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Eno Files: Two Oregon pink bubblies for the holidays Wednesday Dec 21, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Kevin Breck for the Mail Tribune A holiday wine column about “the bubbly” perhaps demonstrates a lack of imagination. So in a twist, I decided to focus on two Oregon pink bubblies, or Brut roses. First off, be prepared for some sticker shock: these are spendy, but worth it for a special occasion. First up is the Soter Mineral Springs 2010 Brut Rose, from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. This salmon-colored sparkler is 85 percent pinot noir and 15 percent chardonnay. Picked in 2010, it spent three years en tirage (aging on the yeast cells) and was barrel fermented. When well chilled, it is intensely foamy when first poured, quickly subsiding to a lively mousse (French for bubbles in sparkling wine). It has aromas of cranberry, citrus, river rock and creamy vanilla. On the palate, it is dry, with a bracing, crisp acidity, a creamy mouthfeel and lingering finish. The average online price is about $60. Next up is the Argyle 2012 Brut Rose, also from the Willamette Valley. This wine is a beautiful pale salmon color, and is made from 75 percent pinot noir, 15 percent pinot meunier and 10 percent chardonnay. Unlike the Soter, this was fermented in the bottle. The winery’s tasting notes suggest aromas of rose petal, cherry kernel and pomegranate. For me, the aromas were muted, intriguing, but hard to identify. In the mouth, it had a round, creamy mouthfeel with moderate acidity and a lingering finish. While difficult to pin down, this was a very pleasant wine. It is available from the Argyle website for $50. While both are made in the traditional Méthode Champenoise style, technically they can’t be called “Champagnes.” That designation is limited to sparkling wines made in the Champagne region of France. In broad strokes, this method consists of blending the base wine, adding sugar, yeast and nutrients and then bottling. Fermentation occurs in the bottle. As yeast ferments, it creates carbon dioxide, which gives champagne its bubbles. Once fermentation is complete, the wine ages on the yeast (tirage). After tirage, the bottles are riddled to move the yeast into the neck of the bottle. Bottles are placed horizontally in a riddling rack. Every day, bottles are twisted and put back into the rack at a slightly steeper angle. After several weeks, the bottles are upside down and the yeast has accumulated into the neck. The yeast plug is then disgorged from the neck. The bottles are placed upside down in a brine bath to freeze the wine in the neck. When the crown cap is removed, pressure expels the frozen plug of frozen wine and yeast. The bottle is then topped off by a small amount of base wine called dosage. The dosage often has a small of amount of sugar to balance out the high acidity in the sparkling wine. Regardless of your political persuasion, this has been a year. So raise your glass with me to toast to the New Year! — Kevin Breck is a Jacksonville freelance writer and winemaker in training. Reach him at [email protected].