To converse about sparkling wine, one has to be willing to share personal experiences that most often involve a memorable moment of celebration. It doesn’t always have to involve celebration, though. It could simply convey an emotion you recall when you first sipped a particular wine. Perhaps the sunshine felt especially comforting, or a particular scent permeated the air that you pick up in the wine’s aroma, or the minerality of a wine connects you to the soil and rainfall experienced during a visit to the vineyard where those grapes were grown.

Wine déjà vu is interesting, and when I opened a bottle of Cremant d’Alsace Rosé produced by Gustave Lorentz, the group who sipped this sparkling pinot noir had much to share. My personal reaction was more about Alsace, a region in France I did not get to visit during my year living in Paris. Once I tasted this sparkling brut made in “Methode Champenoise”, my desire surged for a visit to explore Alsace.

A oenophile friend among my group of tasters had visited Alsace, so it brought her the opportunity to share details of her travels and love of cremant. Another in our group is a huge fan of rosé wine, so she was thrilled once she tasted the Alsace cremant and realized a new discovery to add to her wine collection.

We sipped this refined aperitif (valued ~$30/bottle) at the start of a dinner party, and it was perfect in its reception, both in its fresh and subtle fruit taste, and in its chilled serving as a toast to a wonderful evening. This pale, straw-colored sparkling is definitely worthy of opening at the start of any dinner party, if only to see where the conversation goes.

For more information on Gustave Lorentz, visit http://www.gustavelorentz.com.