Journey of an Elixir – Sparkling “Reine des Sources”

When we tasted the first pink juice at the harvest of our Sparkling, Noah’s reaction said it all.

One sip and he grabbed it out of his mother’s hands.

(First juice, no alcohol, just sweetness of fresh pressed grapes)

Making our first Bubbly  Reine des Sources  has been a sparkling pink journey of learning, tweaking, tasting and wonderment.    

It began during a terrible summer of heat and drought when the word gloomy became a tired cliché.  An inauspicious start, but we explored the vineyard,  searching for the varietal that would bring us something fresh, crisp, a bit tart and extra-flavourful.  We chose our oldest and highest elevation parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon, and planned an early harvest to gain good levels of acidity and low alcohol. 

The harvest en famille scintillated with good spirits.   When we tasted the first pink juice we thought: “this is our effervescent draught of hope, a spit in the eye of war, climate change and multi media gloom.”

We made the wine along similar lines to our Rosé.  Everything about this Sparkling would reflect how well we did our work that Autumn.   Then we shipped it to our transformer who managed the second fermentation and the “riddling”  (turning the bottles regularly so the sediment (lees/dead yeast) sits in the neck.)  After that sediment is removed, comes the crucial moment of “dosage” – the addition of the liqueur d’expedition – a bit of sugar…

To make our decision about the dosage, we tasted 3 samples – from 11 grams to 20 grams of sugar per liter.  Although Demi-Sec or Sweet can be a popular choice, we chose the Brut at 11 grams to achieve a refreshing taste experience.   We wanted a Sparkling people would find fresh and flavorful, and be eager for the next sip.

That afternoon we did a family tasting to approve our decision.    Everyone agreed.  Delicious!

Then  came the exciting adventure of creating the Label.   

There is something about a label that’s a little like a christening.    Giving someone a name, some imprint of identity as you welcome them to your tribe.  We’ve always loved our Rosé label, Esprit de Jeanne.   The drawing was of our daughter Geneviève when she was a young girl, by celebrated Massachusetts artist Peter H. Reynolds.    Peter is the author of “The Dot”  and many other inspiring, illustrated books for children.  If you have the chance, visit his wonderful book store – The Blue Bunny –  in Dedham, MA.

Our desire was for a label of the same “family” as our Rosé.   And since Jeanne was the heroine of my novel “Jeanne: Seeds of Infinity,” we drew upon another character in the novel.   “The Queen of the Source,” a spirit in our forests, made perfect sense, as she is the source of secret healing remedies in the effervescent water of the spring.   

To our delight Peter answered, “What a sparkling idea!”   He put his magic pen to paper and we were thrilled to see our  wise and majestic Queen rise from the bubbling waters.   Thank you Peter for lending your talent, vision and energy to our project!    

Next step:  our graphic designer, Sarah Dabjat, a lady of finesse and imagination.  She created the mise en page, gracefully tolerating our back and forths, and made inspired suggestions such as unusual paper with a pearl tint, textured like raw silk.  And for the text, a surprise of deep violet ink… Thank you, Sarah!

And then one happy day – which happened to be my birthday, and just in time to celebrate the birth of a 4th grandchild –  our Queen arrived.  All dressed and boxed and ready to pop.

So pop we did.  Could we believe our tastebuds?   It’s hard to be modest when you’re bursting with pride – it was so yummy!    Well, we did a little jig of joy, as Jeanne and her brother would do, and we toasted to birthdays, milestones, and hope. 

Since that day, when we pop a bottle with friends and family, we raise our glasses to the many joyful gatherings around the world that we hope this elixir will accompany.

Our importer sent this photo from Maryland.   It’s always fun seeing the Sparkling on its way to customers – in the USA, the UK, Italy and throughout France.   

But what I love most is picturing folks celebrating life’s less than momentous moments:   being glad for bread, a roof, family, friends, peace.

Cheers!

Peter Reynolds:   https://www.peterhreynolds.com/