Bubbles make this riesling even better
‘Bubbled’ wines are carbonated the same way as beer and cider — and this zippy white wine is all the better for it.
Sparkling wines have become so wildly popular that some winemakers are experimenting with new ways to add a tingle of carbonation and excitement to their still wines, too, as with this new “bubbled” spin on an iconic riesling from the Pacific Northwest.
The fermentation process used to make all alcoholic beverages generates carbon dioxide as a natural byproduct, so carbonation isn’t foreign to wine. In standard winemaking, this carbonation is allowed to dissipate before bottling, but over the past 500 years, vintners have developed specialized methods for making wines that sparkle and fizz.
The most influential innovation, pioneered in the Champagne region of northern France, was to add sugar to bottles of a still base wine, sparking a second fermentation in a closed vessel that could trap the resulting bubbles. To this day, almost all sparkling wines undergo a second fermentation. The most ambitious wines use the “Champagne method” (meaning the second fermentation occurs in the same bottle in which they’re later sold) or traditional-method large tanks, while more affordable options like prosecco from Italy induce the second fermentation in pressurized tanks.
Force-carbonating a wine — a practice common in beer and cider — is not routine in the wine trade, but this is changing fast. The demand for bubbles at bargain prices is inspiring less traditional winemakers like this one to experiment with “bubbled” versions of their still wines.
Here, a vibrant, racy, and lightly sweet riesling that has had a cult following for decades has been given a brilliant effervescent makeover with deliciously unfamiliar results. Twice-fermented riesling can make a compelling sparkling wine, but the process mutes the grape’s distinctive fragrance; by adding carbonation to a finished riesling instead, the wine’s green apple flavors and jasmine tea aromatics are amplified by zippy bubbles in a delightful and irreverent way. The only downside is that bubbled wines like these do go flat faster than other sparkling wines. But few will notice since the bottle will likely be finished well before then.
Charles Smith “Kung Fu Girl” Bubbled Riesling
Washington State
12% ABV
PLCB Item #100057055
on sale for $14.99 through Nov. 29 (regularly $17.99)
No alternate retail locations within 50 miles of Philadelphia according to Wine-Searcher.com
