Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Or does it?
If you spend your spare time on the internet, you may have seen a few people DIY'ing sparkling wine with their soda machines. Is it possible? How do they do it? Should you do it? Isn't it just easier to buy a bottle of sparkling at Dan's? These are all questions we asked ourselves – we can't help it, we're curious – which led us to deep-dive into the Reddit threads so that you don't have to. Here's what we found.
In case you don't know what we're talking about, a soda machine is just a home carbonation device – SodaStream and Aarke are just two of the many popular brands on the market. These dreamy devices help you turn plain old water into sparkling water in seconds by injecting carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from a pressurised cylinder into a reusable bottle full of regular water. You can even add syrups – like cola, creaming soda, ginger beer, even iced tea and tonic – to create a style of soft drink. Plus, one CO2 cylinder can make 60 litres of sparkling water, therefore it has the potential to save the environment 60 single-use plastic bottles. And while it might feel like the all this has really taken off in the last decade or two, the first home carbonation machine was invented by a fellow named Guy Hugh Gilbey, waaaay back in 1903.
Now that we're all across the backstory – can we make sparkling wine with one? Obviously we're not magicians, we can't turn water into wine, so you will need a bottle of table wine for this experiment, along with your trusty home carbonation machine.
We do need to put in a *major disclaimer* here. Soda machines weren't designed to carbonate wine, so by trying this at home, you are putting your machine at risk. None of the soda machine makers would ever endorse this experiment. In fact, most say that by using anything other than water – with the exception of adding the flavoured syrups after you have fizzed up your water – you run the risk of damaging your machine (which will no longer be covered under warranty). It’s also highly likely that you’ll make a bloody mess.
Our *second disclaimer* is that winemakers, we can say with 99.99999% certainty, never intended for their still wines to be fizzed at home. So be warned that carbonating a still wine may cause the flavours to be impacted. Still keen? Read on.
According to our Reddit friends, things that can, and have, gone wrong include liquid sprayed across the kitchen, so please, take it outside. There's the mention of 'rapid foam up', and just an all-round fail that results in a wasted bottle of wine.
Are there any success stories? Well, yes. But like any internet trend, there are a few opinions on how to make it happen, like whether the bottle of wine should be chilled, how much wine you should put in the bottle, and how aggressive you should be with the carbonation button or lever. Full disclosure, we have not tried this at home, but we've gone with the majority when it comes to advice.
Look – we don't recommend it. But if you really want to see what the hype is about, take a chilled wine from the fridge and pour it into your carbonating bottle. When it comes to the best variety to use, try experimenting with your favourite white wine – perhaps chardonnay, chenin blanc, or riesling. And sparkling shiraz fans? We’d never forget you. Try a shiraz topped up with a tiny bit of port. But to be honest, this is your experiment, so choose your own adventure.
You want to fill the bottle to the fill line, so you'll need a 750ml wine, along with a little extra to top up. Lock in the bottle and go slow and gentle on the fizz. If it starts to overflow, pause immediately. A pro-tip (apparently) is to let the wine settle for a couple of minutes before removing it from the holder. Over a few minutes, and probably four takes, you want to slowly release the pressure. This step (and patience) separates the success stories from the disasters. If you don't let the wine settle, and automatically release the bottle, you'll lose most of it. Finally, set the bottle free. Voilà! Sparkling wine, or, at least, wine with bubbles.
