Flight of three of our ‘Wacky Bubbles plus a trio of bites to accompany for $25
May 26, 27 & 28 ~~ June 3
As the old song says, everything old is new again! Wacky Bubbles are the something new/old! Bubbly wine started out as a cloudy murky brew. There was no way to remove the yeast that created the bubbles from the bottle without losing most of the fizz. Then Veuve Cliquot came along {or as the more skeptical think, it was cellar master Antoine de Müller.} The development of riddling allowed removing the yeast and sediments from the wine, making possible clear bubblies. In the 30’s the cuvee close or autoclave allowed for bulk secondary fermentation. Now the bubbles could be fermented into the wine and then the yeast sediments removed in the bottling process. Today, there are wineries that put the yeast~making the bubbles into glass beads for super easy removal.
One question: has this race for clarity removed something in addition to the yeast sediments from the wine? In what I refer to the Wacky Bubbles movement {col fondo in Prosecco or Pet~Nat in the natural wine movement} the answer is clearly: YES!
And the result is a move back to sparklers hazy to positively cloudy with yeast sediments. Wacky Bubbles! And, of course, the Grotto loves these Wacky Bubbles.
We offer a selection of prosecco col fondo which is Prosecco that is not disgorged; bottled with yeast sediments in the bottle. We have examples from Ca Dei Zago and Casa Costa Piane which are hazy with sediments. Then there is Costadilla, which starts with one hazy cuvee and moves to positively muddy in their other cuvee.
We have a new world pair from California. A malvasia by Birchino and riesling from J Brix, both with a natural secondary fermentation in the bottle.
One feature all these Wacky Bubbles wines have is that they are bone dry. That is because the secondary fermentation in the bottle use up all available sugar, and the fact they are un~disgorged means no sweetener can be added! On the other hand, keeping the wines on the yeast makes for intense aromas on the nose.
I would be willing to bet that there are few wine lists anywhere with so many of these cloudy Wacky Bubbles wine! And on the next two Sundays, we will have flights of these wines available for your tasting pleasure!
Wacky Bubble Flights
We will have 3 wines open each of May 27 and June 3. Enjoy a flute of each for $25.00, served along with a trio of bites designed to show off the wines! Just drop by and enjoy.
Sunday, May 26, 27 & 28
Casa Coste Piane ‘frizzante naturalmente’ {glera}
dry, fermentation in the bottle, slight yeasty funk, hazy
Costadila {prosecco, glera, bianchietta, verdizo} colli trevigiani ‘15
falling somewhere between an orange wine & the funkiest of prosecco, this is for the adventurous drinker. loudy, full of sediment, fermented w.natural yeasts & a secondary fermentation powered by dried grapes {passito} a true food wine w/loads of funky flavors in refreshing, yeasty/smoky styles!
they make 2 cuvees names for the elevation of the vineyard! This week, we will open ‘cru 450slm’ from a high elevation vineyard with funky aromas and a light yeast haze
J. Brix Riesling ‘pet-nat’
cloudy, bone dry, crisp riesling apple flavors
Sunday, June 3
Birichino ‘pétulant naturel’ {malavasia bianca} monterey ‘16
door lo-fi winemaking consisting of natural yeast fermentation until dry, then the addition of additional juice to set off secondary fermentation resulting in a crackling, hazy wine w/natural yeast: superb w/pasta, light meats: bone dry yet very fruity
Ca dei Zago col fondo {glera, verdiso, perera, bianchetta} ‘16
dry, crisp natural secondary fermentation in the bottle, w/slight yeast haze: best w/pork, charcuterie, seafood~ bone dry prosecco
Costadila {prosecco, glera, bianchietta, verdizo} colli trevigiani ‘15
falling somewhere between a orange wine & the funkiest of prosecco, this is for the adventurous drinker: cloudy, full of sediment, fermented w.natural yeasts & a secondary fermentation powered by dried grapes {passito} a true food wine w/loads of funky flavors in refreshing, yeasty/smoky styles!
they make 2 cuvees names for the elevation of the vineyard!
‘cru 330 slm’ lower elevation, cloudy, funkier