Elevated Summer Soiree with Gloria Ferrer Wines

Thank you, Gloria Ferrer, for sponsoring this post. Elevate your everyday entertaining this Spring and Summer with Gloria Ferrer wines!

The summertime heat is quickly approaching- but that’s not a bad thing. It just means that rooftop summer soirees are about to kick off and we can have good excuses for eating cheese and fruit for dinner (even if the fruit comes in the form of fermented and bubbly.) I invited some of my girlfriends over for a kickoff toast to longer nights and warmer weather on my rooftop in Midtown, I had a hard time collecting “no’s” for the occasion.

Not until my study abroad Junior year of college did I start exploring with wine. My sorority sisters and I were well accustomed to the $4 bottle of sweetened wines on the discount shelves, but it wasn’t until I was in France did I realize wine could have a depth to it. In Reims, I had my first real glass of champagne, and from there on, I was hooked on those prized bubbles and became forever afterward someone with expensive taste.

When I have people over, I like to dust off a few of the nicer bottles of wine to enjoy with my guests. I’m not sure which love language it speaks to, but it gives me more joy when I can see my friends enjoying what I’ve prepared for them more than me enjoying it myself. Call me a curator, a creator, a hostess with hospitality, but treating others to something a little more luxe than they’re used to is one of my favorite joys. Perhaps that’s the Southern-raised woman in me, but my friends deserve the best from me.

My palate has explored other Gloria Ferrer wines, but this was the first opportunity I had to try their sparkling wine so I opted for both varieties: brut and rosé and I must admit, it immediately transported me back to my first sip of Champagne in Reims. Which makes sense since Gloria Ferrer is not only the first sparkling wine house in Sonoma Carneros, but also the first to bring back clones from France to plant their vineyard. Thirty years later, with over 335 acres under vine, the estate vineyards at Gloria Ferrer are known as experts in the production of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and produce estate grown still and sparkling wines that rival some of the world’s finest which have garnered over 500 gold medals and 50 90+ scores in the last 5 years.

As the evening dragged on the and post-grad gossip rang out from the belfries, we nibbled on a summer themed charcuterie board complete as the bubbles were drained from their glasses. We all agreed this was the perfect start to summer, and after a couple of glasses of bubbles promised to recreate it again soon with another round of Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine.