What is riddling in sparkling wine?

Quick answer

Riddling is a winemaking step used mainly in traditional-method sparkling wine. The bottle is gradually rotated and tilted so the sediment formed during bottle fermentation and ageing moves down into the neck.

That sediment is often called the lees or deposit. It consists mainly of spent yeast cells and other material left after the second fermentation in the bottle. Riddling gathers this material in one place; it does not remove it.

Once the deposit has collected in the neck, the bottle is ready for disgorgement. That is the later step in which the deposit is removed, helping produce a clear sparkling wine.

In French, riddling is called remuage. The term may appear in technical discussions of traditional-method sparkling wine.

How does riddling work?

After the second fermentation, the bottle contains both sparkling wine and a deposit of lees. During the ageing period, the wine rests in contact with this material.

For riddling, the bottle is rotated in small increments and progressively tilted so that its neck points downwards. The controlled movement and gravity encourage the deposit to slide along the inside of the bottle and collect against the temporary closure.

The aim is to gather the sediment without stirring it back into the wine. Once it is concentrated in the neck, it can be removed more efficiently during disgorgement.

A useful way to remember the sequence is:

Lees ageing: the wine rests on its deposit.
Riddling: the deposit is gathered in the neck.
Disgorgement: the deposit is removed.

These are related but separate stages.

Is riddling done by hand?

Traditionally, riddling was done by hand using wooden A-frame racks called pupitres. A skilled cellar worker would rotate and raise the bottles gradually until they reached a neck-down position.

Many producers now use automated equipment, including gyropalettes, which can move groups of bottles in controlled increments. The difference is primarily how the movement is carried out and at what scale. It is not evidence that one approach is automatically better than the other.

Does every sparkling wine undergo riddling?

No. Riddling is mainly associated with the traditional method, in which the second fermentation takes place in the bottle.

Sparkling wine can also be made using other production methods, including tank fermentation. Those wines follow a different process sequence and do not necessarily require riddling.

In Australia, “traditional method” is an industry descriptor for sparkling wine made using the bottle-fermentation approach associated with the méthode champenoise concept. Australian traditional-method sparkling wines may therefore use the same broad production ideas as traditional-method wines made elsewhere. That does not mean every Australian sparkling wine is riddled.

Why does riddling matter?

Riddling is best understood as a preparation step. It changes the position of the lees so the deposit can be removed cleanly during disgorgement.

It is not the second fermentation, it is not the same as ageing on lees, and it does not remove the sediment by itself. Once you understand that sequence, references to riddling on a sparkling-wine label or in a winery explanation become much easier to follow.

Frequently asked questions

Is riddling the same as disgorgement?

No. Riddling gathers the sediment in the bottle neck. Disgorgement removes it.

What are the lees in sparkling wine?

Lees are the sediment left after fermentation. In traditional-method sparkling wine, they include spent yeast cells and related deposits formed during the bottle fermentation and ageing process.

What is another name for riddling?

The French term is remuage.