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The short answer is that Méthode Traditionnelle creates bubbles through a second fermentation inside each individual bottle. The longer answer involves yeast, sugar, patience, a great many bottles resting in the dark and several stages of careful cellar work.
It is the same fundamental method used in Champagne, although that name belongs only to wines grown and made in the Champagne region of France. Here in Central Otago, we use the method to create sparkling wines that belong unmistakably to Quartz Reef and Bendigo.
Before there are bubbles, there is a still base wine.
We harvest the grapes with freshness and natural acidity in mind, then ferment the juice to make a light, precise wine. This becomes the foundation of everything that follows.
The base wines are blended according to the style we are seeking, whether that is our consistent Brut NV and Rosé NV or the more individual expression of a vintage wine.
The base wine is bottled with a measured addition of yeast and sugar, known as the tirage. The yeast begins another fermentation, producing a small amount of alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Because the bottle is sealed, the carbon dioxide cannot escape. It gradually dissolves into the wine and that is where the bubbles come from.
Each bottle carries out its own fermentation. The bottle in which the bubbles are created is the same bottle that eventually reaches your table.
Once the second fermentation is complete, the yeast settles inside the bottle. We leave the wine resting on this yeast sediment, known as the lees, for an extended period.
Lees ageing is where time begins to change the wine. The bubbles become finer and better integrated, the texture develops and fresh fruit characters are joined by more savoury notes that can recall brioche, toast, nuts or pastry.
Some wines need more time than others. The important thing is to release each wine when its freshness, texture and complexity have come together.
There are quicker ways to make sparkling wine. This is not one of them.
After ageing, the yeast sediment still needs to be removed.
The bottles are gradually turned and tilted through a process called riddling, encouraging the sediment to collect in the neck. The neck is then frozen and the yeast plug removed at disgorgement, leaving the wine clear and bright.
A small finishing addition called dosage may be made before the bottle receives its final cork and wire cage. Dosage helps bring the wine into balance; the amount used influences how dry or sweet the finished sparkling wine will taste.
Our house style is distinctly dry. For our Zero Dosage wine, no sugar is added at disgorgement, leaving the wine in its most direct and unadorned form.
Every stage of our Méthode Traditionnelle takes place at Quartz Reef, from the base wine and second fermentation to lees ageing, riddling and disgorgement.
Keeping the process here allows us to follow each wine all the way through rather than handing it over halfway. It also means our winery is rarely quiet: there are bottles ageing, bottles being riddled, wines awaiting disgorgement and another vintage beginning its journey.
Bendigo gives us bright days, cool nights and a long, dry growing season. The sunshine develops flavour in the fruit, while the cooler nights help retain the natural acidity that fine sparkling wine needs.
Our vineyards are farmed organically and biodynamically. We work to build healthy soils, encourage biodiversity and help the vines find their own balance through each season. The goal is fruit with the freshness, flavour and integrity needed to make wine without forcing it into shape.
Traditional method provides the bubbles and texture. Bendigo provides the foundation.
Not all sparkling wine is made in the same way.
For Prosecco and many other sparkling wines, the second fermentation usually takes place in a pressurised tank before the finished wine is bottled. This preserves freshness and fruit and is particularly well suited to wines intended for youthful drinking.
With Méthode Traditionnelle, the second fermentation and lees ageing take place inside each bottle. This makes it possible to build finer mousse, greater texture and the savoury complexity associated with time on lees.
They are different methods created for different styles. We choose Méthode Traditionnelle because it gives us the detail, structure and capacity to evolve that we want in Quartz Reef sparkling.
Our Méthode Traditionnelle wines are crisp, dry and finely beaded. Freshness sits at the centre, supported by bright fruit, natural tension and the texture developed through time on lees.
Our collection includes Brut NV, Rosé NV, Zero Dosage and vintage expressions such as Blanc de Blancs and Vintage Rosé.
Each has its own personality, but they all belong to the same house.
Sparkling wine should not have to wait for a wedding, birthday or major announcement.
Its acidity and fine mousse make it one of the most useful wines at the table. Try it with oysters, sashimi, fried food, cheese, roast chicken, creamy sauces or anything salty and crisp.
It is very good at beginning an evening. It is equally capable of staying for dinner.
Yes, although the way it develops depends on the wine, the vintage, the time already spent on lees and when it was disgorged.
With further bottle age, bright fruit can move towards toast, pastry, nuts and savoury complexity, while the mousse becomes softer and more integrated.
Store the bottles somewhere cool and dark with a consistent temperature. If you are uncertain about how long to keep a particular Quartz Reef wine, ask us. We spend a considerable amount of time thinking about exactly that.
Our Cellar Door is located inside the Quartz Reef winery in Cromwell. Depending on the season, you may see bottles resting on lees, riddling underway or the considerably less quiet business of disgorgement and bottling.
Join us for a tasting and discover what time, Bendigo and the traditional method bring to the glass.
Discover the Quartz Reef sparkling collection, grown organically and biodynamically in Central Otago and made entirely in-house.
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