Presidents & French Laundry Pour These 🇺🇸🍾 Now Your Turn! For Dads, Grads & Memorial Day
Four houses, four corners of California, and a combined record that includes three Wine Spectator Top 100 honorees in the last two years, the White House pour at the 1972 Nixon "Toast to Peace" in Beijing, the by-the-glass Champagne at The French Laundry, the toast that opened the Reagan–Gorbachev summit, and the California outposts of two of the most legendary houses in Champagne. All in stock, all priced between $28.99 and $49.99, all ready to pour by the weekend.
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A Note on American Bubbly Champagne for the Holiday.
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★ The Headline · White House Since Nixon ★ Schramsberg
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| Order Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs → |
The Schramsberg Story
The Sparkling Wine of the White House.
The By-the-Glass Pour at The French Laundry.
In 1965, Jack and Jamie Davies bought the abandoned Schramsberg estate on Diamond Mountain in Napa Valley and made what was then a wildly improbable bet: that California Chardonnay, made in the méthode champenoise tradition, could stand on equal footing with the great houses of Champagne. The first wine they released — the Blanc de Blancs — became America's first commercially produced Chardonnay-based brut sparkling wine.
Seven years later, in February 1972, President Richard Nixon carried that Blanc de Blancs to Beijing and poured it at the historic "Toast to Peace" with Premier Zhou Enlai — one of the most consequential diplomatic moments of the twentieth century. From that night forward, every American president has served Schramsberg at the White House. State dinners, inaugural toasts, treaty signings. For half a century, when the United States raises a glass, it is almost always raising Schramsberg.
And there is one more detail, quieter and rarer: for 26 years and counting, Schramsberg has crafted a custom cuvée called "Modicum" — made exclusively for Thomas Keller's restaurants. It is the bottle poured by the glass at The French Laundry. Diners pay $30+ a flute for it under quiet candlelight; almost nobody knows it is also Schramsberg. That is how serious the kitchen at the most acclaimed restaurant in America takes its by-the-glass sparkling.
The 2022 Blanc de Blancs is the current release of the wine that started all of it. Wine Spectator 92 points from Tim Fish (August 2025): "Dynamic and fragrant, offering lemon blossom, orange peel and blanched almond flavors. Finishes on a vibrant, fresh accent." Aged over two years on the lees. Methode champenoise. $36.99 a bottle.
The Schramsberg Resume
| ◆ 1965 — The Davies family revives Schramsberg. America's first commercially produced Chardonnay brut sparkling. |
| ◆ 1972 — Nixon's "Toast to Peace" in Beijing. The Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs is poured at one of the defining diplomatic moments of the 20th century. |
| ◆ Every White House since. Served by every American president from Nixon to today, across more than fifty state dinners. |
| ◆ 26 years · The French Laundry pour. Schramsberg's exclusive "Modicum" cuvée is the by-the-glass sparkling at Thomas Keller's three-Michelin-star kitchen — a partnership now in its 26th consecutive year. |
| ◆ 2025 Wine Spectator 92. The current 2022 Blanc de Blancs scored 92 points by Tim Fish for Wine Spectator (Aug 2025). |
"American sparkling sits at a moment where the very best houses are doing genuinely world-class work for half what Champagne costs. Schramsberg is the headline — the White House lineage and the French Laundry by-the-glass story are real, not marketing. Roederer Estate, Domaine Carneros, and Iron Horse round out the lineup; three of them are recent Wine Spectator Top 100. For Memorial Day, Father's Day, and graduation toasts — this is the bench."
— James Tran · Artisan Wine & Spirits
The Complete American Sparkling Lineup · In Stock
All 4 Icons.
From $28.99 to $49.99.
Listed in ascending price. Each click goes directly to the Artisan product page.
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★ Bottle 1 of 4 · The Cristal House in California Roederer Estate Brut NV
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| Order Roederer Estate → |
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The Story Founded in 1982 by the Roederer family of Champagne — the same house behind Cristal — on the fog-shrouded Anderson Valley floor. The California outpost of one of the most legendary names in Champagne, made with the same precision and house style. Wine Spectator slotted the current Brut NV at #20 on its Top 100 Wines of 2024 — one of the highest-ranking sparkling wines on the list, period. |
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Bottle 2 of 4 · Taittinger's California Outpost Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Brut 2019
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| Order Domaine Carneros → |
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The Story Founded in 1987 by the Taittinger family of Champagne, set on a hillside above the cool, fog-fed Los Carneros AVA. Taittinger sent winemakers, equipment, and house style to California — and the result is a Brut that drinks like a serious Champagne for half the price. Wine Spectator #33 on the Top 100 of 2023, with three of four major critics scoring 93+. |
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★ Bottle 3 of 4 · The White House & French Laundry Pour Schramsberg North Coast Blanc de Blancs 2022
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| Order Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs → |
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The Story America's first commercially produced Chardonnay-based brut sparkling, released in 1965. Poured at Nixon's 1972 Beijing "Toast to Peace," at the White House by every president since, and at The French Laundry by-the-glass (via the exclusive "Modicum" cuvée — now in its 26th year of partnership with Thomas Keller). Tim Fish (Wine Spectator, Aug 2025): "Dynamic and fragrant... lemon blossom, orange peel and blanched almond... finishes on a vibrant, fresh accent." |
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Bottle 4 of 4 · The Reagan-Gorbachev Summit Toast Iron Horse "Classic Vintage" Brut 2019
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| Order Iron Horse Classic Vintage → |
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The Story Family-owned, Green Valley AVA — the cool, fog-fed sliver inside Sonoma's Russian River Valley. Iron Horse has been poured at multiple White House administrations, most famously at the 1985 Reagan–Gorbachev summit that began the end of the Cold War. The 2019 Classic Vintage is the family's flagship Brut — Wine Spectator 94 points, #55 on the Top 100 of 2023. |
Pick Your Pour
How to Match the Bottle
to the Occasion.
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Memorial Day BBQ · Graduation Open Houses Roederer Estate Brut NV ($28.99). The case-friendly pour. Cristal-house pedigree at sub-$30. WS #20 Top 100. Pours generously for a crowd; nobody walks away unimpressed. |
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The Dinner Toast · The Crowd-Pleaser Domaine Carneros by Taittinger Brut 2019 ($34.99). Vintage-dated, beautifully balanced, recognizably "Taittinger" in style. WS #33 Top 100. The Father's Day dinner bottle that doesn't disappoint anyone. |
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The Statement Bottle · The Story Pour Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs 2022 ($36.99). The White House pour since 1972, by-the-glass at The French Laundry, America's original brut Chardonnay sparkling. The bottle that comes with a story. |
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Father's Day Gift · The Cellar Add Iron Horse Classic Vintage 2019 ($49.99). WS 94 points (#55 Top 100). Family-owned, summit-toast pedigree, Russian River cool-climate fruit. The bottle for the dad who already has the cellar — he won't have this one. |
The American Sparkling Lineup
Four Icons. Three Top 100s.
From $28.99 to $49.99.
Memorial Day is twelve days out. Father's Day on June 21. Graduations every weekend until summer. Four bottles, one country, every occasion covered — from the everyday Roederer Estate at $28.99 to the family-flagship Iron Horse at $49.99.
| Roederer Estate — $28.99 → |
| Domaine Carneros 2019 — $34.99 → |
| Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs — $36.99 → |
| Iron Horse Classic Vintage 2019 — $49.99 → |
Cheers,
James Tran
Artisan Wine & Spirits · Mountain View, CA
Questions? Chat live · sales@artisan.wine
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