It is always exciting to discover that a winery I follow has created something new. Kessler-Haak Vineyard and Wines has some new wonderful additions to their portfolio of wines. They have added sparkling wines, and these sparklers are the perfect wine to enjoy a bit of romance with your spouse or lover on Valentine’s Day. There are two sparkling wines, the 2012 Kessler-Haak Estate Grown Sparkling Brut and the 2012 Kessler-Haak Estate Grown Sparkling Brut Rosé. Both are excellent choices to celebrate with your loved one.
Sparkling Wine Musical Tribute
In addition to these two wines, each sparkler also has a special limited edition bottling, paying tribute to owner Ellen Haak Kessler’s uncle, jazz musician Allen Houser. The wines include a CD. The 2012 Kessler-Haak “Straight Ahead” Estate Grown Sparkling Brut features Houser’s “Straight Ahead and Strive for Tone”. The 2012 Kessler-Haak “No Samba” Estate Grown Sparkling Brut Rosé is paired with Houser’s CD “No Samba”. These special edition sparkling wines will make your Valentine’s Day a real treat, especially for those who are musically inspired.
Rosé SparkleSparkling Wine
Although I liked both sparkling wines, it was the Brut that captured my fancy. I found a very sophisticated yet subtle sparkling wine with the most gorgeous pearl color. You almost felt like you were looking at a liquid form of opal. The wine is crisp with flavors of pear and almond. The wine combines 75% Pinot Noir and 25% Chardonnay. 30% of the wine was held in the barrel, receiving 100% Malolactic fermentation. Secondary fermentation took place by the Méthode Champenoise with a ten-month tirage. The wine then received a dosage and disgorged in November of 2012.
The Brut Rosé is very forward in your face sparkling wine. It is dry yet sweet on the finish with notes of cherries and apricots. The wine consists of 100% Pinot Noir, and like the Brut, the secondary fermentation was via the Méthode Champenoise with a ten-month tirage, a dosage, and disgorged in November 2012.
Kessler-Haak Sparkling WineSparkling Wine Artwork
I found myself intrigued by the artwork created by Peter Holbrook for the special edition wines, a colorful depiction of a jazz musician playing a horn with notes sprawling from the horn across the label as if they seemed to represent notes of flavors detected in the wines. That same image of the jazz musician but in black and white is the label for the “No Samba” CD while the “Straight Ahead and Strive for Tone” CD has a more pastoral label.
Kessler-Haak No SambaBoth wines are superb, and kudos go to winemaker Dan Kessler for taking the giant step of adding these two fabulous sparkling wines to his repertoire.
For more information and to purchase the Kessler-Haak Wines.
Kessler–Haak Vineyards and Wines
805.735.2283
Info@kesslerhaakwine.com