Let’s create
something bubbly
Services
Our service driven company can produce a vast range of sparkling and carbonated beverages. This includes non and low alcohol products that don’t have to be made from grapes. Under pressure (pun intended) from fruit to finished product, we have the experience, knowledge and resources to help you create a great product.
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Forced Carbonated Beverages
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Tank Fermented Sparkling
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Counter Pressure Cross Flow Filtration
- Once on the counter pressure filler, the bottle is first sealed by the filling valve gasket.
- Depending on the product, a vacuum is created inside the bottle. Air, mainly oxygen and nitrogen, is removed from the bottle. This pre-evacuation can be performed twice to eliminate the oxygen for a longer shelf life.
- The bottle is pressurized with CO2 to remove any additional O2, and then the bottle is pressurized to the same levels as the carbonated product.
- A filling valve is opened to allow the carbonated product to flow into the bottle without any gas escaping. Because the bottle remains pressurized during the filling, foaming or gushing is kept to a minimum.
- After the bottle is filled to the desired volume, the remaining pressure is slowly released through a vent, allowing it to equalize to atmospheric conditions.
- The filled bottle, with relaxed or slightly foaming product, receives a closure that helps retain the carbonation.
Forced Carbonated Beverages
For a less complicated, less expensive bubbly product, we can add CO2 directly from a carbonation source. This method can be used to incorporate various levels of CO2, from a light spritz to an actively effervescent host of products including wines, ciders, teas and juices. With this production capability, almost any beverage can benefit from the addition of bubbles.
Tank Fermented Sparkling
Cuve Close is French for “sealed tank” and a name for the bulk or tank sparkling wine-making process often called Charmat. This process was originally developed by an Italian and later refined by the French and involves provoking a second fermentation in a sealed tank capable of withstanding pressures up to 6 Bar, or 90 psi. During this second fermentation, the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced by the yeast is prevented from escaping, and entrains or saturates the wine. Upon completion of the secondary fermentation, the yeast is filtered and the wine containing the dissolved CO2 is transferred into bottles without losing the pressure, aromas or flavor generated by the second fermentation. The duration of this fermentation can vary from days to weeks or months, but the process generates sparkling wine at a lower cost than traditional sparkling wine methods.
Counter Pressure Cross Flow Filtration
A counter pressure or isobaric bottle filler works by maintaining constant CO2 pressure levels as bottles are filled. This allows products from either pressurized or non-pressurized bulk storage tanks or vessels to be used without losing carbonation or picking up atmospheric gasses such as oxygen. Most carbonated beverages are bottled at temperatures ranging from 0 to 4C (32° to 39.2°F).
Here’s the counter pressure filling process:
Expertise
Our team has over 50 years of combined experience producing sparkling and carbonated products.
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Paul Scotto
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Nick Heron
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Freddy Gomez
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Craig Roemer
Paul Scotto
BA Fermentation Sciences, UC Davis
Paul grew up in the Livermore Valley, “hanging out at my grandfather’s winery”, where he learned that his family’s winemaking history dates back to 1883 in Ischia, Italy. His interest in becoming a 5th generation winemaker led him to the Enology program at UC Davis.
After graduation he wanted experience outside the family business, so he spent seven years selling vineyard and construction equipment, making wine and working in green waste. He joined his siblings in 2009 as the Director of Winemaking for all the family’s wineries and soon developed a passion for creating small lots of premium wine that expressed the nuances of the vineyards and the varietals. Paul’s enviable portfolio includes numerous awards and top ratings for releases from the family’s Lodi, Napa Valley and Amador wineries and includes both varietals and finely balanced blends.
In 2010 he launched his own winery, Sera Fina Cellars, in the historic Gold Rush community of Amador to focus on Italian and Rhone varietals and blends. His love of blending to enhance flavors, aromas and body is the foundation of his work at Scotto Cellars. Paul describes himself as a “Blendologist” and often says that “Blending is challenging but the results are the reward.”
Paul’s energy and commitment drive his pursuit of excellence with every vintage and provides a guiding force for the entire Scotto portfolio.
When not working feverishly in the winery and vineyards or following the Golden State Warriors, Paul cherishes his time with his wife Whitney and enjoys a wide range of sports and family outings with their three energetic sons Dante, Luca and Carlo.
Nick Heron
Winemaking Degree, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Nick studied Enology and Wine Business at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Including his family’s wine background, Nick has been working in the industry since 2003. He has a wide range of experience in retail wine sales and distribution, as well as winemaking. Nick joined the Scotto’s winemaking team in August 2019, working on Sparkling Wine, Cider, and Special Projects programs.
Freddy Gomez
Freddy Gomez is the General Manager at Scotto Cellars and has worked in the wine industry since 2012. He focuses on quality control, production, safety and overall plant operations. Freddy’s experience and work ethic helps us produce amazing beverages at multiple locations. His dedication to high quality standards for himself and his team “gets me up and going in the morning.”
When he’s not at Scotto Cellars, Freddy is an avid car enthusiast and loves spending time at home with his wife and two sons working on car restorations.
Craig Roemer
BA Microbiology, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; BA Fermentation Sciences, UC Davis.
Craig’s winemaking career begin in 1985 at the Menghini Winery in Julian, CA. While pursuing a degree in Microbiology at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he furthered his interest in winemaking with a stint at Edna Valley Vineyards where he gained his first experiences producing sparkling wine, which became his passion.
After graduating from Cal Poly, his next step took him to the University of California in Davis to study Fermentation Sciences. Upon completion of his degree, he spent two vintages at the Petaluma winey in Australia’s Adelaide Hills, where he immersed himself in the art and science of sparkling wines. The quality of his sparkling wines created an opportunity to work in China, training a delegation of winery professionals from the Huadong Winery in Qingdao. “Winemaking in China was kind of like a camping trip. What could go wrong did, and what did go right eventually went wrong,” he notes.
In 1994, he furthered his passion for sparkling wine production at Schramsberg Vineyards, starting as a “cellar rat.” He quickly moved through the ranks to enologist, assistant winemaker, associate winemaker, winemaker, and director of winemaking and vineyard management. During this period he was instrumental in elevating their sparkling sales from 20,000 to 80,000 cases and he also initiated a very succesful still wine program for J Davies Vineyards.
After leaving Schramsberg in 2008, he began consulting with wineries and winemakers, focusing on the art and science of sparkling wine production. In 2018, this bubble wizard began working with Scotto Cellars to launch Creative Carbonation, including their inaugural production of 600 cases of the award winning Scotto Family Cellars Brut sparkling wine.
Equipment & Capacities
From 500 gallons to as much as you need, our team, equipment and facilities can get the job done. Our bottling lines can handle a wide variety of containers and we use cross flow filters for high pressure production and Charmat tanks for storage.
Location
For more details about us and how we can facilitate your product, please contact us:
(209) 815-0700Email: info@creativecarbonation.com
Telephone: (209) 815-0700
Address: 220 S. Cluff Ave, Lodi, California
Get Started
Are you ready to begin your journey to producing a great carbonated beverage? Answer just a few questions to let us know what it is you’re producing, how much you need and how we can make the experience the best you ever have. And don’t worry, if you’ve never done this before, we’ll be there every step of the way!