Let’s walk through the 'méthode' of making 'traditionnelle' bubbles (in Margaret River) and uncover the magic of what makes Frazer Woods sparkle.
First things first… The Fruit
The Frazer Woods vineyard is situated in Willyabrup, a highly coveted sub-region of Margaret River. Planted in 1996, fruit for the sparkling comes from the Frazer Woods vineyard, and in the past, select growers from Karridale, and Pemberton. Recent changes to the vineyard means the Chardonnay will come from the home vineyard in the heart of the Margaret River wine region.
These hand-picked whole clusters of grapes are gently pressed and undergo their first fermentation.
It gets Wild
This first fermentation creates a dry base wine (typically around 10-11% alcohol), which then undergoes a tirage (addition of yeast and sugar) to prepare it for its second fermentation. This second ferment takes place in bottle (yes, the exact same one you take home!)
Crated up for safe keeping
Bottles are then expertly packed into crates, before they go away into a very carefully climate-controlled environment. At Frazer Woods, this is John’s specially made straw bale shed. The natural insulating properties of straw – between layers of tin – maintain a consistently cook cavern, which maintaining plenty of oxygen flow between crates and bottles.
Good things come to those who wait
The second fermentation takes place in the bottle and the wine is left to age and mature. Typically this lasts about 12 months but is much longer at the House of Frazer Woods. John will not release a wine that has sat for less than five years on lees. This adds fabulous complexity to the finished product.
John will often wander around his shed a found a treasure from years gone by. He's in no rush. It is about producing exceptional wine.
Riddle me this…
When he believes the wine is ready, the bottles – packed in the large wooden crates – undergo a process called riddling. The huge crates are placed on some medieval-looking pieces of machinery – so the crates literally balance on a 45-degree angle and slowly revolve.
Tilting the bottles downwards moves the yeast settlement to the neck of the bottle so it may be frozen in a liquid of sub-zero temperatures where it creates a frozen plug of lees to facilitate the disgorgement.
Disgorge and Release
The removal of the frozen yeast ‘plug’ is known as disgorgement. The cap of yeast is removed from the wine, before the Liqueur d’expedition is added. This liquid, also known as dosage, tops up the contents of the bottle with pre-determined and tested, sugar and wine mixture to complete the finished sparkling wine.
The wine is passed along the state-of-the-art machinery which takes the wine to a finished product before it is labelled.
When things are ready
Our wines don’t always move in consecutive vintages - John will jump backwards or skip over a vintage to make sure the wines are released at their optimum drinking quality. When a particular vintage is showing itself as ready, only then does it get disgorged and finished for the consumer.
Want to know more about méthode traditionnelle, check out our blog There’s Méthode in the Madness for the run down on sparkling winemaking.
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There are five well-known ways to make sparkling wine. Many have a little bit of overlap with one another – but there is just one – that (according to John Frazer) is best.
Your wedding day is a magical occasion that brings everyone together. A day of making memories. To celebrate such a day, only one sparkling wine will do.
In 1985 at the Vasse Hotel, his local watering hole, a timely opportunity and spur of the moment decision saw John Frazer and his wife Jan Woods, purchase a Willyabrup property.