All Sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle? - Wine Tasting by the German Wine Society with Annette Schiller

 

Annette Schiller led a tasting at the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter) about sparkling wines from Germany, but also from other countries: All Sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle?

Annette had done a similar tasting, with less and different wines, at the National Conference of the American Wine Society 2022 in Atlantic City:  

All Sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle - Presentation by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, at the 2021 American Wine Society National Conference in Atlantic City

Invitation by the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter)

With the holidays nearly here, please plan to join the German Wine Society (Washington DC Chapter) on Saturday, November 5, 2022 for a presentation and tasting of sparkling wines by our own Annette Schiller, who has brought some of these wines back from Germany just for us. What a way to start setting a festive mood, and get some ideas for holiday tables! 

Registrations for this event are due by November 1, 2022, and the price is $55 for GWS members, $62 for non-members.  

Germany has a long history of producing sparkling wine - called Sekt in Germany - starting in the early 19^th century. The fascination with sparkling wine let trade and the exchange of knowledge with France boom. At some point in the later 19^th century it was the Germans who controlled the Champagne business in France.  

Today Germany is world champion in sparkling wine consumption. In 2021 Germans drank 274 million liters of sparkling wine (Statistisches Bundesamt) and produced 250 million liters (Statista.com). The bulk of production comes from big brands like Henkell or Rotkäppchen, who make Sekt with the tank method. However, premium sparkling wine production is on the rise. Many German Sekts made in the Méthode Champenoise are on eye level with the best of French Champagnes.

It can be confusing to see all the different labels of bubbles with prices vacillating between just a few dollars per bottle for a mass-produced sparkler to close to a hundred. There is Champagne, Cava, Crémant, Prosecco, Frizzante, Sekt, Winzersekt, Secco, Pet-Nat, to name just a few. But they all have one thing in common: they have significant levels of carbon dioxide in the bottle to make them fizzy. However, there are different procedures to get the fizz into the bottle. We will taste 12 sparkling wines and will evaluate the difference in the various methods of how the CO₂ gets into the bottle.   

Half of our sparkers are from German regions, and the other half from various other countries as listed, including Austria, France, Italy, and the U.S.

A tasty buffet of cheeses, bread, crackers, charcuterie, grapes and veggies will be provided to accompany the bubbly wines.

 

Tasting 13 Sparkling Wines  

 

The 13 sparkling wines tasted were as follows:

 

Adding CO2 Method

 

1) NV Secco, Pink Ribbon, Pinot Noir, Hillinger, Burgenland, Austria 

  

Methode Ancestrale

 

2) 2018 Pet-Nat, Tscherne 18-Pet Pink, Steiermark, Austria

3) 2018 Pet-Nat, Melsheimer, Mosel, Germany

 

Secondary Fermentation - Charmat Method (tank fermentation)

 

4) 2020 Prosecco, Brut, Crede, Bisol, Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy

5) NV Dr. L, Dr. Loosen Sparkling, Riesling, Extra Dry, Mosel, Germany

 

Secondary Fermentation - Transfer Method (2 different bottles)

 

6) NV Korbel, Brut, California, USA

 

Secondary Fermentation - Methode Traditionelle (same bottle)

 

7) 2019 Dr. Wagner, Riesling, Brut, Saar, Germany

8) 2017 Steininger, Gruner Veltliner Reserve, Brut, Kamptal, Austria

9) 2020 Julg, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Cremant Brut, Pfalz, Germany

10) NV Pearmund Cellars, Chardonnay, Brut Reserve, Virginia, USA

11) 2018 Peter Jacob Kuhn, Spatburgunder Blanc de Noir, Brut, Rheingau, Germany

12) 2017 Domaine Carneros by Taittinger, Napa Valley, USA

13) NV Taittinger Brut La Francaise, France

 

Power Point Presentation by Annette Schiller

 

Here is the power point presentation that Annette Schiller used for the tasting.

 

schiller-wine: Related Postings 

Announcement: 3 Ombiasy Wine Tours in 2022 - Rhône Valley Tour: June 20 - June 29, Germany South - Alsace: July 01 - July 10, Bordeaux: September 20 - September 29

Cellar Tour and Tasting with Daniel Wagner at Weingut Wagner-Stempel (VDP) in Siefersheim, Rheinhessen - Germany-South and Alsace 2022 by ombiasy WineTours 

Dinner at a Historic (Second Empire) Café-Brasserie in Lyon: Grand Café des Négociants - Rhône Valley Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours: Wine, Culture and History, France

2022 Annual Riesling Party at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Virginia, USA 

Christian Schiller`s SCHILLER-WINE Blog on Corking Wines` Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 List

Christian Stahl, Winzerhof Stahl, Franken, Germany back in the USA - Winemaker Dinner at the Schiller Residence in McLean, Northern Virginia

The Wines of Germany: Presentation by Annette Schiller at the German Embassy in Washington DC/ Consular Conference December 2021

All Sorts of Sparklers: How do the Bubbles get into that Bottle - Presentation by Annette Schiller, ombiasy WineTours, at the 2021 American Wine Society National Conference in Atlantic City

Wine Dinner with Legendary Chef Roberto Donna and the Wines of Amastuola in Puglia/ Italy at Roberto's Ristorante Italiano in Vienna/ Virginia, 2022 

Tour and Tasting at Château Haut-Bailly, Graves, Appellation Pessac-Léognan, Grand Cru Classé, with Cellar Master Jean Christoph - Bordeaux Tour 2022 by ombiasy WineTours, France