The 25 Swan Valley Sparkling Wines of Christmas 2014 – 12th December
Upper Reach Sparkling Chardonnay
Upper Reach Sparkling ChardonnayIf you have been tuned into The 25 Swan Valley Sparkling Wines of Christmas then you may notice that this is the second Upper Reach wine featured! Yes that’s right, on December 3rd the Upper Reach Sparkling Shiraz was featured!
This time round it is a white sparkling wine which is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes that are all handpicked especially for this bubbles. It is made in the tradition style like French Champagne which means it goes through a second fermentation in the bottle. It stays in the bottle for at least 18 months after which the wine is disgorged by hand. This is the process of freezing all the dead yeast at the tip of the bottle, shooting it out and then capping it. Upper Reach use crown caps instead of corks by the way.
To top it off, the bottles are then hand labelled and sold at the cellar door for a very well-priced $30! Typically when I go for a sparkling breakfast at Broads Cafe next door, I sip on this!
Tasting Note
On the eye it’s a beautiful buttery yellow with a mellow honey colour around the rim. On the nose it really jumps out of the glass at you with aromas of baked fruits, Danish pastries, honey and nectarine. On the palate it has a lovely refreshing zing, it really does twerk across the palate! Flavours of honeydew melon and spiced lemon stick out to me. It has e a nice kick of flavour which I think would go down quite well with a lovely slice of turkey for Christmas lunch!
Christmas Special
The Upper Reach team have a super special offer for December – buy any 12 of your favourite Upper Reach wines and they’ll give you 6 bottles of Black Bream White or Black Bream Pink for free! Perfect to pop in the fridge for any unexpected visitors over the festive season!
About Upper Reach Winery
Upper Reach are located in Upper Swan and they were actually the very first winery that Mr. Spittoon and I visited when we arrived in Perth in 2012. The cellar door is simply beautiful, bright and airy with a fabulous barrel designed cellar door counter.
Broads Restaurant is right next door for a bite to eat, and I have to admit that it’s one of my fave spots for a sparkling wine brekkie in the Swan Valley.
Upper Reach also have a fabulous little cottage on the property so you can easily slip away for the weekend and stay in amongst the vines – pure bliss if you ask me!
Derek & Laura Pearse bought the 10 hectare property in 1999. Derek, the winemaker at Upper Reach spent about 5 years working at Odd Bins in England in the 1990s after which he and Laura moved to Swan Valley to start their venture.
Contact Upper Reach Winery
- Upper Reach website
- Upper Reach Facebook page
- Upper Reach on Twitter
- Address: 77 Memorial Avenue, Baskerville, Western Australia 6056
- Phone: (08) 9296 0078
- Email: [email protected]
My blog posts on Upper Reach & Broads
- Upper Reach NV Sparkling Shiraz
- 12 wines before 12pm – Upper Reach Back Vintage Tasting
- Breakfast in the Swan Valley at Broads Restaurant, Upper Reach Winery
- Visiting Upper Reach Winery in the Swan Valley, Perth
