Roederer Estate California Sparkling Wine Tasting with Special Guest Winemaker Arnaud Weyrich

"It wasn't always like this. Before Paris, people didn't drink our wine. I mean, my friends did. But you could hardly consider their palates discerning..."

Bo Barrett - Bottle Shock 

We have been good friends with Maison Marque and Domaines for many years and we have hosted at least 100 events over the last 27 years with this family-owned company that was founded in 1987 as the US sales and marketing arm for Champagne Louis Roederer and its California winery, Roederer Estate.  The key objectives were to manage the complex distribution system in order to ensure the delivery of perfect quality products to the consumers as well as to build each individual brand’s image and what a better place to host an event than at the Wine Watch Wine Bar.  So, when I heard that the winemaker for Roederer Estate was coming to South Florida I jumped at the chance to host an event at the wine bar with Arnaud Weyrich.

Today, the company has grown into a well-respected marketer of prestigious, family-owned producers. A group of wineries represented by MMD are owned by Maison Louis Roederer, including:  Roederer Estate, Scharffenberger Cellars, Domaine Anderson, Merry Edwards Winery, Ramos Pinto, Delas Frères, Domaines Ott, and the Bordeaux properties of Château Pichon Comtesse and Château de Pez.

We have everything that this wine group produces in the store and for the last 27 years that I have owned the store Roederer Estate has been our biggest seller in it’s category!!  To me nothing comes close to the quality of this the entry level Sparkling wine that we have on SALE on this offering for $25.50, I challenge you to find a better bottle of bubbles at this price from anywhere in the world including Champagne!   
 

Join us as we welcome Arnaud to South Florida for a special night of Roederer Estate wines paired to an incredible menu prepared by chefs Toni and Dani.  The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. 

Roederer Estate California Sparkling Wine Tasting

with Special Guest Winemaker Arnaud Weyrich

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

7:30 PM

NV Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley

Price: $30.00               Sale Price: $25.50     

Founded in 1982, Roederer Estate is nestled in Mendocino County’s fog-shrouded, Anderson Valley. As the California property of Champagne Louis Roederer, Roederer Estate builds upon a centuries-old tradition of fine winemaking. The premium grape growing region's proximity to the Pacific ocean gives rise to a gentle cycle of warm days and cool nights, allowing grapes to mature slowly on the vine and develop full varietal character. Among the very few California sparkling wine houses that only sources estate-grown fruit, Roederer Estate is also meticulous about all its farming decisions. The winemaking process begins with in-depth knowledge of the Estate soils to introduce open lyre trellis system or high density plantation, extends to the decision to farm vineyards organically and biodynamically, and finishes by painstakingly tracking grape maturity to achieve perfect balance at harvest.

2020 Roederer Estate "Clark Road Vineyard "Anderson Valley Brut Sparkling Wine

Price: $45.00               Your Price: $39.60

When a wine is made from a single vineyard, rather than from a blend of selected lots of wine, it becomes a representation of a specific place. In the case of our newest offering, 2020 Clark Road Vineyard, it is an expression of a specially chosen site on our estate, or what could be referred to as a “grower” wine. The Roederer Estate house style is modeled upon what we learned from our forebears in France, and in that vein, to make a true “grower” Champagne in France, you must get your hands dirty in the process of crafting your wine from the roots up.

2020 Clark Road Vineyard is a hand-made bottling. This vineyard is on the cool west side of Anderson Valley, where Pinot Noir thrives. We are intimately familiar with this site, which we have been farming since 1999. During those years, we have learned that we can leave the fruit on the vine longer than other sites, and as we allow it to ripen, it develops the juicy acidity so essential to top-quality sparkling wine. Flint and pastry crust aromatics showcase long aging on the yeast and give way to delicate ripe cherry flavors. The bubbles are soft on entry. This wine is bold, yet delicate and long.

