Michael Lundeen counts four generations of family in the Willamette Valley, just outside McMinnville. His resume includes stints at some of Oregon’s best known wineries, but since 2008 he’s put his own name on his wines, and when it comes to sparkling wine, he’s put quite a stamp on the Oregon wine scene as a whole. Michael got into the sparkling wine business almost by accident. He had grapes that weren’t getting ripe enough to make still wine in a cold vintage, so he figured “hey, how hard can it be to make Champagne?” As nutty as that sounds, it seems to have worked, as Lundeen’s traditional method sparkling wine quickly became a new benchmark for Oregon. This latest edition represents a decade of work honing his craft and style, a wine that could pass as Champagne but speaks mostly to Oregon. A true traditional method wine, this is a non-vintage blend. 80% of the total comes from the bright, lean 2019 vintage. Two parts Pinot noir, one part Chardonnay, and a teaspoon of Pinot Gris were left on the yeast for three years. The nose offers green apple, lemon, cherry, sourdough yeast, almond, tarragon and fennel. The palate shows red cherry fruit with apple and almond accents and a strong soil driven minerality coming through the classic, creamy textured palate sizzling with tiny bubbles. Like many great traditional method wines, yeasty, nutty, notes bloom on the finish. Pair this with almost anything, really.