Something truly special with which to toast the upcoming holidays and a great gift idea, too. You can't afford to pass up this deal on one of California's iconic sparkling wines. Can’t beat the price either!

2014 Schramsberg J. Schram North Coast Noirs
Sparkling Wine


Regular Price $130.00,
PRIMA Special $89.99 per bottle
Shipping included on 3 bottles or more
(limited to 32 bottles on hand)

It was during a visit to Schramsberg Winery many years ago when I first heard the phrase, “The bigger the bubbles, the bigger the problems.” At the time, I didn’t care about bubbles, I was just looking for great sparkling wine. Sparkling wine, you see, is quite possibly my favorite beverage in the world, though, prior to that visit, I had little knowledge of just how it was made, let alone how to achieve different sizes of bubbles. During my visit to Schramsberg, though, I learned that the size of the bubbles determines the quality of the final wine and quickly found, during my tasting, that there are some damned tiny-bubbles being bottled at this seminal Napa Valley winery! I became a fan! Still am. The Davies Family purchased the old Schramsberg property on Diamond Mountain in the upper part of the Napa Valley way back in 1965. Without knowing any better (no one did in those days), Jack and Jamie Davies planted Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, even though many of their friends scratched their heads wondering why on earth anyone would plant that tough-to-grow variety on top of a mountain! It proved, though, to be a prescient decision. The Davies wanted to do something no one else had ever done in Napa, and those plantings would help them create a ‘Champagne,’ just like those they had found in the world-renowned region of France. Though, as we all know, anything outside of Champagne cannot called such, the Davies’ and Schramberg’s reputation quickly gained recognition for their Method Traditional sparkling wines, earning, as early as 1972, recognition as a White House favorite, and was in the glass for the “Toast to Peace” between Richard Nixon and Chou En Lai in Beijing. As a tribute to the founder Jacob Schram, who had initially purchased the property in 1862 (making this the second oldest winery in Napa Valley), the Davies, from the 1987 harvest, created a special bottling assembled from the very best blocks in their vineyard and then, in 1992, released the first J. Schram Reserve bottling. This ‘super’ bottling quickly became the most iconic bottle of bubbles made in the United States. The J. Schram North Coast Noirs is a blend of 81% Pinot Noir and 19% Chardonnay, from coastal vineyards in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, and Marin and, they say, if you put your ear to the bottle, you can practically hear the ocean! Harvested in 2014, aged on its lees, and disgorged in 2023, this wine is a tour de force of American sparkling wine. Incredibly polished and creamy, there’s a beguiling hint of toasted bread with a hit of lemon cream on the finish. It’s plush, richly fruited and oh-so-perfectly balanced and would go with perfectly with shellfish, smoked salmon, tangy cheese, or my personal favorite pairing, my couch. It doesn’t try to be Champagne. It tries to be Schramsberg. And it’s very, very good at that! Oh, and if you’re wondering about the bubbles, they are as tiny as tiny can be!