I never take champagne for granted. It is both poetic and magical. In a flute of the bubbly, I see the golden dawn in a glass of blanc de blanc or the crimson summer sunset in a brut rosé. The bubbles in champagne are like a billion shooting stars colliding and then dancing with each other. A bottle of champagne is truly a galaxy of pleasure.

Those of us addicted to its sparkle know all the famous houses: Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin and two dozen other notable houses.

The new world players are more of an unknown. Sure, there are the great champagne houses in California like Mumm and Chandon, but what about the smaller houses that aren’t part of an international monster corporation?

One of the leaders in the artisan sparkling wine movement is Schramsberg Vineyards, founded in 1862 by German winemaker Jacob Schram. He cut out and created a labyrinth of caves and planted the first vineyards in the Napa Valley hillside. The winery became a success, producing 12,000 cases at its peak until illness took its toll on Schram. He died in 1905. His son, Herman, took over until the insanity of Prohibition did the winery in.

In 1965, Jack and Jamie Davies found beauty and spirit in the decrepit winery. The Davies made Schram’s old Victorian house overlooking the vineyards their home. They decided to make a sparkling wine that wasn’t just bubbles, but a real wine with depth, texture and body – a revolutionary thought in the California sparkling wine industry.

In 1965, they made the first sparkling chardonnay in California, a blanc de blanc, and followed that success with a blanc de noir the following year. The wines have received international acclaim and have been served at state dinners at the White House since the Nixon era.

I tried a half dozen wines by the Davies family and Schramsberg Vineyards, all of which are excellent and hover around or above the 90-point scale. The first wine I tried was the Schramsberg Mirabelle brut rosé, a blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. It has rich mousse and a neon-pink color. The wine has a gentle crispness and a lovely raspberry surprise in the mid-palate. The near 50 percent chardonnay gives it a pineapple nuance. $24

I happily followed with the ’02 Schramsberg blanc de blanc, made with 100 percent chardonnay. It is a bakeshop. The wine is full of lemon-vanilla cream pie, zesty orange peel and pineapple upside-down cake. It’s well-structured and has a voluptuous body. $35

Next, I popped open a bottle of ’03 Schramsberg brut rosé. It has a rich, reddish color and farm-fresh strawberry and citrus-tang flavors. It has a surprisingly rich body and lingers on the palate, and is great with all sorts of food, like pizza, cheeseburgers and fresh fruit. $40

I sent the cork flying across the street when I opened a bottle of ’03 Schramsberg blanc de noir, made up of mostly pinot noir and a little chardonnay. The fruit is sourced from Napa, Mendocino and Sonoma counties. It has a pretty, onion-peel color with peach and nectarine flavors. It is as crisp as a freshly-picked carrot and has good weight. I love this wine. $35

I opened the last sparkling wine, Schramsberg Cremant. It is a demi-sec, slightly-sweet dessert wine with frothy bubbles. This unique wine is made primarily with a grape named flora, which is a cross between semillion and gewürztraminer. Chardonnay and gewürztraminer complete the wine. It has a wonderful nose and a lot of tropical fruit and melon flavors. It is a great after-dinner bubbly. $37

I opened a bottle of ’03 J. Davies cabernet sauvignon. This sister winery to Schramsberg is made by Jack Davies’ son, winemaker Hugh Davies, in honor of his father. This is the perfect expression of Diamond Mountain fruit, with black currants, chocolate raspberries, rounded tannins and a glorious finish. The wine will improve with age. Beautiful! It’s mostly cabernet sauvignon with a little malbec and merlot. Only 1,238 cases have been made. $69