This morning, one of my favorite wine bloggers, Brooklynguy, stopped by Do Bianchi and inquired about Movia’s Puro (yesterday, I posted a photo of Jon Erickson of Jaynes Gastropub disgorging a bottle of the traditional method sparkling wine).
The unusual thing about this wine is that Aleš Kristančič of Movia does not disgorge the wine before release. If handled properly, the wine is stored upside down so that the sediment settles in the neck of the bottle. In order to disgorge it, you place the bottle upside down in a vessel filled with water (ideally a clear punch bowl or similar), you hold the cork in one hand as you gently twist the bottle with the other, and when the sediment is released into the water, you turn the bottle right side up. As long as the sediment has settled entirely in the neck before disgorging, the wine will be clear (not cloudy).
Earlier this year, I found this YouTube video of an Italian sommelier disgorging a bottle (note that he has another bottle positioned upside down in a black cardboard tube that Movia now ships with the wine):
It looks like it’s hard to do and the first time you do it, your instinct is that the bottle is going to “backfire” toward you. But it’s actually really easy and while Nous Non Plus was staying at Movia in April, Aleš had each of us disgorge a bottle (even the girls and the drummer). I know that at least one NYC retailer of Italian wines sends out erroneous instructions about disgorging the wine: despite what the so-called “Italian wine experts” claim, you DO NOT NEED TO FREEZE THE SEDIMENT IN THE NECK of the bottle. You simply need to store the bottle upside down at your preferred serving temperature (I like my Puro at “cellar” temperature, not overly chilled).
He makes it look easy (and it is): Jean-Luc Retard (vox, bass) aka Dan Crane aka Björn Türoque disgorges a bottle of Movia Puro Rosé during a break from our recording session in May. We didn’t have a punch bowl so we used the sink in the studio’s kitchen. Björn is a veteran Air Guitar champ: check out his website.
Do Bianchi 
I believe you should put the PURO in a fridge for an hour or two upside down, before disgorging. In general, you always want to open sparkling wine very cold because it retains more bubbles by doing so. (And, no, I don’t ever like to drink them very cold.) But, I find very good/great sparkling wines taste better/best when they’ve been open for at least one to two hours.
And, I can’t believe you let Neil taste the Movia Puro. What next…will it make his Friday Night Sparklers series?
thanks for the added info – great video too. and i never tasted this wine, just read about it. one last question though – why the bowl of water? this isn’t used when disgorging champagne, why in this case do you use it?
Aleš figured out that if you disgorge in a vessel filled with water, the sediment doesn’t make a mess.
He uses the water as cooking water for pasta and claims that the minerality of the sediment is such that he doesn’t need to salt the water!
Let’s drink Puro together when you’re out here in California.
I work with Domaine Select Wine Estates, the US importer for Movia. I want to add to Jack’s point about having the bottle stored upside down. Ideally, it should be upside down for a day, not just a few hours. The lees really do need to settle into the neck of the bottle. By the end of this summer, all retailers who have PURO will also have the cylinder tubes that the Puro will rest on upside down. Also note, that if you happen to have it stored the upright or sideways, and you don’t have 12 or 24 hours to prep it, go ahead and open the Puro as you would any other champagne and then either decant it or serve it cloudy. The lees are harmless…But it sure is fun to discorge it in water! And yes, it is easy…especially bottles #2,3 & 4!
Jeff and Jack, thanks for stopping by. Totally agreed: the longer you can store upside down the better.
Jack, I had dinner with Jay Porter of the Linkery last night and let him know you were planning on dining there at some point. Let me know when you do…
you won’t need to ask me twice
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