One of my good girlfriends just turned 40, so to help her celebrate this milestone, several of us went to Vegas for a long weekend at the end of February.  We left DC at the crack of dawn on Friday morning and arrived in Vegas just as the day was getting started.  It didn’t take us long to get to our hotel, check-in, and get the party started.  Since what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, I’m not going to share too much.  However, since I hit the town with two other devoted wine lovers, I will say that it is a city that was made for us!  We ate at three fabulous restaurants (Aureole, Eiffel Tower Restaurant, and Nobu), each of which not only had amazing food, but also wine lists and pairing suggestions that could make even the finickiest wine drinker happy.  We also picked up several bottles of sparkling wine for the room because what is a celebration without bubbly?

The Moreno BHLV “Welcome to Las Vegas” Limited Edition Brut California Sparkling (winery) was made with French Colombard, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir grapes, which were grown in Mendocino County, and the bottle was decorated with hand applied Swarovski Crystals, which were imported from Wattens, Austria.  The sparkler had a medium yellow color and nice, persistent bubbles.  On the nose, there were lemon shortbread cookies.  In the mouth, there were lemons that were reminiscent of licking a wetnap and on the finish there was something almost aspartame-like.

Is this worth a glass after work? Eh…if you have a bottle on hand, drink it, but I wouldn’t go searching it out either.  At $50, this bubbly is one that you’ll probably only encounter on The Strip in Vegas, and if you do, you’re should be more interested in buying it for the novelty of the bottle than for the quality of the wine.  As long as that’s the case, this bottle is worth it because it’s the perfect novelty item for a wine lover in Vegas.  If you’re only looking for a bottle of good bubbly to drink, though, this is not one that would be high on my list. The sparkler itself had great aromas, but the flavors just didn’t live up to the promise.

Question of the Day: Have you ever been to Las Vegas?  If so, what is your favorite Vegas restaurant?  If not, is there a restaurant there that has been calling your name?

Purchased at ABC Stores
Overall: 2.5 Corks