You may have noticed that my post count has dwindled over the last couple of weeks. School has already begun here in Connecticut, yet we are still trying to squeeze every bit of summer in that we can. However, I have also been using the time to plan all sorts of great events, classes, and casual tastings during the autumn months.

That brings me to this past Saturday, where we sent summer off in style by tasting a range of sparkling wines. Parents of school-aged children toasted the various educational facilities taking our kids for another 182 days of our year. Others simply raised a glass to what was a very fun summer in town.

The sparkling wines we tasted all had something in common: all wines were made in the Traditional Method of sparkling wine production. What is that, you ask? In its most basic form, it is the following:

1. Ferment a base wine in a vat
2. Re-ferment the wine inside of a bottle
3. Age the wine with the spent yeast cells (the lees)
4. Remove the lees from the bottle
5. Add appropriate sweetness (if desired)
6. Bottle the wine under pressure

Looks easy, right? Well, I guess when we break it down into six steps, I suppose it does. Truthfully, there is so much more to making a sparkling wine via the Traditional Method. Let's break down each step:

Fermenting a base wine might be the simplest task on here, but even then to achieve the best base wine a winemaker needs some things to work in his/her favor. Grapes need to be high in acid; this is the reason sparkling wine is so refreshing when you sip it. When acidity and bubbles come together, your palate wakes up instantly. Wines low in acid taste flat and boring. If a winemaker is making a non-vintage sparkling wine, it needs to be a consistent product, meaning it should taste the same every time you buy it. Winemakers define a "house style" by blending wines from the most recent harvest with reserve stocks of wine of varying ages.

Next, that blended wine goes into bottles along with the liqueur de tirage, which is a concoction of yeast, sugar, and wine that leads to refermentation in the bottles. The carbon dioxide given off by the yeasts during this process is captured in the bottle and that's where your bubbles come from. This is how they do it in Champagne, Cava, and many New World Sparkling wines. "Crémants," which are essentially sparkling wines made in France that follow Champagne's model but don't come from the Champagne region, use this method for bubbles, too.

After this stage, it is time to age the wine on the lees, which have basically drowned themselves in the alcohol they created. The longer the wine ages on the lees, the more toasty and savory notes develop. There are different requirements laid out for specific regions. Non-vintage Champagne requires a minimum of 15 months bottle aging, while vintage examples must spend at least three years in bottle. In practice, many Champagne houses will exceed those minimums. Cava is required to age only nine months (as in the Crémants of France), Cava Reserva specifies a minimum of 15 months (as in non-vintage Champagne), and Cava Gran Reserva requires 30 months minimum (approaching the level of vintage Champagne as far as aging goes).

Once the aging is done, it's time to get the yeasts out of the bottle. Traditionally, the bottles were stored in "pupitres," which look like peg boards with bottles sticking out of them. Over time, the bottles would be "riddled", or manually turned to allow the yeasts cells to slide into the neck of each bottle. This is a time-consuming process that costs the producer money. In the 1970s, the gyropalette was developed to handle riddling in a more efficient way, accommodating about 500 bottles at a time. From here the bottle necks are frozen to turn the yeasts into a solid plug that can be ejected from the bottle. I think the best way to illustrate the process is to just show you with a video:

What you are seeing after the frozen plugs are removed is the addition of sweetened wine (the dosage) that will dictate the sweetness level of the entire bottle of wine (Brut, Demi-Sec). If no sweetened wine is added, the sparkling wine will be labeled "Brut Nature" or "Brut Zero", a bone-dry product.

So there you have it. It's not an easy process to make a sparkling wine by Traditional Method, but the end result is persistent bubbles, a creamy texture, and a liveliness that can't be matched by other methods of production. We sampled five wines this past Saturday afternoon of all different styles, but all are delicious in their own ways.

Parés Baltà Cava Brut ($14)

This winery practices organic and biodynamic farming, leading to vibrant wines made from the traditional Spanish grape varieties of Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo. Green apples, lemon zest, and a touch of earthiness. Makes for a great sipper on its own or as the base for a Mimosa.

Paul Mas Cote Mas Crémant de Limoux Brut Rosé ($16)

Located in the eastern foothills of the Pyrenees, Limoux has a long and storied history as a sparkling wine region in Southern France. This dry, pink bubbly is loaded with blood orange and tangerine flavors and has a pleasant bitter note on the finish that adds to the complexity of a customer favorite at the store.

Gruet Brut ($17)

Who would have known that the deserts of New Mexico would be suitable for quality sparkling wine production? The Gruet family discovered this fact on a trip to the American Southwest in the early 1980s, and they set up shop near Albuquerque. 24 months aging on the lees in this flagship product is balanced by ripe nectarine and tropical fruit flavors and a full-bodied softness on the palate.

Marie-Pierre Manciat Crémant de Bourgogne Brut ($23)

A fine sparkling wine made from 100% Chardonnay in sustainable vineyards. Floral with orange and lemon peel aromas, peachy on the palate, and very lively with persistent bubbles. Killer value. I wrote of this in Building a Case for a Few More Dollars

Ayala Champagne Brut Majeur ($39)

Champagne is not cheap; it can sometimes be a challenge to score something for less than $40, but here is a non-vintage example the delivers well beyond that price. White peaches and flowers are on the nose with fresh baked brioche and savory/smoky flavors on the palate. Long and fruity on the finish.