Riddling

Riddling is a technique used in the traditional method (méthode traditionnelle) of sparkling wine production. The aim is to move the deposit of lees from the fermentation process, into the neck of the bottle.

It is done by moving the bottle very slowly from a horizontal to an inverted vertical position. This allows the lees to slide slowly into the neck of the bottle, from where it can be removed by disgorgement.

Riddling can be done by hand or with an automated machine called a gyrapalette.