We have something more to celebrate! The successful return of Taste Washington and the growing number of Washington wineries producing sparkling wines. 

Hard to believe there are so many wineries producing bubblies. And in addition to the Grand Tasting, there was a fun and fascinating seminar about bubblies which you can read about below. 

At the last seminar during the Walla Walla wineries Seattle visit, one topic was the impact on the wine industry because of hard seltzer, with lower alcohol, that is clawing its way up in sales. There’s also been an uptick in sales of products like piquettes and pet nats. These are bottles of naturally-fermented bubblies that are lower in alcohol. But unlike hard seltzers, these products are tough to scale up and still have a consistent product. Because of the way they’re made.

We’ve all had reason to clink a flute of sparkling wine at special occasions, brunch or a side board of appetizers. Traditional sparkling wines could be a French Champagne, German Sekt, Italian Prosecco, or Spanish cava. Some of us may have even had the lesser known Crémant, Blanquette de Limoux, Braccheto or Franciacorta.

Each of these bubblies have two things in common – they start out as still wines and at a certain point during fermentation, depending on the style the winemaker wants to achieve, carbonation is introduced. Different regions have distinct ways to produce those tiny bubbles. 

So how do sparkling wines get their bubbles? There are several ways but two big factors - time and space are the domain of "Méthode Champenoise" or " méthode traditionnelle." It’s complicated. These methods take time and need miles of caves as the wine finishes which sometimes takes a few years.

Grapes are generally harvested earlier when sugar levels are low and acid levels high. After the wine has fermented, it requires secondary fermentation in the bottle. The still wine is bottled and filled with a solution of yeast, wine and sugar called tirage, then the bottle is capped and stored in a riddling rack neck down.

As the yeast eats the sugars, it expels carbon dioxide (CO2) which is trapped inside the bottle. The wine is riddled (given a shake and a turn) at least four time a day either by hand or by machine for several months. The dead yeast cells slide into the neck of the bottle. 

Disgorgement is next. The plug of dead yeast cells is frozen and the cap removed. The frozen plug of dead yeast cells pops out of the bottle from the pressure of the CO2. 

After disgorgement, a dosage of sugar and wine is then added.  The amount of sugar in the dosage will determine if the wine will finish dry or sweet. The dosage tops up the wine and also helps balance the acidity with a little sweetness.

After dosage, comes the cork, then the bale and foil. Some may age further for a few years. 

The Taste Washington Sparkling Wines of Washington seminar featured 5 effervescent panelists –Kristin Bacon from Sip Publishing, Andrew Gerow from Tirriddis Winery, Cristian Grieb from Treveri Cellars, James Montone from Syncline Winery and George-Anne Robertson of Yellowhawk Resort. 

Panelists talked about what and how they make their bubblies, adding little bits of insight into the production of a sparkling wine. And it’s a fine line the winemaker has to tread.  

The list of equipment alone to produce Méthode Traditional is long and expensive. Christian Grieb listed the equipment -  a tank for blending the cuvee, filler to fill the bottles, crown capper to cap the bottles, riddling racks, an ice bath to disgorge, that filler again for the dosage, then cork, bale, foil and label. Ten different machines to get that bubbly to market.

Non-traditional, less time consuming methods are Charmat, forced carbonation and Méthode Ancestral or Pétillant Naturale (Pet-Nat). For the forced carbonation and Charmat methods, the secondary fermentation is done in a big pressurized tank rather than the bottle.  With less time and space needed, these wines are quicker to market. 

Most famous for the Charmat process is Prosecco. For Prosecco, the wine transferred from its first fermentation tank to a sealed pressurized tank. CO2 is pumped into the pressurized tank and Voila! Secondary fermentation is complete. The wine is then filtered under pressure, bottled, corked, baled and labeled and shipped to market. 

The carbonation method simply takes a still wine and carbonates in a pressurized tank. The base wines and tirage are blended into a large tank. As the wine ferments again, the CO2 causes the tank to pressurize. After that the bubblies are then filtered under pressure, bottled, corked, foiled, labeled and sent to market without aging.

Pét-Nat is the wild child of sparkling wine. Rather than blending the still wines and fermenting a second time, it's bottled while still fermenting the first time. These wines are made in much smaller batches, unfiltered, and lower in alcohol. As James Montone explained when bottling, these wine are inconsistent. The wine on top will taste different the bottom of the tank because they’re unfiltered.

This list is not complete; it just illustrates how many wineries are making sparkling wines. Herein are 20+ bubblies from the Grand Tasting and the seminar: 

Alexandria Nicole Cellars Sparkling Rosé, Horse Heaven Hills

Aquillini Gia Bella 2020 Red Mtn. Cabernet Sparkling Brut Rosé

Balboa Winery Columbia Valley Sparkling Grenache and Mourvèdre Rosé 

Cave B Estate Winery Ancient Lakes Sparkling Rosé

COR CELLARS 2022 AGO Columbia Gorge Sparkling White

Elentone Columbia Valley Rosé of Pinot Noir 2019

Foundry Vineyards 2021 Arete Vineyard Chenin Blanc Pét Nat

2021 Grosgrain Kiona Vineyards Lemberger Pét-Nat

Karma Méthode Champenoise Columbia Valley 2018 brut 

Patterson Cellars Pine Brake Vineyard Sparkling Pinot Noir

And 2020 Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Chardonnay

Portlandia Columbia Valley Sparkling Brut Chardonnay

Savage Grace Columbia Gorge Grüner Veltliner Pét-Nat 

Syncline Sparkling Celilo Vineyards brut, Blanc de Noir Celilo Vineyards 2014

Tirriddis (steps in making traditional sparkling wine: tirage, riddle, disgorge) Columbia Valley Brut Rosé

Treveri Cellars Blanc de Noirs, Blanc de Blancs Brut, Sparkling Rosé, Yakima Valley brut prestige 2015

Wilridge Sparkling Rosé of Nebbiolo

Yellowhawk Bubbles (75% Riesling, 25% Pinot Gris), Sparkling Chardonnay