Clark Road Vineyard sparkling wine offers insight into a sense of place, and it validates that we belong here, with our hands in this earth. We are delighted to share it with you.

Price: $69.00               Your Price: $60.72

(100 Points) If sunshine could be bottled it would be this. Aromas of fresh succulent stone fruit, a hint of yeast, citrus blossoms and notes of quince on the nose. The mousse is creamy and light with baked red apples, blood orange zest, white grapefruit, sticky caramel and layered salinity with a mouthwatering finish. It will bring a smile to your lips. Cellar Selection Wine Enthusiast

NV Roederer Estate Brut Rose, Anderson Valley, USA

Price: $36.50               Your Price: $32.12

(93 points) "This wine is pale-pink salmon-hued with aromas of yeasty brioche, fresh raspberry, youthful strawberry, white tea and spiced orange zest on the nose. The midpalate is firm mousse, dried raspberry, orange blossom, gliding into supple orange cream and white grapefruit with a dry finish. Pair with life." Wine Enthusiast.

2015 Roederer Estate L'Ermitage Rose Anderson Valley

Price: $105.00                          Your Price: $92.40

(94 points) "This effusively aromatic blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from Roederer Estate is absolutely delightful. L’Ermitage, both Brut and Rosé, is a special tête de cuvée. This sparkling wine is made only from pre-selected, estate-grown grapes in exceptional years—aromatics of pink cotton candy, ripe apricot flesh and red apple peel. The palate is exquisite and refined. Candied peach, blood orange and a touch of wet chalk to finish." — Decanter, Clive Pursehouse, July 2023

Menu

Truffle Parmesan Shoestring Fries

Smoked Ducktrap Salmon  topped with Italian Sturgeon Caviar on Smashed Tater tots

Crispy Pork Belly with Orange Marmalade BBQ Served over Creamy Georgia Grits

Fried Chicken Kiev served with Bernaise Sauce and Foie Gras Torchon Toast

Fruit tart with Limoncello Whipped Creme

The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $195 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com.  Please let us know when you make your reservations if you have any food allergies or dietary restrictions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.

A bit about Roederer Estate

Unlike most of the major Champagne houses which count on independent growers for most of their stocks, the firm of Louis Roederer believed that reliance on others was tantamount to accepting a diminution in quality.  Although Roederer was always looking to expand its holdings, it was almost impossible to find vineyards in Champagne that appraised as high as Roederer's average 97.5% rating.  In a generation of earnestly searching, Roederer was able to add a meager eight acres to its holdings.  Sales had topped out at about 2,000,000 bottles - just about where they had been almost 100 years ago!  The house philosophy meant that Roederer had maxed out in Champagne -the only choice was to come to America.

In the late 1970's when the decision was made to locate somewhere in the western United States, the president of Roederer, dispatched his uncle, André Rouzaud, who began a two year search from Santa Barbara to Oregon looking for that magic spot for Roederer to sink its roots.  An austere Chardonnay discovered in Mendocino's Anderson Valley was the deciding factor.  It was taken home to France and scored a first in a blind tasting against Chardonnays from Roederer's top vineyards.  From that point forward, the verdict was a go.

With the tremendous influx of sparkling wine emigrees we have witnessed in the past two decades, it seemed almost as if Roederer Estate was a Johnny-come-lately.  The California beachhead was established by Domaine Chandon in 1973 - then came Piper-Sonoma.  Roederer Estate was actually the third man in; but others, Domaine Mumm and Maison Deutz, for example, arrived later but debuted as much as two years earlier.  Roederer took its time; the goal was to make wines in America in its own image.  One didn't buy land, put down vineyards, build a winery, and bring in special equipment in the space of a year or two.  All the others had gotten on line much more quickly than Roederer because they did what they had always done in France - buy grapes from growers.  Roederer always eschewed that certain lack of independence and control over their wines - they were determined that their American estate would be different from all the others.

