I confess – I purchased a sparkling wine because of the cool alligator on its label. It’s called Swampwater, and after one refreshing glass, I headed to my computer to find out more.
What I discovered is a thoughtful New Orleans expat named Lisette Hrapmann. Her Fizzy Lizzy Wines is a bandwagon you need to hop on right this instant.
Fizzy Lizzy Wines is best known for: light, bright wines with lots of natural acidity. Hrapmann said she loves the delicate sparkle of pétillant naturel wines, particularly when chardonnay is involved.
The motto at Fizzy Lizzy Wines is “fermented with bayou, porch and river times in mind.”
“Must try” current release: 2021 Fizzy Lizzy Wines Swampwater Pét Nat ($25 – 10.91% alcohol by volume). Swampwater is Hrapmann’s only commercial wine so far, making this an easy call.
Swampwater is a chardonnay-chenin blanc blend made with fruit from two Willamette Valley vineyards – Matteri and Johan. Hrapmann uses the pétillant naturel method, aka the ancestral method, to turn the fruit into Swampwater. The technique involves bottling wine that is still fermenting to trap carbon dioxide gas inside the bottle. The wine is not filtered, and no sugar is added.
Fizzy Lizzy’s grapefruit soda-colored Swampwater offers soft bubbles that deliver aromas of toasted filberts, earthy post-rain petrichor and a warm brioche slathered with pear butter. Asian pear and ginger flavors seal the deal.
Pour a glass of Swampwater, play the Devin Phillips “Wade In The Water” CD, another New Orleans gift to Portland, and find a comfortable porch.
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Innovation: “It may not be particularly innovative, but I’m in the winemaking camp of doing things with intention. I pay attention to detail and do my best to make good wine. Caring for the fruit and the fermentation is the best and most I can do, and the wine is going to do most of the rest itself,” Hrapmann said.
History: Hrapmann was born and raised in Louisiana, graduating from Cabrini High School in New Orleans and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Her first inkling that wine was “a thing” came in college while working the bar at Antoine’s Restaurant in the French Quarter.
Upon graduating in 2018, Hrapmann hoped to put her sociology degree to work by “farm hopping” the globe to learn more about interdependent agricultural societies. There was no plan at the time to become a winemaker.
A bit of kismet made Hrapmann’s first stop Mauritson Wines in Healdsburg, California. There she enjoyed the work and the tutelage of Emma Kudritzki Hall, Mauritson’s head winemaker.
With the wine bug in her system, Hrapmann spent the next two years working at Mauritson, picking grapes in Burgundy, working in Chile and distributing wines in New Orleans. When a friend tipped her off to a harvest job at Alexana Vineyard & Winery in Newberg, she headed to Oregon in 2020.
Since that first gig as a seasonal cellar hand at Alexana, Hrapmann has assisted head winemakers at Belle Pente Vineyard & Winery in Carlton and Day Wines in Dundee, her current location.
Brianne Day, Day Wines owner and head winemaker, said Hrapmann “has all the skills needed to build a successful wine brand for herself. I really enjoy her wine and am looking forward to watching her brand and career take off and grow.”
What we don’t know: Hrapmann was a holding midfielder with a wicked direct free kick that had successful soccer careers at the club, high school and college levels. She was also pretty fast, helping Cabrini High School win a 4 x 100 meters Louisiana state outdoor track championship.
Favorite Oregon “getaway” spot: the nearest slow rolling river.
Key insight: Hrapmann has a delicious, acid-driven 2022 chardonnay resting in the barrel. Keep it on your radar, whether it becomes a still or sparkling wine.
Biggest inspiration: “My nieces and nephews inspire me to think about what it was like to be a child and remind me of all the possibilities waiting out there to explore, Hrapmann said.
Hrapmann also draws inspiration from the strong women in her life, particularly her mother and grandmother. Yvonne Hrapmann, Lisette’s mother, is the principal at Cabrini High School, having worked there for 43 years.
Where to buy: Buy your Swampwater directly from the Fizzy Lizzy Wines website, or purchase it at one of these Portland locations: Wellspent Market, Mt. Tabor Fine Wines, The Place PDX and Sweedeedee.
Hrapmann is also working on a plan to distribute her wines in Louisiana. If a Fizzy Lizzy wine ends up on the list at Antoine’s, she will be over a crescent moon.
fizzylizzywines.com or lisette@fizzylizzywines.com.
— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.
