Palate
The wine shows characters of fresh pastry dough, Bartlet pear, lemon curd, and minerality. The crisp acidity and subtle mineral undertones give the wine great structure and elegance. Leading with a fine mousse, the mouthfeel is creamy and profound. Long crisp apple finish.
Harvest
The grapes for our sparkling wines are located on separate plots on our Keuka Estate vineyards. These vineyards were planted by Willy Frank in the early 1980s with the sole purpose of producing sparkling wines.
Winemaking
The grapes were hand-picked into small 40kg crates with careful bunch selection in the vineyard. The whole cluster grapes were immediately pressed. From harvest to pressing, extreme care is used in handling the grapes to avoid any excessive crushing or bruising. Only the first most delicate pressing, called the Cuvée, is used. The base wine was bottled the following Spring after harvest.
Secondary fermentation took place in bottle as per the traditional Méthode Champenoise. The wine was left in bottle with the lees for a minimum of 36 months in the underground cellar at Chateau Frank. Each bottle is individually disgorged, corked, crowned, and labeled by hand. The month of disgorgement is listed on the back of each bottle.
Food Pairing
Perfect for celebrations and special occasions. Pair with oysters, lobster, smoked salmon, fried foods, egg dishes, sushi, popcorn, or seafood-based Chinese dishes.
