.\u00a0 Grape vines are nowhere to be seen.\u00a0 The site was an abbey in pre-Revolutionary times, but nothing remains of it, except its cellars.\u00a0 Domaine Carneros is also a factory but it looks very much like a French ch\u00e2teau.\u00a0 In fact, it is modeled on (but is not a replica of) the Taittinger family manse in Champagne, nowhere near the factory.\u00a0 The California site is surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills, one of the most appealing vistas in Napa Valley.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>The caves at Taittinger, showing the gate used by the monks in pre-Revolutionary Reims.<\/em><\/p>\n

Both locations offer interesting tours.\u00a0 At Taittinger, they walk visitors through the caves where they age their top Champagne.\u00a0 You can see where the monks of the ancient abbey managed the wines in their time.\u00a0 Even better, you can see a section of the cellars that were dug out by the Romans when Reims was called Durocortorum.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing in California to beat that, but then a tour at Domaine Carneros actually gives you an understanding of how sparkling wine is made.<\/p>\n

The tour at Taittinger concludes with a glass of Champagne; for an extra fee you can have Comtes de Champagne, their premier offering.\u00a0 The California tour includes a tasting of several of Domaine Carneros\u2019 sparkling wines, including their top wine, Le R\u00eave (\u201cthe dream\u201d in French).\u00a0 Better yet, even without a tour you can sit on their expansive veranda and order sparkling wine by the glass.\u00a0 Sipping while taking in the view is quite a treat.<\/p>\n

Taittinger makes only Champagnes.\u00a0 Domaine Carneros also offers some excellent Pinot Noirs and have recently added a Merlot.\u00a0 These still wines are also available for ordering at the winery.<\/p>\n

The question remains: Which winery makes the better wine?\u00a0 Domaine Carneros makes excellent California wines, but they\u2019re not Champagne.\u00a0 And Taittinger is one of the most reputed houses in the Champagne region.\u00a0 If all you want is a loud pop and some bubbles, Domaine Carneros\u2019 Estate Brut Cuv\u00e9e will do quite nicely.\u00a0 On the other hand, if you want to celebrate with the real deal, stick with Taittinger.<\/p>\n

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Champagne is a sparkling wine.\u00a0 If it\u2019s really Champagne, the grapes are grown and the wine is made in the Champagne region of northern France.\u00a0 Sparkling wine made in California isn\u2019t called Champagne, with a few exceptions.\u00a0 There are a few, such as Korbel and Andr\u00e9 that had been using the word historically, so they … Continue reading Taittinger and Domaine Carneros<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1907,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1893\/revisions\/1907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/powertasting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}