With the Fourth of July festivities behind us and temps here in Beverly Hills, California reaching the high 80’s, the summer is certainly starting to sizzle! As it goes with summer in Southern California we look forward to late afternoon relaxing swims in the pool followed by romantic dining al fresco under the warm starlit sky. A wonderful compliment to this idealic setting includes indulging in a gorgeous glass of refreshing sparkling wine. Summer bubbly! Read on…Cheers!

Breathless Wines is a boutique winery located in beautiful Healdsburg, CA that we recently made the acquaintance of and must say, are quite impressed. We sat down recently with co-owner Sharon Cohn and winemaker Penny Gadd Coster to taste the fantastic lineup of sparking wines offered up by this multi-award winning winery recently featured in Forbes Magazine.

Of the terrific sparkling lineup, which includes Rose, Blanc de Blanc, Brut, Blanc de Noirs, we particularly enjoyed Breathless Blanc de Noirs and Breathless Brut. Here we share the winemaker notes for both:

Blanc de Noir – This Breathless Blanc de Noirs has delicious flavors of brioche, and a hint of berry, with bright citrus aromas. While the fine mousse highlights these notes in the mouth, the lingering finish demands yet another taste. (93% Pinot Noir, 7% Pinot Meunier. Aged 32 months)

Brut – A blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Breathless Brut’s fine mousse paints the palate with a light, refreshing effer- vescence. Enjoy tropical notes of guava and pineapple with citrus highlights a hint of yeast. The finish is smooth and satisfying. (60% Chardonnay, 40% Pinot Noir. Aged 24 months)

Apart from the gorgeous fresh flavor profiles these wines share we took note of their vibrant acidity and lively mousse characteristics that assisted nicely into a pleasant somewhat lengthy finish. Penny not only shared her wealth of wine-making knowledge answering all our wine geek questions about riddling, dosage and Méthode Champenoise but also offered several culinary pairings that would compliment the wines in both a casual and semi-formal dining environment. Said another way, these wines are more than special occasion wines, they have been created with the intent to celebrate special moments, big or small. We can’t agree more given the wines noted and focused craftsmanship, attractive style and value. By the end of the tasting we felt quite good about sharing these wines with our wine loving community and have chosen to feature both Breathless Blanc de Noirs and Breathless Brut in our next Beverly Hills Wine Club Virtual Tasting scheduled for Saturday August 1st 4-5pm PST. The tasting will be lead by the team at Breathless Wines including winemaker Penny Gadd Coster. We’re told there may be some generous surprises…RSVP below!

Breathless will be extending a generous limited time offer of these two wines for members of the Beverly Hills Wine Club shipped to you in time for our virtual tasting or to enjoy at your poolside, dining table or wherever and whenever you enjoy gorgeous sparkling wine. This Beverly Hills Wine Club exclusive offer is available here (participation in virtual tasting is highly recommended but remains your option)

RSVP for our Beverly Hills Wine Club Virtual Tasting with Breathless Wines August 1st 2020 at 4-5pm PST. Event fee is $10 (per household). Members/guests welcome.

Breathless Wines is a family affair, built by the love of three sisters, Sharon, Rebecca, and Cynthia, and the passion for life that their mother passed down to them. The sisters,
along with Breathless Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster, are dedicated to creating refreshing method champenoise sparkling wines that pair well with life’s special moments. “Breathless is about celebrating moments in life—big or small—that take our breath away,” says Sharon Cohn, “We are honoring our mom, Martha, who encouraged dreaming big—‘never take a breath for granted, and live life to the fullest’ was her mantra.” Founded in 2008, Breathless is run by the three sisters, each contributing their own knowledge and specialty in the Wine Industry. Sharon Cohn (sister 1 of 3), the “glitz, glamour and panache” behind Breathless, handles marketing; Rebecca Faust (sister 2 of 3) brings her entrepreneurial spirit and two decades in the wine industry and is the co-owner of Rack and Riddle, a highly acclaimed custom wine service; and Cynthia Faust (sister 3 of 3) brings business savvy and 20 years as a financial manager to the Breathless Brand.

Penny Gadd-Coster is an acclaimed winemaker and expert in Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine production. She brings her expertise to numerous wine brands as Executive Director of Winemaking at Rack & Riddle and is the founding winemaker of Breathless Wines. Her career began 35 years ago at Jordan followed by J Vineyards & Winery. She has mentored under the likes of Rob Davis, André Tchelistcheff, Oded Shakked and Raphael Brisbois. Her talents have earned numerous medals, 90+ ratings, the distinction of “Winemaker of the Year” and was awarded two Sweepstakes awards from the Sonoma County Harvest Fair–in 2013 and again in 2018.

The vineyards for Breathless produce grapes with complexity and structure reflective of the diverse climates of Sonoma County and the North Coast. Vineyards from Carneros, Anderson Valley, Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley are all home to grapes that produce Breathless Wines. Having honed in on the best vineyards, and within those–the best clones, allows the personality across vintages to achieve consistency.