In 1982 Roederer purchased almost 600 acres in three locations in the Anderson Valley - overnight they became the valley's largest owner of vineyard property, claiming title to over 40% of the grapes in this small enclave of close-knit growers.  They built a winery that might not have pleased the flamboyant style of the late Madame Roederer, but it no doubt precipitated a sigh of relief in the local community.  The 48,000 square foot facility, built 2/3 under the ground, was constructed of rustic redwood and blended harmoniously with the existing structures in the surrounding area.  It is a stark contrast to the garish and ostentatious château unveiled several years ago by the Taittingers in the Napa Valley at Domaine Carneros.

Roederer has spared no expense (it is said that Roederer invested almost $20 million in their American venture) in its attempt to make the best possible wine.  According to Rouzaud, "The luxury of being a family business has allowed us not to have to worry about quarterly dividends or independent shareholders...the family realizes that it is going to take a generation to get a return on our substantial investment.  In the fall of 1988 we finally experienced the first small returns from a business standpoint."

Roederer's uniqueness lies more in its methods of production than in the fact that it's wines are entirely estate grown.  What separates Roederer from all others in California is its total commitment to oak.  A peek into the cool cask room at Roederer Estate is an impressive sight.  There rest the huge 1100 gallon oak casks constructed to house the reserve stocks that are the foundation on which the wines of Roederer Estate are constructed.  The beautiful polished barrels imported from central France from the forests of Châteauroux and Tronçay cost $9,000 dollars each.  So important are these barrels to the entire Roederer concept that winemaker Dr. Michel Salgues flies to France to personally inspect each new one before it is shipped to the States.  The last twelve arrived in the summer of 1990, thus completing the arsenal of 54 vats that will house 30% of Roederer's eventual production of some 85,000 cases.  These barrels are the very soul of Roederer's New World foray - these magnificent vessels serve the same purpose back home in France.  According to Rouzard, that is an important distinction:  "We are not looking for oak in our wines - we are looking for what happens to the wine in oak."

Roederer's first release (a blend from the 1985 and 1986 harvests) came in 1988 - it was a small debut with about 4500 cases appearing in select U.S. markets.  The vineyards are planted to about 60% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir, and it is here that Roederer Estate takes a token stab at autonomy from the ways of Mother Roederer.  The winery uses almost 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir in the assemblage.  Back home in France the ratio is nearly the reverse.  The winery introduced about 200 cases of an excellent NV Brut Rosé in 1992; in 1994 production climbed to about 1500 cases.  In 1993 Roederer Estate introduced what may be the best sparkling wine yet made in California - it was called "L'Ermitage".  4500 cases of 1989 "L'Ermitage" were produced, and the wine got sensational reviews.

A bit about our Host WINEMAKER ARNAUD WEYRICH

Arnaud Weyrich began his career at Roederer Estate as an intern after he graduated in 1993 from the prestigious Montpellier school, “Ecole Supérieure d’Oenologie” with

a Master of Science in Viticulture and Enology.

 With a strong background in both viticulture and enology, Arnaud put his education to work during his internship. This experience was the start of a great relationship with Maison Louis Roederer, as he later returned to the company and today holds the title of Winemaker and Vice President of Production.

 After completing his internship, Arnaud moved back to France to be with his fiancée. This move also included a position with a large retail company where he managed all quality control issues for the beverages under the company’s private label.

 With his passion for the wine industry and an interest in moving back to a smaller company, Arnaud happily returned to Roederer Estate in 2000. As assistant winemaker, he supervised all winemaking operations while respecting the 200-year-old traditional winemaking techniques so important to the house style of Champagne Louis Roederer.

 With a strong and diverse background in all winemaking techniques, Arnaud then moved to Reims where he was the Chief Technical Officer in charge of Development for Champagne Louis Roederer for over a year.

 When the opportunity arose in 2002, Arnaud moved his family back to Roederer Estate and has since managed the winery in all aspects, from the vineyard to the day-to-day business