Sparkling Wines From California : French Champagne Firms Have Another U.S. Entry

Domaine Mumm, Cuvee Napa, is the latest entry into what is an ever-increasing line of sparkling wines made in California by French Champagne firms. Representing a joint venture between G.H. Mumm and Cie of Reims and Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, proprietors of Sterling Vineyards and the Monterey Vineyard, the initial non-vintage release in 12,000-case quantity is now available at $14 per bottle.

Well made from 60% Pinot Noir, 36% Chardonnay and 4% Pinot Blanc grapes in a so-called strong, big-bodied style with considerable fruit and substance, the wine is calculated to please the palate of Americans who like their sparklers with a wide range of foods. An especially fine characteristic is the tiny, refined bubbles which wine lovers may find suggestive of good French Champagne.

The style is by no means subtle. Blended from 20 Napa County vineyards, the wine is fleshy, and although labeled brut and with a dosage less than 0.9%, it strikes the palate with a slight yet attractive sweetness, not unlike many French non-vintage bruts. Although finishing with classic crispness, the minimal sweetness comes from the ’84 harvest, which provided unusually ripe grapes. Future editions are calculated to be drier, depending upon the vintage.

In the tradition of multi-vineyard French Champagne making, four distinct Napa Valley vineyard areas were used: Rutherford Ranch, Yountville, St. Helena and Winery Lake. As an integral part of its style, it is the most full-bodied of all of the California-Franco sparklers.

Brainchild of Guy Devaux

The debut wine is the brainchild of Guy Devaux, general manager of Domaine Mumm, and Michel Budin, director of production of Mumm of France. In 1978, Devaux considered making a premium sparkler at New York’s Finger Lakes because he believed it would produce more of a French-like style, only to find he was hampered by a meager supply of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Later, under a secret code name, “Project Lafayette,” he experimented with California’s Monterey grapes and those of Oregon, finally settling on Napa Valley’s as the ultimate choice.

Budin adds a French palate to the blend, whereas Devaux’s is considered to be more American in style, honed by 26 years of American wine making. For both, it is the first attempt to make a California wine.

Initially, Domaine Mumm was produced at Sterling’s Vineyards at Calistoga, but now the winery is housed in an 18,000-square-foot Napa Valley facility of its own. Devaux uses a revolutionary mechanical tierage , or sparkling wine storage aging system, which he created in 1981.

“We have dispelled the traditional belief,” he said, “that sparkling wine had to be aged horizontally to achieve maximum yeast-wine contact for product complexity and appropriate carbonation.”

For Devaux, the new sparkler is a triumph, capping a long career that began in his grandfather’s vineyard in France. Graduating from Paris University in 1945, he began to familiarize himself with all phases of the wine-making industry, first working at a glass manufacturing facility, then in a print shop to learn wine label production, and later mixing drinks as a bartender and ultimately as a production worker in a Champagne facility.

It was not until 1960, after being employed as head wine maker by the Societe Marne et Champagne, that Devaux came to the United States to fashion his own wines. He began by associating himself with noted Finger Lakes wine pioneer and president of Gold Seal Winery, Charles Fournier. When Fournier retired in 1967, Devaux became vice president and chief wine maker for the winery, a position he held until 1983.

New Sparkling Wine Methods

Devaux is especially proud of what he considers to be new sparkling wine methods, such as the choice of the multi-vineyard locations, harvesting by hand in small 35-pound capacity containers and the use of the Boucher computerized press from Switzerland responsible for the kind of desirable delicate pressure used in Champagne.

No matter the method, Devaux was determined to make a bigger-bodied sparkling wine, not only to be distinctive, but also to be mated with highly spiced, hot cuisine. As an experiment he enjoyed many Mexican-styled foods--burritos, tacos, chili relleno and the like--while perfecting the blend.

The wine will not be marketed in France in keeping with the custom of not ruffling the feathers of the vintners and Champagne wine makers who would fight to prevent the importation of a California Champagne. The words methode Champenoise do appear on the label, and in the style of the other California-French sparklers, it carefully notes that the wine is produced and bottled under supervision of the Chef de Caves, G.H. Mumm and Cie, Reims, France. It’s like a gentleman’s agreement wherein no self-respecting Champenoise publicity admits that French Champagne is made in California, yet somehow the consuming public is made aware of it.

At this time, too, French Mumm is releasing its salute to freedom, a specially designed limited three-liter bottle of Mumm’s Cordon Rouge, which features the Statue of Liberty haloed with a spray of stars etched into the glass in gold. Only 1,888 individually numbered bottles have been produced to be sold for about $125. The name Cordon Rouge has become so important to Mumm that frequently consumers call for it without ever using the name Mumm. Produced since 1976, Cordon Rouge is made in both vintage and non-vintage versions. The latter, generally less costly, is a blend of the best wines of past vintages from as many as 45 different growths.

Reputation as Innovator

Founded in 1827, the firm enjoys a reputation as a Champagne innovator, notably for its Cremant de Cramant (a blanc de blanc ), a delicate, subtle 100% Chardonnay sparkler with less effervescence. Mumm’s Tete de Cuvee, Cuvee Rene Lalou, which debuted in 1966, and represents the top of the line, is made from equal blends of the firm’s choicest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The ’79 is not big-bodied, but is delicate, crisp, complex, dry and austere. It was named for Rene Lalou, who directed the firm’s fortunes after its confiscation by the French government during World War I. At the time, no members of the Mumm family were French citizens, all having retained their German citizenship; hence, they were considered enemy aliens and their Champagne house as enemy property.

Today, Mumm is controlled by Seagrams, which conceived the idea of launching a California Mumm brand, notwithstanding the earlier fierce competitive presence of two other California-Franco sparklers, Domaine Chandon and Piper-Sonoma, and with two others--Louis Roederer and Deutz--waiting in the wings.