Savoie, located on the French side of the Swiss border, and nestled in the Alps, is nearly as large as Bordeaux, yet produces only one-fiftieth as much wine. The majority of wine here is made from the Jacquère grape, and is crisp and refreshing.

When Pierre Boniface took over Les Rocailles from his father they made one wine (Apremont, from Jacquére grapes) from just under 20 acres of vineyards. Pierre now makes nine different wines, has greatly improved the facilities by adding stainless steel fermentation tanks to capture the purity of fruit, and has increased his vineyard holding ten times over. He makes about 6,000 cases of Roussette de Savoie from just over 22 acres of vines. Eighty percent of his wines are sold within Savoie, and a further ten percent throughout the rest of France.

Brut des Rocs is a great example of sparkling wine that approaches the quality of a good bottle of Champagne, but maintains its own unique character, like drinking a crystal clear, freezing cold, alpine stream. There is a lot to think about here, but before you get swept away, look at your glass under a strong (incandescent) light, or under daylight. You might notice that there is a faint blue tinge to this wine. I don’t have a good explanation for the color, but it’s one of my favorite parts of the wine.

The grapes here are 90% Jacquere (the native white grape of Savoie) and 10% Chardonnay. Try this wonder with white sausages (like bratwurst, weisswurst, or even hot dogs or kielbasa), braised chicken, shellfish, or salads (great salad wines are rare). Drink now – 2010