Tirage Bottling

Norm and his crew have been busy tirage bottling our 2021 sparkling wines this month. Producing sparkling wine requires a much more challenging process than still wine. A patient man by nature, Norm has mastered the Méthode Champenoise or traditional method. The Méthode Champenoise is labor intensive, requires attention to detail, special bottles and unique equipment due to the complexity of creating bubbles in the bottle. Each one of our sparkling wines is bottled by hand at the winery. We carefully create a yeast culture for each bottling. Nurturing a yeast culture requires chemistry, culinary skills and patience to attain the desired population. Norm admits that it can be quite nerve wracking. On occasion he has had to postpone bottling due to a temperamental yeast culture. So far, not this year! As you can see in the photos, we were motivated to return to flint bottles for our 2021 Rosé due to the glass shortage. The lovely natural color of the wine is showcased with this packaging.  

Read a great description of the Méthode Champenoise process from the Union des Maisons de Champagne here. 

Rosé sparkling wine stored in a tirage bin.

Gravity fed bottling machine at work.

Sherry Giovanacci working with the crown capper.