On 5/30/2006 4:33 PM, pp wrote:
Matthew Givens wrote:

Okay, I'm thinking of trying a Champagne... excuse me, sparkling wine. I
have descriptions on the basic procedure, but need some sort of riddling
rack in which to stack the bottles during the final fermentation. Where can
I get some? Failing that, any ideas how to construct something usable?

Matthew in Montgomery


No need for anything that fancy - you can stack the bottles on their
sides in regular cases during the secondary fermentation, just mix the
content every 2-3 weeks to promote good fermentation. After aging, just
invert the bottles into the cases so that the sediment falls to the
bottle cap, and for the first 1-2 weeks rotate them back and forth to
loosen up any sediment clinging to the sides. This is basically all
that riddling does, just not as fancy; it works just as well.

Pp



Matthew,

I've riddled using the method Pp outlines. The carton the bottles came
in works fine as a riddling rack. I'd add that a good shaking prior to
the complete inversion is probably a good idea. The lees which have
compacted along the side of the bottle during the secondary fermentation
and aging will be fairly difficult to dislodge otherwise. I didn't mix
during the secondary as Pp suggests, and I had an extended aging period,
which may be why my lees were more comfortable with their position along
the side of the bottle.

Also, if you are planning on an extended sur lie aging, look for the
highest quality crown caps. After two years of aging I had a few
bottles with what looked like a ring of rust around the neck of the
bottle. This didn't seem to have any impact on the flavor, and it may
have been the hardened residue of a slight seepage of the champagne into
the crimps of the crown cap, as the cap itself didn't show any signs of
rust or other damage. If I make another batch I'll also see about
borrowing a bench or floor capper, as I used the hand held job which
came with my beginners home brewing kit. It's as cheaply made as is
possible, with plastic replacing every part that doesn't absolutely have
to be metal, and my hope is that a more sturdy capper may give a tighter
fit to the crown caps.

I'd love to hear feedback from other sparkling wine makers regarding the
'crust' I had on some of my bottles.


Cheers,
Ken