Treveri Cellars

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It’s fun to discover a “different” type of winery and that’s exactly what Treveri Cellars offers. Founded by German transplant Juergen Grieb, Treveri Cellars makes sparkling wine in the heart of Yakima. Although there are a variety of ways to produce bubblies, Juergen relies on the traditional méthode champenoise process for introducing carbon dioxide. Yes, France cranks out a lot of winemakers who understand the second fermentation process in the bottle but many folks don’t realize that Germany produces a huge amount of sparkling wine as well.

True to his German heritage, Juergen uses traditional German varieties to craft about 2,500 cases of wine per year including riesling, Muller-Thurgau and gewürztraminer. He also relies on chardonnay (the grape variety you would find in French champagne blended with pinot noir and pinot meunier) as well as Italian-derived pinot gris. Rather than blending these varieties, Juergen chooses to produce 100% variety sparklers. Thus, his ever-so-crisp Treveri Cellars Brut relies 100% chardonnay and at just 1.4% residual sugar, you won’t taste sweetness. It’s dry. But for those with a bit of a sweet tooth including moi, his demi-sec riesling and gewürztraminers deliver a slightly sweet but nicely balanced effervescent delight.

Incidentally, for history buffs out there, the Treveri or Treviri were the tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 years BC until their eventual absorption by the Franks. It’s unknown if the Franks drank any bubbly to celebrate their inclusion of the Treveri.