Sea Breeze Levels in Sparkling Wines

The idea behind the Sea Breeze category at the Glass of Bubbly Awards is to identify those sparkling wines that conjure up the refreshing experience of the salty sea air you breathe as you take a walk on the beach on a breezy day. Surprising as it may seem, many wines, especially whites, give out a touch of salty expression both in aromas and flavours which mostly is an expression of the terroir of the grapes from mountain / river / sea freshness to the minerals from the earth extracted by the deep routes of the vines.

This saline character is actually quite refreshing and far from simply dipping your tongue into the salt pot. Sometimes the citrus style expression in wines with the zesty character can give a sensation of saltiness as your mouth salivates from the acidity. The winemaker does not add a shake of the salt pot to the wine mixture for your information!

 

We taste through all the medal winners of the ‘Sea Breeze’ category of the 2020 Glass of Bubbly Awards in the below video – Tasting notes and links to the winery websites are:

Valdhuber – Brut Nature: “A burnt toast, savoury, citrus aroma. Very expressive. A certain sea breeze style of sparkling wine with added citrus, minerals, Alpine freshness, toasty, peach.”

Radgonske Gorice – Zlata Penina Brut Nature 2014: “A cream, dried white cheese, chalky, orchard fruits nose. A fruity expression initially followed by dry citrus / salty mid length with a dry citrus close.”

Cantina Rotaliana – R Trentodoc Extra Brut 2019: “An attractive aroma with sweet pastry, honeysuckle, peach and apricot. Though an extra brut it shows delicate sweet fruit flavours from citrus to tropical.”

Champagne Albert Beerens – Brut 2013: “Golden honey, citrus, green fruits, dark berry fruits on the nose. Zesty character showing peach, apricot, lemon sherbet, touch of pastry / butter croissant with a mineral / sea breeze length.”

Champagne Château de Boursault – Brut Tradition: “A very reliable quality of Brut NV Champagne. Apricot, citrus, white floral and a touch of pastry on the nose. Fresh citrus, yellow stone fruits, pastry and a touch of sea breeze at the close to give a mouth-watering sensation.”

Prosecco Bisol – Crede Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore Brut 2019: “Soft white floral, light green apple, pear compote aromas. Soft sea breeze expressed with yellow fruits, citrus, wet stone freshness.”

Prosecco L’Antica Quercia – Matiú Conegliano Prosecco Superiore Brut 2017: “Soft and silky fruit aromas. An Alpine freshness expressed. I certainly get a touch of sea breeze expressed in the palate. A mineral fruitiness, wet stone character. Fresh and crisp, impressionable and certainly capable of pairing with a variety of foods.”

Istenič – Passion 2009: “Quite a special sparkling wine from Slovenia. Amazing floral and exotic fruits on the nose, it’s most engaging and will delight you. Though 2009, it is immensely fresh and youthful in character. Once again a fresh exotic fruit display in the palate with a bunch of white and yellow rose petals.”

Champagne Faniel & Fils – Appogia Blanc de Blancs N.V.: “Another great Champagne from wine maker Mathieu at Faniel & Fils. A salty pastry, citrus, peach and yellow floral nose. Great quality tasting. Yellow fruits, citrus, wet stone / chalky, exotic fruits and a salty / sea breeze close. The Trophy winner at the 2020 Glass of Bubbly Awards in the category of ‘Sea Breeze’.”