The short answer: a Blanc de Blancs is a white sparkling wine made from white grapes, and the name carries Champagne’s idea of what that should taste like: lean, sharp and high in acid. Our Whale is 100% Chardonnay too, but it tastes like California. It’s generous, ripe and round, with bubbles that keep it bright. That’s why we call it sparkling California Chardonnay.
Not a Blanc de Blancs
“Blanc de Blancs really kind of talks about it being Champagne,” says winemaker and co-founder Dan Person. Other producers use the term for any white sparkling wine from white grapes. But the name comes with an expectation. “The connotation for Blanc de Blancs is that it is a lean, high acid wine that is just kind of slightly punishing on the palate.”
When Dan made the Whale, it went the other way. “It’s not super lean. It’s actually quite generous,” he says. “There’s a ripeness and a richness, even though we’re picking it relatively early.” The bubbles are there to brighten and lighten the palate, not to strip the wine down. “It’s something that’s actually much more sort of yummy and easy to drink.”
His one word for it: unctuous. “It’s truly California Chardonnay, with this bright, delicious fruit and an unctuous texture.”
Picking for balance
Picking early is how we keep sparkling wine fresh, but in California it’s a balancing act. “Pick decisions come down to balancing acidity and alcohol,” Dan says. Our grapes ripen quickly, so the vines have little time to soften their acidity. “We actually tend to have higher acids in California than in Champagne.” Pick too early and the wine is harsh. Pick too late and there’s too much alcohol. “The ripening for us is finding that balance.”
A blend of years and places
The current Whale, release V.23, blends three vintages: 14% from 2022, 60% from 2023 and 26% from 2024. The fruit comes from San Benito, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties, including Vista Verde Vineyard in San Benito County, owned by Williams Selyem.
Why blend? “The real goal for blending across years and vineyards is to really assemble the best wine that we can,” Dan says. It’s the same reason the label says California rather than a single county. “In the case of blending multiple vintages, we’re giving ourselves some aged component, some older stuff, mixed in with some younger stuff. The older stuff is bringing the sort of richness and maturity, and the younger stuff is bringing brightness and fruit, that sort of pop of energy.”
The barrel and the yeast
The Whale’s base wines ferment with native yeast and age in neutral barrels, up to 30 months for the 2022 part of the blend. That long rest on the yeast in barrel is where the creamy texture comes from. Of all our critters, the Whale is the one that carries the most of that savory barrel-yeast character, which we explain in our post on the two yeasts in every bottle. “It has this really nice creaminess that comes from that barrel aging,” Dan says. “That’s essential for the way we make the wine.”
In the glass
What surprises a Champagne drinker? “It’s that sense of richness and ripeness and power that is much more generous than a typical Champagne,” Dan says. “So it’s really that concentration.”
Why a whale?
“That’s what a whale is,” Dan says. “It’s big and powerful, and it has this sort of fattiness to it. That’s the unctuous quality of the California Chard coming through. Part of being a whale is being big on the palate.”
When to open one
“Every moment is the right moment,” Dan says. A Wednesday night or a Saturday night, at a restaurant or at home. If he had to pick one, it’s catching up with old friends. It’s a great cocktail-hour wine, and it holds its own at the table, with fried chicken or a seafood tower.
Serve it between fridge and cellar temperature: take it out of the fridge and let it warm a little in the glass as you drink.
Quick answers
Is sparkling Chardonnay the same as Blanc de Blancs? Often the grape is the same, since many Blanc de Blancs are 100% Chardonnay, but the style differs. Blanc de Blancs usually means a lean, high-acid wine in the Champagne tradition. Our Whale is richer and riper.
What does Blanc de Blancs mean? “White from whites”: a white sparkling wine made only from white grapes.
What does the Whale taste like? Ripe and generous California Chardonnay with a creamy, unctuous texture and bright bubbles.
What food goes with sparkling Chardonnay? Fried chicken, a seafood tower, or just good friends at cocktail hour.