New for 2008
These wines have been made using the in-bottle 'Traditional method', resulting in two really special wines that have set new standards in fruit wine making. Both the elderflower and the strawberry have been made using what's called the 'Traditional Method' for sparkling wines, as used for both Champagne and Cava. Champagne can consist of three main grape varieties; chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. In our sparkling wines, we've selected a high quality chardonnay juice, and combined it with either fresh Herefordshire strawberry juice, or elderflowers picked from fields surrounding the winery.
A sparkling tradition
The initial fermentation produces a wine that's aromatic, quite tart, and in the region of 10.5% to 11% ABV. To prepare the wine for the all-important second fermentation in bottle, it's then combined with a mixture containing wine, sugar, and yeast (the Liqueur de Tirage), along with a little yeast nutrient and a clarifying agent. At this stage, there are 24g/l of sugar, which is just enough to give the five to six bars of pressure in a traditional Champagne or Cava. The wine is then bottled and capped. The secondary fermentation lasts for around eight weeks, and takes place in a custom-made cellar kept at 12 to 14°C to help achieve the fine mousse, which is the mark of all quality sparkling wines. The sparkle is achieved by yeast consuming all the spare sugar in the bottle; this process produces not only alcohol (c. 1.5 - 2%), but also a by-product of carbon dioxide. As this cannot escape (due to the cap on the bottle), it is absorbed into the wine, creating the all-important fizz.
For cosmetic purposes, the yeast has to be taken out of the bottle. In order to do this, we use the traditional means of 'riddling' in pupitres. The bottles are gradually inverted and shaken over the course of one to two weeks, until the yeast had fallen to the neck of the bottle and formed a plug. At this point, the necks are plunged into a freezing solution at -30°C, which freezes the yeast plug.
The bottle cap is then removed, causing expulsion of all the sediment (due to the pressure behind it). The bottles are then topped up with the dosage, a mixture of wine and sugar, so that all the bottles have a uniform balance and taste. In our case, the strawberry has 13g/l of residual sugar, and the elderflower has 7g/l. Both are classed as Brut as they're under the 15g/l limit. The corking, wiring, and dressing of every bottle is carried out by hand too - each bottle really is a labour of love!
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