Pedigree, rather than taste, is often the decisive factor in the commercial success of a fine wine. Nowhere perhaps is this more true than in Champagne. No matter how delicate their texture or subtle their flavors, sparkling wines from other regions suffer in the eyes of the untutored for not having been produced in the precincts of Reims or Épernay. Still, one of the most refined examples released recently not only comes from Napa Valley but also bears a unique pedigree. Richard G. Peterson is one of the intr…