This value-priced California sparkling wine will make you question expensive Champagne

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Ever wonder if you're overpaying for sparkling wine? That's exactly what crossed my mind while sipping the surprisingly sophisticated Peaks and Tides Sonoma Brut from Aldi. At just $13.99, this California sparkler challenges everything you think you know about budget bubbles.

I stumbled upon this gem during a routine Aldi visit, excited to discover several new wines after months of unchanged inventory. Made by Rack and Riddle—the custom sparkling specialists behind many premium California bubblies—this Sonoma Brut immediately stands out with its pedigree. While Aldi's Peaks and Tides label has offered Chardonnay and Pinot Noir before, this sparkling version raises the bar significantly.

From the first sip, I was struck by its balanced character: subtle fruit flavors that don't overwhelm, refreshing acidity that invites another taste, and enough complexity to actually contemplate what's in your glass. That's rare in a sparkling wine at this price point. It maintains the proper dry character expected in a brut, without any cloying sweetness. As I continued tasting, one thought kept surfacing: "Why would anyone pay three times more for Champagne when this delivers such satisfaction?" Modern winemaking has become the great equalizer, allowing for exceptional quality at accessible prices.

With the holiday season eventually approaching, consider grabbing a few bottles now while supplies last. Unless you're a dedicated Champagne aficionado, this $13.99 Sonoma sparkler will likely provide equal enjoyment while stretching your celebration budget significantly further. Have you found any surprising wine values lately? Share your discoveries and let's toast to finding luxury experiences without the luxury price tag!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, there it's Domain Dave CheapWineFightercom
again with another podcast, avalue price podcast.
This one's kind of unexpected.
I happened to go to my localAldi and they haven't had new
wines since like the spring.
They've been pretty stagnantand they had five or six new
wines there and I didn't knowwhat to buy and I was so excited

(00:26):
but I picked up the $13.99,which is kind of expensive.
For Aldi is the Peaks and TidesSonoma Brut bubbly.
Peaks and Tides is a brand thatAldi's had for a while.
It's it's a Chardonnay and it'sa Pinot Noir, and sometimes

(00:46):
it's just from Sonoma.
Sometimes it's from SonomaCoast, which is the ABA right
along the ocean there, and thistime it's made by Rack and
Riddle, which is a privatecustom bubbly.
They make champagne style winesthere and if you've had a value

(01:07):
price and maybe even higherCalifornia sparkling wine in the
last 10 years, there's a goodchance that you've tasted some
of their wine.
So they're a specialist.
When you see that they're theones making the wine, that's not
a bad thing at all.
We don't know much about it.
It's from grapes from Sonoma,makes sense.

(01:28):
I think Rack and Riddle havethree locations in Sonoma and
one in Lodi.
I'm going to take a sip.
This is kind of a fun wine.
This is a brute or a dry wine,and usually when you just see,
because there are no rules andregulations in Napa Valley for

(01:52):
making bubbly In Champaignthere's tons of them, but in
California you can do what youwant.
So Brut normally means thatit's going to be mostly
Chardonnay with maybe some PinotNoir, maybe some.
Well, they can actually addanything that they want to it.
But in Champaign know, it'sPinot, monet and music, just a

(02:17):
few things they can do.
They can add anything you wantthey want here.
But usually when you just seeBrut, that means it's basically
mostly Chardonnay.
Blanc de Blanc means it's allwhite grapes.
Blanc Noir means it is a whitewine, it's not a a red wine but
a white champagne or style winemade from red grapes.

(02:40):
And a rosé means that it'sprobably mostly red grapes with
some skin contact juice added in.
But other than that we don'tknow too much.
It doesn't have to beChardonnay and Pinot Noir, but
it probably isn't.
At $13.99 for Aldi, which is alittle bit more expensive than
their normal drinks, it probablyis.
And since Aldi tends to bereally inexpensive wines, this

(03:04):
is probably, you know, and I'mjust shooting from the hip maybe
some of the nicer vineyardsthat some of the bigger name
people use.
Take another sip.
This is a nice subtle fruitforward but not overly fruit

(03:31):
forward bubbly.
It's got good acidity, the kindthat makes you want to take
another sip, which is alwaysnice.
That might not be somethingyou're going to want in a $75
champagne, but in a $13.99 storebrand bubbly it's really nice,
it's a lot of fun.
It's got nice rounded fruit butit's subtle, it doesn't jump

(03:52):
out.
It's not sweet.
It's got nice rounded fruit butit's subtle, it doesn't jump
out, it's not sweet.
There's enough flavors in therethat you can actually sit there
for a second and contemplateyour glass and try to pick out
all that's there, which is anadded bonus for a, you know,
inexpensive value price bubbly.
Take another sip.
I mean it's, it's a good tastingwine.

(04:21):
Yeah, it's not Champagne butit's California, but I don't see
a problem with that.
I mean there's no reasonCalifornia bubbly has to be
Champagne.
It can be very good on its ownand I think this one is very
good on its own and it's kind ofgetting to the point they're
not quite there yet where thesevalue price bubbles make you

(04:48):
pause and think why am Ispending more?
You know there are moreexpensive wines Like champagne
is my favorite wine of all ofthem.
For the cheap wine finderthat's kind of a problem.
But these value champagnes arebeing well made.
The grapes are being grownproperly, they're being handled
properly, the winemaking isbeing done.

(05:09):
Everything is kind of a littlebit mechanized.
It's not the old days when theywere just doing everything by
hand.
It's the great equalizer, butit's something to start
considering coming up in theholidays.
The holidays are still far away,but there's no reason why you
might want to if you think yourstore is getting kind of low

(05:30):
grabbing a couple of bottles ofthis.
It's just a nice Californianorthern California, I think
Sonoma Bubbly.
It tastes great, you know, justput it away.
It's going to store easily upuntil the holidays and for
$13.99, it's going to be a thirdthe price of real champagne and

(05:52):
I think you might.
You know, unless you're achampagne head who's into it you
probably like this just as muchas that.
So adios, keep it cheap.
This is Domain Dave Coming atyou.
We got a bunch of wines, I gota couple of bargains and then I
got a whole bunch.
I'm going back to Aldi to drinkthe other five we got going.
So, adios, we'll talk to you ina couple of days.

(06:14):
Bye-bye.