Bartier Bros. Introduces Piquette and Piquette Rosé
Refreshing Summer Staples for Every Adventure
According to wine historians, piquette was a low-alcohol wine made from a second pressing of the harvest — this time of the grape skins, seeds, stems and pulp that remain after the juice has been pressed off for wine. Although linked to France, most European winemaking countries made a version of piquette, usually to be enjoyed by farmhands and vineyard workers. It’s bright, uncomplicated, has a light hit of fizz, and it’s remarkably refreshing . . . in short, it’s the perfect summer drink.
For 2023, Black Sage Bench winery Bartier Bros. has now launched its own versions, Piquette White and Piquette Rosé: delicious, low-alcohol (4.2%) sippers that are sure to become seasonal essentials. And with one of the largest volumes of piquette created in Canada, the winery has hopes of becoming a sparkling part of every delicious summer adventure.
For owners Don and Michael Bartier, producing piquette presented both an opportunity and a challenge. “In our hearts, we’re farmers, simple and honest, and we deplore waste. We were excited by the idea of reusing the ‘leftovers’ from winemaking for a completely different kind of easy summer drink,” said winemaker Michael Bartier. “The challenge, of course, was that it had to be great. These cans have our name on them. We won’t put out a half-effort.”
It wasn’t Michael’s first time making piquette — that was 28 years ago, and it wasn’t on a commercial scale. Even so, developing the Bartier Bros. piquette protocol took months. The cellar team made 114 separate piquette batches throughout the 2022 vintage. Seven of them went into the drain. It took 63 winemaker hours in tasting and blending trials, and 5,130 measurements of chemistry parameters to get it exactly right. “There was a lot of trial and error, modification of protocols, and changing of the recipe on the fly,” said Michael. “Even the errors were important in the learning process, and contributed so much to the quality in the end.” The final touch: after fermentation and filtering, a small amount of carbonation is added to keep it fresh.
The result is two light, delightful thirst quenchers. Piquette White offers a bright stone-fruit palate, while Piquette Rosé boasts orange blossom, cranberry and hints of citrus. Bartier Bros. has long been known for the quality of all its wines, and fans will not be disappointed with this variation. The duo of easy-drinking beverages represents great value, and have just the right amount of spritz to make them a refreshing summer staple for beating the heat.
Bartier Bros. Piquette is available to buy at the winery, online, through the wine club and select private liquor stores around the province.
Piquette by the numbers:
28 – number of years ago that Michael Bartier first made a piquette. It wasn’t on a commercial scale; he opted to focus instead on winemaking for the next 27 years.
114 – the number of separate piquette batches processed throughout the 2022 vintage.
7 – batches that went into the drain.
47,504 – number of 355 ml cans produced this year.
63 – winemaker hours spent in tasting and blending trials
5,130 – chemistry parameters measured for all of the separate batches of piquette
0 – number of negative reactions from the piquette test market (friends, family, and colleagues)
About Bartier Bros:
Bartier Bros. wines represent unique and precious Okanagan Valley attributes: purity, freshness, vibrancy, and above all, intensity. The winery is located on the acclaimed Black Sage Bench in the South Okanagan. Bartier Bros. crafts wines that present elegance and balance and strive to sit comfortably with top wines from anywhere. Michael Bartier is the award-winning winemaker behind the portfolio, as well as brother to Don Bartier, together they form the proprietor duo behind Bartier Bros. winery, founded in 2009.
For more information about Bartier Bros. visit bartierbros.com or connect socially @bartierbros
Media release and image provided by Krista Lochhead, Hatch Hospitality.
