CUTCHOGUE, NY – February 28, 2020 – Bridge Lane Wine, a leading NY wine brand located on the North Fork of Long Island, announces today the addition of Bridge Lane Bubbles to their lineup of wine in can. Bridge Lane was the first wine brand in NY to launch wine in can starting with a dry rosé in July of 2017. In 2018, they added a White Merlot, unoaked Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Red Blend.
“Bridge Lane Bubbles is very simply a reaction to demand from our retail customers, wholesale markets, social media followers and even our own staff members,” explains Bridge Lane Wine’s General Manager, Ami Opisso. “Our still wines in can have been a huge success but we can’t seem to escape the question – ‘do you have a sparkling?’”
The tricky part about sparkling, however, is that it required some additional research and development on the part of Opisso and Bridge Lane’s winemaker, Russell Hearn. “We needed to get the blend, level of carbonation, level of sweetness, packaging and filling process just right, and it took some time to get all of that figured out,” states Hearn. “This is a fun, light, fruit-forward wine, but that doesn’t mean we don’t take its production very seriously.”
Bridge Lane Bubbles is a spin-off of the Bridge Lane brand and will not be a core product, meaning it will be in can only for now and has its own look. (The other five Bridge Lane wines are each packaged in 4 formats – bottle, box, can and keg – and share the same label.) The label picks up cues from Bridge Lane’s branding, especially in color and tone, but is noticeably distinct. “We’re obsessed with the label and feel it captures the personality of the wine and brand perfectly,” says Opisso.
The wine is made from three varietals: Riesling, Seyval and Muscat. Hearn had been looking to experiment with these aromatic, lesser known grapes and was excited to work with them. The Riesling is grown in Bridge Lane’s estate vineyard while the Seyval and Muscat were sourced from the Finger Lakes region. “The flavor descriptor that stands out to me is tangerine,” says Hearn.
The cans are 375ml (which equates to half of standard 750ML bottle of wine or 2 large glass pours) and will be sold starting tomorrow in the Bridge Lane Wine Tasting Room and on Bridge Lane’s website (www.bridgelanewine.com). They will also slowly rollout to Bridge Lane’s wider distribution on the East Coast of the US and now in Texas. 800 cases were made.
“We listened to our followers and are so excited to deliver for them,” Opisso concludes. “I just hope they don’t sell out before summer!”
