The base wine for our 2004 vintage was made from 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir, the classic varieties used in France to make Champagne.  The wine was made using traditional methods:  secondary fermentation in the bottle produced the carbon dioxide which forms the bubbles in the finished wine.  It was then allowed to age on the yeast lees in the bottle in our cellar until it was disgorged.

2004 Brut Rosado (a pink sparkling wine with just a hint of sweetness)

After aging on yeast lees for about 3½ years, the base wine was disgorged to remove yeast sediments then topped up with a liqueur made from our 2006 pinot noir and sufficient sugar to produce 8 gm/l of sugar in the finished wine (this is a low level of sugar for sparkling wine; it is classified as ‘brut’ – dry – a term which is used up to 15 gm/l of residual sugar).  It is the red pinot noir table wine in the liqueur which causes the pink colour but the main reason for making this addition is to create the subtle but delicious strawberry characteristics.  Drink it by itself before a meal or with smoked salmon.