Amista Vineyards Sparkling Wine and Caviar Featured in Holiday Gift Guide

Amista Vineyards Sparkling Wine and Caviar - The Perfect Holiday Gift

The Amista Sparkling Wine and Caviar Tasting was showcased in the annual Holiday Wine and Gift Guide for 2023 by the Jet Setting Fashionista, declaring, “Amista Vineyards produces some stunning Sonoma Sparkling Wines which are perfect for holiday gifting or just to enjoy day to day. My favorite is the Blanc De Blanc, which is perfect year-round.” JSF goes on to say, “for Christmas what’s more festive than their Sparkling Syrah?”

A caviar tasting has become a delicious way to make an Amista wine tasting even more special. It includes caviar from the California Caviar Company, crème fraiche and crispy sea salt kettle cooked potato chips.

Sparkling Syrah – The First Sparkling Wine from Amista

Since launching Amista in 2004, we made Syrah from our estate Morningsong Vineyards located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley just outside the town of Healdsburg. In 2005 we ended up making a Rosé of Syrah. It wasn’t exactly planned but turned out to be a happy accident.

Amista founder Mike, was supervising the pick of the Syrah in the middle of the night and in his enthusiasm, picked more than originally planned. It fit in the tank at the winery, but it was too full to allow for the process of fermentation. So, Mike had some of the juice put in barrels with the plan to blend it back with the rest of the Syrah after fermentation was complete. All it took was one taste to decide to bottle the juice and make our first rosé. It was a big hit.

In 2007, our winemaker asked if he could have some Syrah rosé juice to make a sparkling wine in his winemaking class using the traditional Methode Champenoise. We thought that was a great idea, especially if we could taste it. It was delicious, and in 2008 we decided to try making our own Sparkling Syrah. It turned out to be both luscious and beautiful – a glittering raspberry color – with tiny pink bubbles. We’ve been making it ever since and this uncommon sparkling wine has developed a cult following.

What to Pair with Amista Sparkling Syrah

Sparkling Syrah is wonderful for the holidays. It looks festive on a holiday table and pairs beautifully with the wide array of holiday dishes – roast turkey, ham, stuffing, cranberries, and sweet potatoes.

It’s also a great choice for a barbecue. It can stand up to ribs, sausages, and pork, and it offers a refreshing counterpoint to the richness of grilled meats or the perfect companion to barbecued shrimp.

Our Sparkling Syrah is surprisingly versatile. It goes well with spicy pizzas, a variety of appetizers, like cranberry and goat cheese in phyllo cups, as well as desserts like a creamy panna cotta with a raspberry coulis. And it’s perfect with spicy stir fry’s, Thai dishes, curries, and sushi.

Check out the Holiday Wine Gift Guide 2023.