How to Store and Serve Sparkling Wine

With the launch of SULA BRUT, a sparkling wine Made with the true Champenoise-style method, it makes sense to store and serve this type of wine just as its makers intended. Here, a guide to get the most out of your wine.

The quality of all wine can be affected by the way it is stored and poured. In sparkling wine, the addition of bubbles increases the need for good storage conditions and special care when serving. Even the shape of the glass can influence the intrinsic aromas and flavors of the wine.

Sparkling wines they are somewhat more sensitive to temperature than other wines and should be kept below 20ºC. You should also avoid buying bottles that have been exposed to sunlight and instead order bottles that are still in the warehouse or box. Similarly, unless you have a room that can be kept dark for most of the time, you should keep sparkling wine in any wrapping in a box. If you store wine on a rack for a period of time, be sure to keep the wrapper.

There is no reason why sparkling wine bottles should be stored horizontally. However, there is no real harm in horizontal storage either.

The temperature at which sparkling wine served is the only one that can be scientifically justified. Bubbles are part of the wine and must be constantly released; otherwise there is no point in having them in the first place. Temperature determines the rate at which they are released. If served at room temperature, it would be dangerous to open the bottle, after which the wine would quickly foam and flatten. Any temperature between 4.5ºC and 7ºC is ideal for a slow release of the mousse. Since you don’t usually carry a thermometer, just make sure the bottle is chilled and has spent a couple of hours in the fridge. Try not to leave it in the refrigerator for more than a day because not only could the cork stick, but the refrigeration process actually draws moisture out of the cork, causing it to shrink.

The emergency cooling of a sparkling wine by placing it in the freezer for 15 minutes is not harmful. Placing it in a bucket of ice and water (never just ice) is still one of the quickest ways to chill a gas bottle.

When serving sparkling wine, first pour a little into each glass, then go back and cover each to two-thirds to three-quarters full.

SULA, RAW

A sparkling wine made using the champenoise method, Sula Brut is made from a proprietary blend of three different types of white wines (blanc de blancs) from 12 vineyards and crafted by the company’s California champagne experts. Bottles are placed in the cellar’s temperature-controlled champagne cellars for over a year to produce the desired complex flavors. Each bottle is then crushed by hand and slaughtered to reveal a light, creamy nectar.