Visiting the nation’s capital calls for celebration, and what better way to do so than popping a bottle of regionally produced bubbly? Thibaut-Janisson-Wolfgang Puck private label was created for Puck’s restaurants CUT D.C and CUT Above, located at the Rosewood hotel.

I didn’t know much about these guys during my last trip to the Monticello AVA… I finally took a shot on their Blanc de Chardonnay, and WOW! Ladies and gentlemen, when you get two traditional-method experts working together towards the finest sparkling wine they can possibly produce, you pull the trigger.

I didn’t know much about these guys during my last trip to the Monticello AVA… I finally took a shot on their Blanc de Chardonnay, and WOW! Ladies and gentlemen, when you get two traditional-method experts working together towards the finest sparkling wine they can possibly produce, you pull the trigger.

The medium-bodied palate shows nice richness and concentration as well as nice linearity in the mouth thanks to a beam of fresh acidity that runs right through the middle. It's bone dry without being austere in the least.

Thibaut’s mission has been to bring sparkling wines into the mainstream. His feeling is that sparkling wines are highly versatile, and also appropriate as a quotidian pleasure.

This French-owned winery is the only one in [Virginia] specializing in traditional champagne method sparkling wine.

The Piedmont region of Central Virginia is an escape from the hectic work week and a get-away ... a chance to unpack a picnic basket filled with local artisanal cheeses and a fresh baguette alongside picturesque vineyards and uncork a bottle of Virginia wine or bubbly.

None of the lusher style Virginia Chardonnays blew our mind. In contrast, some of the successful sparkling wines based on Chardonnay seriously impressed us, most notably those from Thibaut-Janisson…

This French-owned winery is the only one in [Virginia] specializing in traditional champagne method sparkling wine.