Most houses give the wine color by adding a portion of still, red Pinot Noir wine to the blend before the Champagne-to-be undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle, the one that produces the trapped bubbles.

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He also advocates other technologies still controversial: adding enzymes (to enhance wine's color) or adding microbubbles of oxygen (to speed its aging).

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Pretty in the glass with a lacy pink color, the wine has a cranberry spiciness and floral strawberry quality that works well with slightly richer dishes (think cheesy shrimp and grits).

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His approach is simple: Wine can't just be about taste, color and mouth feel.

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There are certainly exceptions, some notable, but it is more than fair to say in a rather sweeping generalization that California chardonnays are devoted to a rich, fat, buttery style, with a heavy-handed use of oak barrel aging, resulting in a wine best enjoyed on its own or at cocktail parties, usually deep golden in color.

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