Sip Northwest, Summer 2016
TOP PHOTO COURTESY OF PONZI VINEYARDS SPARKLING MOVEMENT According to Rollin Soles one of Oregons OG winemakers The Willamette Valley could carve out a very exciting prestigious place in traditional method fi ne fi zz The potential could be grand Soles has made sparkling and still wine for more than 30 years hes the former winemaker at ARGYLE WINERY Oregons fi rst house of bubbles founded in 1987 Since leaving Argyle he has made wine under his ROCO label and this year is launching a sparkling wine label of his own RMS Soles has also greased the wheels of sparklings progress in the state by helping the career of Andrew Davis Davis apprenticed beside Soles at Argyle then set out on his own in 2013 when he started up the RADIANT SPARKLING WINE CO with Soles and his wife Corby as the original investors in this venture Radiant works with numerous wineries across the Willamette Valley to help each develop their own sparkling wine programs We have Pinot in abundance and plenty of Chardonnay Davis says If youre already growing these grapes youre 90 percent of the way there His impressive client list includes a number of still wine luminaries who are now making a name for themselves in bubbles ADELSHEIM ANNE AMIE BROOKS DE PONTE MCMENAMINS EDGEFIELD ELK COVE LANGE NATIVE FLORA PONZI ROCO SOKOL BLOSSER STOLLER TRISAETUM WILLAMETTE VALLEY VINEYARDS WALNUT CITY WINEWORKS RAPTOR RIDGE and REX HILL are all bottling under Davis de hand The Willamette Valley could carve out a very exciting prestigious place in traditional method fine fizz says Rolling Soles of ROCO and RMS The potential could be grand S I P N O R T H W E S T C O M H 68 Hes also working with a few sparkling only producers such as MELLEN MEYER which already has a sparkling Riesling and Brut blend in production as well as plans for a Blanc de Blancs and a rosé in the coming vintages Depending on each individual winerys needs Davis might work with producers on anything om consulting in the vineyard to selecting the best spots for sparkling grapes blending bottling storage and everything in between THE FUSS OVER FIZZ Wines made in the traditional method aka méthode Champenoise not to be confused with the bulk aka Charmat forced carbonation method cost more to make but taste better subjectively speaking Traditionally bubbly starts out as base wine a tart acidic juice or lightning in a bottle as Davis calls it To this base winemakers add a dosage of sugar and yeast that is calculated to produce fermentation in the bottle As the yeast in the bottle eats the sugar carbon dioxide is forced into the wine creating the bubbles Next the young sparkling wine is le to age on its lees The individual wine bottles are periodically turned or riddled and angled upward a process which gently moves the sediment toward the neck of the bottle The fi nal wines fl avor and character is developed during this stage
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