How to open Movia Puro sparkling wine

Last week I watched Movia owner/winemaker Ales Kristancic open a bottle of his sparkling wine, which is bottled with the lees still in it.


This is not a user-friendly wine (it's catty, but I'm going to say this is true of most of his lineup, but for different reasons -- these are wines for wine geeks, not average consumers.)




It must be stored upside down so that the lees collects in the neck, and it must be opened underwater. There's no way to open it without losing a little of the sparkling wine.






Yes folks, this is why Champagnes are so pricey: the winery disgorges them and recorks them for you, preventing you from having to do this.

In contrast, with the Movia bubbly you need a special tool.

Here's a series of photos showing the effervescent Kristancic opening this wine.



After all this, I have to say that honestly I liked the show more than the wine, which had a savory, peppery quality and no fruit to speak of.

I much preferred his Movia Veliko Rosso Brda 2002, an unusual (of course) field blend of Merlot, Pinot Nero and Cabernet Sauvignon that had nice bright fruit, missing in most of his whites (maybe I'm just not geeky enough), with a gentle mouthfeel that showed the influence of the Merlot. No show, though, just good wine. And I admit, I did enjoy the show.