Road trip to Sparkling Wine

We had the opportunity to visit Carlos Creek Winery in Alexandria, MN to learn a bit about sparkling wine!

Road trip!

Russ Funk, Carlos Creek Winery's Senior Winemaker, discussing the process of sparkling wine production standing next to the bottle filler they use when the wines need to be bottled under pressure. (For sparklers produced by injecting carbon dioxide or produced by the Charmat Method-where secondary fermentation happens in the tank).

Riddling rack for sparklers produced by the Traditional Method, (methode champenoise), where secondary fermentation happens in the bottle.

Josie Boyle, Assistant Winemaker at Chankaska Creek Ranch and Winery explaining the process of sparkling wine production using the Traditional Method.

Josie demonstrating disgorging where the crown cap and lees (dead yeasts accumulated after secondary fermentation into the neck of the bottle), are removed without losing much of the wine.

Josie, adding the dosage. After disgorging but before the final corking the bottle is topped off with a mixture of a little sugar, base wine and sulfur dioxide as a preservative.

Does this not look like fun?! Outside Carlos Creek's tasting room.

Vines on Vertical Shoot Positioned trellis system.

We had a great trip and are excited about the possibilities of Sparking wine prodution at Calico Skies in the future!