Now, this is so cool!
Flat Rock Cellars is introducing its new Riddled Sparkling wine in Vintages this weekend. The winery was so sure its unique enclosure, a crown cap, was superior to the traditional cork that it convinced VQA to change the rules to allow it.
A note from Flat Rock owner Ed Madronich and winemaker Ross Wise explain the story behind Flat Rock Cellars Riddled 2007:
“We’d like to introduce Ontario’s first ever sparkling under crown cap — Riddled 2007.  It’s been a three year love affair with this wine, let us just say that it involved a lot of hand holding (read: hand picking, hand sorting, hand bottling, hand labelling) but it was certainly worth all the effort because we think the result is outstanding—we hope you agree.
We all know that sparkling wine made in the traditional method requires the use of a crown cap during the secondary fermentation—everyone agrees that it is the best closure for the job.  But following disgorging the familiar cork closure is applied for reasons that most explain as “tradition.” As you might know, Flat Rock Cellars doesn’t believe in tradition for the sake of tradition—we use that which makes our wines better and disregard the rest.
So, when our extensive research uncovered the long list of benefits for crown cap over cork we had no choice but to go to the VQA and work to inform our peers. We succeeded in changing the rules, and we think the winner is the consumer.
The crown cap eliminates cork taint, keeps more bubbles in solution (cork creates a vacuum effect and pulls CO2 out of solution), and you don`t have to worry about projectiles.”
2007 Riddled is a blend of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay. All fruit was hand harvested early in Sept. 2007 and then the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay parcels individually were gently whole bunch pressed. The lightly pressed juice was then cold settled for 2 days and the clear juice racked off solids to be fermented in stainless steel tanks. Fermentation took place at 15 degrees and lasted about 2 weeks. Following that, the wine was transferred to old oak barrels to add further complexity.
Secondary fermentation occurred in the bottle and then the wine was left to age in the bottle with the yeast for 22 more months. At this stage the wine was riddled and the sediment disgorged from the bottle. The bottle was topped up with more sparkling wine before being re-sealed with a crown cap closure to ensure its freshness and longevity.
Here’s my review of the wine;
Flat Rock Riddled (Sparkling) 2007 ($25, Vintages on Sept. 18, 4 stars) — A fabulous bubbly with a no-fuss beer-bottle style cap that simple pops off with no spillage whatsoever. The nose is all about clean, fresh citrus, toast and mineral. It’s vibrant and lively on the palate with a vigorous mousse, lemon-lime zest flavours and razor sharp acidity. In short, clean, fresh and bursting with flavour. Nice.
Comment here