New sparklers debut at Georgia Winery

Celebrate and Pretty in Pink will sell for $15.95 per bottle.

Sunday, January 1, 1905

The Georgia Winery will unveil two new sparkling wines this weekend, just in time to ring in 2012 with a bit of local bubbly.

Celebrate, considered a quintessential go-to wine, is made with Concord grapes. Pretty in Pink, described as "cake in a glass," is a fruity blend of red and white native muscadines.

Both sparkling wines will be available for $15.95 per bottle.

"Sparkling wine is something we have wanted to bring back for several years," said owner Patty Prouty.

"We first began making sparkling wine in our early years but stopped because the traditional method is very tedious. These were made by a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which was a long and manually involved process that took about nine months. We've since upgraded our equipment to better the wine-making process. This modern method will produce a sparkling wine with lots of delightful small bubbles that will really tingle the taste buds," she said.

The winery still uses traditional methods of corking the bottles, and the winemaking team has been gearing up for this special occasion.

"Each bottle of sparkling wine takes one full minute to bottle, cork and cap," Prouty said. "Sparkling wines require delicate treatment during the bottling process, which is why we cork and cap every bottle by hand."

The winery will host a New Year's celebration featuring the pair of bubblies from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, Saturday and Monday.

The unveiling will be the only time these wines can be sampled.

For more information, call 706-937-9463 or visit www.georgiawines.com.