First glass fizz every time

More than five years in the making, ‘Riot Fizz’ is a new sparkling chardonnay packaged in 19.5L stainless-steel kegs to be served on tap in venues by the glass, carafe or in cocktails.

Chief winemaker and co-founder Tom O’Donnell said he’d wanted to deliver a sparkling wine on-tap since day one of Riot Wine Co and spent years perfecting the winemaking technique.

He began his research by looking at what was currently in the market and immediately noticed a quality issue. Many cheap sparkling wines have a large coarse bead (bubble) similar to what you find in a soft drink – the smaller the bead the better the quality.

The other issue was around retaining the bubble once it was poured, with other sparkling wine on-tap usually going flat soon it hits the glass.

“Riot Fizz is an exciting step forward for tap sparkling in Australia thanks to our ground-breaking winemaking technique that retains its bead for up to 30 minutes once poured,” Mr O’Donnell said.

“The biggest challenge was never around flavour or aroma, it was simply the consistency and quality of the bead that we could achieve in the glass.

“It's taken us over five years to develop our own technique to deliver a glass of sparkling that not only tastes and smells great but has a complex bead that retains in the glass every time it's poured.”

Sparkling wine is the most wasted varietal in venues – with upwards of 15 per cent on average going down the drain. With Riot Fizz, the figure decreases to less than 3 per cent. 

Each keg is equal to 26 bottles of wine – saving around 23,000 glass bottles in the lifespan of a stainless-steel keg.

“Not only will bubbly drinkers love Riot Fizz for its premium taste and quality, but it also means less wastage for venues previously forced to tip leftover flat sparkling down the drain and less impact on the environment by saving thousands of glass bottles from landfill,” Mr O’Donnell said.

Made with chardonnay grapes from South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula, Riot Fizz is crispy and lively, with white peach and brioche aromatics and lemon curd on the palate.

Riot Fizz is only available on tap at venues across Australia, including X Cargo in Brisbane. General Manager Jackson McGuire of X Cargo in Brisbane serves Riot Fizz on tap and said, “Riot Fizz is a great addition to any venue, especially high-volume venues with function packages for ease of service for large crowds. Would recommend every time."

Riot Fizz is available at venues around Australia. To discuss ranging in your bar, contact info@riotwine.com.au.