Los Gatos sommelier takes a sparkling journey through Champagne

Ancora Vino is a mighty little wine shop in Los Gatos, packed with great selections arranged by price point. The staff, led by sommelier Ryan Smith, who worked at Testarossa until the pandemic forced a reshaping of that business, will help you find wines that fit your palate and budget. The more expensive wines are on the outside walls and those under $20 are in the center, making it a fun hunt.

With many hours of international wine travel and tasting under his belt, Smith is an ace at storytelling and loves to share his knowledge of the vast world of wine. A recent session on sparkling wine, he revealed some gems from the Champagne region of France, plus some exciting alternative sparklers.

“There are three basic methods of making sparkling wine,” Smith said. “You have charmant, Methode Champenoise and Methode Ancestral, also called Pétillant Naturel.”Charmant wines are fermented in the tank, with a secondary fermentation taking place in an autoclave, and the addition of yeast and a dosage with a generally high level of sugar.

The wines are made sparkling by forced CO2, as opposed to the natural bubbles that result from the Methode Champenoise. This results in bigger bubbles and softer wines. They are also bottled under much less atmospheric pressure than are those made by Methode Champenoise.

Examples of charmat are Prosecco, Lambrusco, Asti Spumante, Sekt (from Germany) and many wines from the US. Proseccos (only from Italy) vary widely in their quality, so look for DOC or DOCG on the label, which guarantees a higher standard and better bang for the buck. We tried a NV Il Colle Blue Prosecco DOC from Veneto, Italy, ($20) made from 100% Glera (the typical varietal used for Prosecco), all hand-harvested and made from estate grapes. It was pleasant, soft and utterly suited for brunch or as an aperitif.

Methode Champenoise (MC) requires a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which is far more work but results in wines of more finesse with finer bubbles and complexity. Each bottle is an individual fermentation fueled by adding sugar and yeast, called the liqueur de tirage, to the base wine, which may or may not have been fermented in oak. The bottle is then capped with a crown cap (used on beer), and the secondary fermentation, which releases carbon dioxide, is off and running. Sometimes wine is left in the bottle for months, even years—a process called aging on the lees—before riddling is completed. Riddling involves turning the bottle, laid on its side or at an angle, to rotate the contents and mix up the yeast.

Then comes disgorging, which happens by freezing the yeast solids that have gathered in the neck of the bottle, then removing the crown cap. Freezing allows less liquid to escape. The bottles are then secured with a traditional cork with wire cage.

Smith introduced several examples of MC, including a crémant from Alsace, 2020 Melanie Pfister Cremant d’Alsace Brut ($35), made of 50% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Blanc and 25% Pinot Auxerrois, from biodynamically farmed grapes grown in the coldest part of Alsace.

We all loved the NV De Sousa Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Avec le Temps Extra Brut ($66), made of 100% Chardonnay from four Grand Cru villages including the famed Oger and Les Mesnil. The wine spent two years on its yeast. This wine was inherently minerally and dry.

A total standout was the NV Andre Clouet Grand Cru Rose No. 3, from Montagne de Reims ($60), and made of 100% Grand Cru Pinot Noir from the village of Bouzy, a revered spot for Champagne. With a stunning label that looks more like one for a perfume bottle, the color is richened by 8% still red wine. Smith told us this is the one Champagne that stays on Ancora Vino’s tasting menu year-round.

The label is made by one of Louis XIV’s original printmakers and was a favorite of Coco Chanel. She loved this producer and came up with the numbering system for their various cuvées. No. 3 was her favorite.

Pét-Nat is very popular with natural winemakers. This happens by taking wine that is not finished fermenting and putting it in bottle with a crown cap, allowing the yeast to finish fermenting and trapping the CO2. We tried a 2022 Lunaria Pet Nat Malvasia ($23) from Italy, which was quite fascinating. Smith said he had it served with fried sardines rolled in bread crumbs and it was fantastic.

Ancora Vino is located at 534 N. Santa Cruz Ave.