This New Year’s Eve, when you pop open a bottle of local bubbly, toast to 2023 memories and a new year full of hopes — but also say “cheers” to the notable sparkling wine scene that Colorado’s winemakers are cultivating.
From fizzy pét-nats to wines produced in Charmat tanks (akin to how Italian winemakers perfect their proseccos), plus party-ready cans that pop and fizz when you pull back the tabs, Colorado’s wine scene is, most definitely, sparkling.
The number of Americans drinking sparkling wine has risen by 30 percent between 2019 and 2022, according to an analysis from Wine Intelligence, a division of International Wine and Spirits Research. The numbers show that people are reaching for bottles of bubbles more frequently and not just on special occasions, with about a quarter of respondents saying they drink sparkling wine at least a couple of times a week.
The state’s winemakers are eager to answer the call, and are helping to put Colorado on the map for its sparkling wines.
Sparkling wine isn’t just for special occasions anymore
Earlier this year, Carboy Winery released its Grand Series, which adds five new sparkling wines to its portfolio. A sixth, the Grand Rosé, is currently aging and scheduled to be released by the end of 2024. The series includes bottles produced with Charmat and traditional methods.
With the Charmat method, the secondary fermentation that traps bubbles takes place in the tank versus in the bottle like the traditional method.
“Charmat style tends to be more youthful, playful, fruit-forward and approachable,” said Kevin Webber, CEO at Carboy Winery. These bottles are usually at a price point that’s lower than traditional method wine or champagnes, too, he said.
The Carboy team started noticing younger generations of wine drinkers were gravitating towards bubbles, so the team ramped up production of its sparkling wine program and added five stainless steel Charmat tanks to its Mount Garfield Estates in Palisade in 2022. Outside of California, Carboy has solidified itself as one of the largest Charmat-style wineries in the country.
The line’s entry-level bottles Grand Blanc de Blanc and Grand Brut Rosé are sold in King Soopers, City Markets and Whole Foods for under $20 and are helping introduce the masses to Colorado sparkling wine.
The Wine Intelligence findings suggest that today’s wine drinkers no longer consider bubbles to be exclusive to special or formal events, but rather something to enjoy with an informal meal at home, which drives up demand for those modest-priced bottles of bubbly to complement the special occasion bottles.
A variety of sparkling wine styles bubbling up in Colorado
Looking ahead to the New Year, Sauvage Spectrum — a pioneer in Colorado sparkling wines — will be purchasing méthode champenoise equipment for higher-end sparkling wines. The winery received a grant from the Colorado Department of Agriculture and has plans to create sparkling wines that have been aged for a couple of years, said Patric Matysiewski, co-founder and winemaker of Sauvage Spectrum Estate Winery & Vineyard.
Sauvage Spectrum started experimenting with cold-hardy grapes that were bred at the University of Minnesota and Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and that were replanted in the Grand Valley. The Palisade winery now offers a plethora of sparkling wines, including its popular Sparklet and Pet-Nat lines.
“It’s really exciting to use American grapes and make award-winning wine,” Matysiewski said.
Sauvage Spectrum’s Sparklet White, which has racked up several awards, is an effervescent bottle with tasting notes of green apple and pear, with some honeysuckle aromatics. The Sparklet Rosé, Matysiewski says, has notes of white cherry and berries, as well as grapefruit, plus rose petal aromatics.
The higher acid of these sparkling wines makes them great to drink on their own, but they can also cut through rich cheeses like brie and camembert, if you want to pair them with a charcuterie plate on New Year’s Eve, Matysiewski said. Continue the Colorado theme, he suggested, with something like the ColoRouge, a soft and creamy pasteurized cow’s milk cheese that’s made by the MouCo Cheese Company in Fort Collins.
The analysis from Wine Intelligence predicts that sparkling wine will continue to grow as a segment and that, by 2026, the United States will account for nearly 15 percent of global sparkling wine sales.
Joe Buckel, winemaker at Buckel Family Wine, said there’s a nice diversity of styles in Colorado’s sparkling wine scene. His winery’s PétNat Rosé, for instance, is made with handpicked Syrah, Merlot and Viognier grapes and is naturally sparkling by way of the Ancestral Method and bottled before fermentation is complete.
“It’s fun to taste and experience the diversity in styles,” Buckel said. “Not long ago, we didn’t really have that many sparkling wines. Now we have a really nice choice of them, and I think the diversity in how they’re made really creates this nice range of sparkling whites and sparkling rosés.”
Bubbles in something other than bottles? Can do
Not only are Colorado-made sparklings available in bottles, but there are also cans of bubbles, too. Infinite Monkey Theorem was early to the Ready-To-Drink (RTD) market when it introduced its cans in 2011, catering to outdoorsy types who want to crack open a single-serve wine at the summit of a hike or while camping, and do so without worrying about corks or wine openers or sabers.
The current IMT lineup includes The Bubble Universe, a four-pack of carbonated Riesling that fizzes with notes of Meyer lemon, lime, peach and green apple.
Talbott Farms, a six-generation family farm in Palisade, grows wine grapes for a few dozen wineries in addition to its peaches. In 2018, a few years after launching a hard cider company, Centennial Cellars got its start. The cider cans can be taken fishing or hiking, and the team wanted to recreate the experience with its wine and spritzers, said Charles Talbott, owner and director of operations at Talbott and Son’s LLC.
The Sparkling Rosé Blend is considered a rainbow blend, created with seven different grapes, including Tempranillo, the most prominent, Talbott said.
“It’s bright, it’s bubbly, it’s fruit-forward with apricot and plum, and it’s good for all occasions,” Talbott said.
Want a taste of Colorado’s wine scene? Here are some sparkling wines to celebrate New Year’s Eve (or any day of the year) with:
- Grande River Vineyards’ Sante! Sparkling Wine
- Carboy Winery’s Grand series, a line of five new sparkling wines (with a sixth coming in 2024) including Grand Blanc de Blanc and Grand Brut Rosé
- Aspen Peak Cellars’ 2020 Blanc de Blancs
- Buckel Family Wines’ PétNat Rosé or Glug Glug
- Sauvage Spectrum’s lineup of Sparkling Wines including their Sparklet and Pet-Nat lines
- Infinite Monkey Theorem’s The Bubble Universe Can 4-Pack
- Varaison Vineyards: Espérer, Sparkling Muscat Blanc 2020
- Centennial Cellars: Rosé with Bubbles