(photo courtesy by Bluet FB)
According to the website, "Thoreau called wild blueberries “bluets” and wrote of their “innocent ambrosial taste, as if made of the ether itself”. Bluet wild blueberry sparkling wine captures summer in Maine with the purity of a single ingredient: native Maine wild blueberries. Bluet Méthode Champenoise and Bluet Charmat Method are bubbly, dry wines with bright natural acidity...."
"Michael Terrien and Eric Martin grew up together in Maine. They headed west after college and teamed up making wine in Napa for back-to-back harvests. Eric became a novelist and moved to North Carolina, while Michael continued making wine in California, and every summer they’d meet in Maine. Bluet was born of these four decades of friendship...."
According to the website, :Bluet wild blueberry sparkling comes in two styles: Champagne and Charmat. Both are made from 100% Maine wild blueberries. With the Champagne Method, secondary fermentation occurs in bottle followed by disgorging à la volée to expel the yeast. With the Charmat Method (and this is the way Prosecco is made) the secondary fermentation takes place in tank prior to filling bottles. The wines are naturally different: the Champagne Method boasts a creamy, fine mousse and complex flavor while the Charmat Method is brightly bubbly with vivid fresh berry aroma." I had the champagne-styled wine.
Now, before you tell me how skeptical YOU are, how about this? This wine has been raved about in the following legit publications:
Eric Asimov ~ The New York Times, “It’s this iconic fruit of Maine, and we know there’s a cipher, a geography, that’s written into it,” he said. “It’s got to make something that speaks of this place.”
Astrid Lium ~ The Boston Globe, “Bluet is not intended to emulate traditional grape wine, but rather it is forging a unique identity and providing a fresh experience for wine drinkers. Although this tart beverage is currently considered a regional delicacy, that may change as it expands beyond its Maine roots.:
Mary Pols ~ Portland Press Herald, “Can blueberry wine with bubbles give Maine farmers a meaningful outlet for sales?”
Ray Isle ~ Food & Wine, “I like its crispness, the low alcohol level, and the intense blueberry character it offers without sweetness. Seems like an ideal summer possibility for drinking by the water in Maine, actually, which is where I am every August. I think Bluet would also be a great aperitif/cocktail hour drink.”
Pretty impressive, but honestly, not as good as the wine.
I opened the wine with a friend from California, not really sure what to expect. The wine was fabulous! The bready, yeasty note soon slowly melted into a big blueberry cobbler/.blueberry muffin kind of nose. Not super sweet in its sensation, but more like an honest fresh blueberry kind of way. There's plenty of acidity in this wine, so that stops it from being one of those hideously cloying blueberry concoctions seen in tourist areas. This is a sophisticated wine. And a sure crowd pleaser. Great complexity and balance, and the fruit, like any other well made quality wine, lingers on the palate beautifully for long time. Delicious!
Loved it! And you will too!
I said above, I bought my first bottle.....there were many more that followed. This stuff is great! I went back for more. And so will you!