My Vision for Making Sparkling Wines - #2
Winemaker Ashley Herzberg reveals her goals for making sparkling wines and how she hopes people will feel when they pop the cork.
Winemaker Ashley Herzberg Sorting Chardonnay for Blanc de Blanc
Why Ashley?
Because she's a trailblazer! Yes, she makes our Amista sparkling wine, but it’s much more than that. She was the first woman to make a “grower sparkling wine” in Dry Creek Valley.
At the time, most sparkling wines in California were made by large producers with grapes purchased from multiple vineyards in the tradition of Champagne. In France, grower Champagne has become the rage in the last two decades with small, family-owned houses making Champagne from their own grapes.
Grower Champagnes are treasured because they are limited and hard to find. People love to discover hidden gems! And that’s what Ashley is making right here in Sonoma County.
Here is Part 2 of my conversation with Ashley.
My Goals When I Make a Sparkling Wine
Vicky
You now have 11 years of experience making sparkling wine. What are you thinking as you approach each new vintage? What are your goals?
Ashley
My biggest goal is to make wines of that vintage. You wipe your slate clean and start fresh each year, but you don't start from ground zero. You have a whole basis of knowledge but there's no recipe. I'm not going to pick at 19 brix (the measure of the sugar content in the grapes) just because I picked at 19 brix last year.
“You wipe your slate clean and start fresh each year. Make wines of that vintage. ”
We picked the Syrah for sparkling wine this year at barely 18 brix because it was ready. It was a very low crop, so it had a real intensity of flavors, and it was starting to dehydrate because the year was so dry. It needed to come off the vine, otherwise we were going to get a bit too much richness and flavor from the Syrah and in a delicate sparkling rose, we don’t want that.
My Approach to Making a Sparkling Wine
Vicky
What would you say is your special or unique approach to sparkling wine? What sets you apart in the way you do it?
Ashley
I think it’s definitely the fruit forward nature. I think a lot of Champagne producers want the base wine to be as neutral as possible because they're going to get all the flavors from the secondary fermentation. And I feel the very opposite. I want my base wine to have all the fruitiness, all the characteristic of its varietal, and then secondary fermentation just heightens all those characters rather than hiding them.
Vicky
Was that conscious on your part or was it something that's evolved over time?
Ashley
I think it was hard for me to imagine making a very neutral wine, because the way you get neutral is more manipulated, for example, doing a lot of fining. Or it can be picking even earlier so you're not getting as much fruity character. We're making wines in a warm place, so all our wines are more fruit forward. The same holds true for our sparkling wines. We make wines for Dry Creek. We aren’t making wines in France.
Winemaker Ashley Herzberg Stomping (Foot Treading) Grapes
What I Want People to Experience When They Have My Bubbles
Vicky
Let’s shift gears and go beyond your approach and goals for the wines and talk about what you hope people experience when they open a bottle of your sparkling wine?
Ashley
I think sparkling is instantly joyous from the popping of the cork. You hear that sound and it's exciting. I want people to feel excited. If they've never had the wine, I want them to feel surprised and delighted, like wow, this is really cool - fruity and bright and clean tasting and food friendly. If they have had it, I want them to be feel like, “Yes! This is like coming home. This is where I want to be.”
What I Wish Everyone Knew About Sparkling Wine
Vicky
That’s exactly the feeling I get when I take the first sip of your Blanc de Blanc at the end of the day – “ahhhh, I’m home.” I’ve learned so much about sparkling wine and there’s so much more to learn. What do you wish everybody knew?
Ashley
That it goes with everything. That it's an everyday wine. That it doesn't need to be saved for special occasions. That it's delicious. That it doesn’t have to be sweet!
“It’s an everyday wine. It doesn't need to be saved for special occasions.”
I wish they knew that sparkling wines are very diverse. There are so many different styles even among wines made in the traditional Methode Champenoise. You can have a more fruit driven wine, a younger style, or an aged style that is yeastier with aromas of brioche.
You can make sparkling wines out of many different varietals. Champagne isn’t the only place sparkling wines are made. Wines made in the traditional Methode Champenoise are made all over the world. Every wine region makes sparkling wines.
The Best Food Pairing I’ve Ever Had with Sparkling Wine
Vicky
I know you love bubbles. I also know you love good food. What is the best entrée you've ever had with a sparkling wine – the best meal pairing?
Ashley
I think the most interesting one was Peking duck with the [Amista] Sparkling Syrah. I don't remember the circumstances, but it was duck roasted in the wood burning oven.
Vicky
Yes, I remember that! The chef did Peking duck in the wood burning oven for a very special wine club dinner at the winery. The whole meal was amazing.
Ashley
I was surprised because I don't love duck. It's not my cup of tea, but the Sparkling Syrah cut through the richness of the duck and just sort of brought it to another level and I was like, oh, duck needs something acidic to brighten the flavors.
All images courtesy of Amista Vineyards
Check out all my conversations with Ashley
