Treveri Cellars is a Sparkling Wine Lover’s Dream

Good Champagne is festive, bubbly, amazingly food-friendly and, unfortunately, expensive. If you enjoy this versatile beverage and are always on the lookout for a more economical sparkling wine alternative I’ve got a great recommendation.

Treveri Cellars will blow you away with the level of quality you get for what you pay. Every one of their current releases is flavorful and well-balanced and remarkably priced at less than $20 a bottle.

The tasting room is located in the facility previously occupied by Sagelands Winery (and if you go back further, the long defunct Staton Hills Winery), with easy access off of Interstate 82 just a few minutes east of Yakima.

Treveri’s winemaker, German-born Juergen Grieb, has been making wines in Washington for nearly 30 years. His sparkling wines tend to be a bit fruit-forward with a touch of sweetness that’s balanced so beautifully with crisp acidity you may not even notice it.

This style might not be universally embraced by sparkling wine drinkers who prefer bigger round and yeasty characteristics, but I found it to be wonderfully refreshing and, again, at a price level that no one can complain about.

Of the winery’s eight current selections here are the ones I found especially notable:

Extra Brut Chardonnay and Brut Chardonnay (about $14 each) – The extra brut is the driest of the Treveri wines with plenty of lemon and citrus flavors and a slightly creamy finish, while the Brut has more of a Granny Smith apple flavor profile. Either one would be excellent with fried or raw oysters.

Sparkling Pinot Gris (about $15) – Beautiful aromas and flavors of ruby red grapefruit, pear and melon melt into contrasting end notes that are both tangy and faintly sweet. This sparkler is virtually guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

Sparkling Riesling (about $17) – Bold honeysuckle aromatics lead to a mouthful of ripe peach and mango flavors. Bright splashes of lemon and pineapple also make this a perfect pairing partner with hot buttered crab.

Sparkling Gewurztraminer (about $17) – True-to-the-varietal flavors of honeydew melon and hints of spice are followed with a more pronounced honey-like finish. I’d call it liquid fun in a glass.

Sparkling Syrah (about $19) – Normally I’m not a big fan of sparkling reds, but this one impressed me with its intensely dark color, complex flavors of cherry and berry and slightly yeasty finish.

The tasting room is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 6 pm and wines can also be ordered on line at trevericellars.com.

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