In the making of sparkling wine, including Champagne, Riddling is a traditional and tedious method for consolidating lees near the neck of the bottle to make it easier to remove.
The bottles are placed neck down into racks called pupitres. At regular intervals (from several times a day to once every few days) over a period (two to ten weeks) the bottles are shaken, given a twist, and dropped back into the rack. This is to release the lees from the side of the bottle. The angle of the rack is gradually increased, starting at a 45° until 90°, and the lees collect in the neck, ready for dégorgement.
To the relief of many winemakers, this process is mostly done by machine (gyropalettes), although at some of the Premier Cuvées in Champagne it's still done by hand.
Also known as Rémuage
