Bubbling over with good local wine options

Abig part of my recent birthday celebration was a day/ night in Berkeley. Shortly after I arrived, daughters Allegra and Julian escorted me to Hammerling Wines for a celebratory glass of bubbles. Since I was there last (pre-pandemic), they've expanded their space and set up several pleasant outdoor tables. The sun was out, the wind light, the temperature mild — perfect.

The bubbles were perfect, too. I ordered a glass of their newly released sparkling zinfandel; Julian, who belongs to their wine club and has her favorites, ordered the sparkling pinot noir called “Tilted Mile.” And then I had to choose a bottle — as a birthday present. It was a very hard choice, but I opted for the “Tilted Mile.”

Almost all organic pinot noir, there's a bit of chardonnay in the mix — classic Champagne formula.

And it does indeed remind me of Champagne — but better. (Well, at least better than the Champagne I can afford.)

I've written about Hammerling before, but at that time the winery was called Blue Ox. They had to rename themselves in 2021 after a Midwest distillery threatened to sue for trademark infringement.

What three-year-old small winery could afford a suit?

Better to invest in the business. Winemaker and founder Josh Hammerling started his wine education in Washington State — in friends' garages. He experimented with low-intervention techniques and became obsessed with sparklers. Then he moved to Berkeley and worked for both Broc Cellars and Donkey and Goat — both natural wineries I've extolled for years. Hammerling now occupies space on Fifth Street, just doors from both places.

Josh makes many wines, but his emphasis is still on sparklers, which have gained a serious following — including New York Times wine writer Eric Asimov, who has several times put Hammerling at the top of his list for “home-grown” bubbles.

Other critics agree that these wines are some of the best and most intriguing California sparklers. And when you consider the established competition, that's quite a compliment.

This 2020 blanc de noir is lively, with distinctive tart fruit and a savory edge. Enormously foodfriendly, it goes with everything from fancy potato chips to a full-fledged dinner of almost anything Spring — and more. Asimov, for example, recommended it for the Thanksgiving table.

Rebecca and I drank a bottle with crab-asparagus ravioli (from Market Place in Berkeley) in a lemoncream sauce and it worked perfectly. At $35 it isn't cheap — but compared to Champagne in that price range (this wine is made by the same method), it outshines them easily.

After our leisurely Hammerling afternoon, we headed to Agrodolce for Sicilian food. And we brought with us (corkage fee $25) another Berkeley bottle — the Broc Nero d'Avola. Nero d'Avola is a grape native to Sicily and a long time favorite of wine- maker Chris Brockway, who treats the dark grapes gently, fermenting them on the skins in amphora. The result is a lighton-its-feet but flavorful (plum, spice) red that I've enjoyed several times and that was delightful to drink with food it (more or less) grew up with.

Broc, by the way, has long gotten its nero d'avola grapes from Fox Vineyard in Mendocino county, an organically farmed vineyard that grows over 25 Italian varieties. Chris has been sourcing grapes from Fox since 2013 and began managing it in 2020. Just last month, Broc bought it. Like most very small California winemakers, Chris hasn't had acreage of his own but has been buying from selected organic vineyards. Now, for the first time, the winery will be using “estate” grapes.

(Headline: “Broc Cellars Acquires Fox.” I like it.)

The following week, friends (who belong to the Broc wine club) served me and Rebecca (both of us celebrating our Taurus birthdays) a bottle of a new Broc sparkler, the Aqua Vino; an embarrassment of riches. Because this sparkler is such an unusual creature, I'll give you the winery's description:

“Aqua Vino is a story of hydration and winemaking. It started with valdiguié grapes that initially came in to make our Love Rosé. After a short maceration, we lightly pressed off the juice for the wine, being mindful not to overpress so we could make a nice rosé. We were left with grapes that had a good amount of valdiguié juice so we put the skins into a stainless tank and filled it with water until the grapes were barely submerged. We let it macerate for three days, pressed it back into tank where it fermented for one week, then transferred it into pressurized tanks while the wine was still slightly sweet to finish fermentation. It was blended with our nouveau wine — a blend of everything we brought in from the past harvest. We wanted to create something new to share with you — bubbly, lower in alcohol and fun to drink ... Berkeley water used to hydrate the grape skins makes up roughly 25% of Aqua Vino. The water comes from the Sierra snowmelt in the Mokelumne River watershed.”

Imust admit that when I read this description I was pretty sure I wouldn't like this weird bubbly, but when I tasted it, I changed my mind. This wine is, indeed, wonderfully flavorful, fun to drink, and fun to share. Just perfect for the warm weather ahead.

To try these festive bubbles, head to Berkeley. Amtrak will get you there in just over an hour-anda-quarter, and the Fourth/ Fifth Street wine corridor is an easy walk from the Berkeley station. Hop on a noon-ish train and you'll have plenty of time for browsing shops on the Fourth St. corridor before your wine tasting begins.

Hammerling is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday for tasting, snacks, glasses and retail sales; Broc starts its hours on Thursday. So right now, your best bet would be a Friday or Saturday trip.

But I'm thinking Hammerling, with its new outdoor spaces and the advent of warmer weather, will soon expand its hours. After your sips at these two places, if you haven't reached your tasting limit, you can also walk over to wonderful wineries Vinca Minor and Donkey and Goat.

If you haven't reached your food limit, you can dine at one of the interesting restaurants in the Fourth Street area. Opt for elegant and expensive (Iyasare, for example, amazing Japanese food, get reservations) or more casual and not expensive (like Tacubaya, which serves sophisticated Mexican specialties). Even simpler, both Hammerling and Broc often offer food events in conjunction with local chefs. Check their websites. The last train back to Davis is at 8:25 pm on Fridays or 9:25 pm on Saturdays.

Don't have that many hours to spare? The Pip in Dixon offers all manner of wines by the glass and excellent small plates. Right here in Davis, Wines in Tandem is opening its back rooms and will soon be serving snacks as well as wonderful wines. The best way to keep up is to get on the mailing lists of all these places. My experience is that the emails come infrequently and are always informative and fun.

— Reach Susana Leonardi at vinosusana@ gmail.com. Comment on this column at www. davisenterprise.com.