TikTok Is Filling Soda Streams With White Wine For 'Ohio Champagne'

Everyone loves a foodie TikTok trend. And while a current raft of viral videos isn't quite up to the full miracle level of turning water into wine, it's doing the next best thing: turning everyday white wine into sparkling wine dubbed "Ohio champagne." Using the ubiquitous SodaStream, which is designed to make sparkling water, TikTokers have been trying the hack with great enthusiasm — and mixed results.

It's clear to see why trying to create a fun and fizzy product from something much less expensive is an appealing thrifty trend these days, but the sparkling wine trick has been around for some years. Back in 2011, Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal put a cheap bottle of plonk through the gadget and managed to convince members of the public that they were drinking champagne. And in 2017, SodaStream officially launched an alcoholic concentrate called Sparkling Gold in Germany, which was designed to be added to water and fizzed up to make a boozy Riesling-like wine drink — though the product didn't really seem to catch on and is no longer available.

Now, the sparkling wine hack is back. But does it actually work? Can you go rogue with your SodaStream, or are you just setting yourself up for an actual explosion, rather than a taste explosion?

You might be able to turn an ordinary bottle of wine into a wine containing some sparkles using your SodaStream, but that isn't the same as making sparkling wine. That's because the traditional method for making sparkling wine involves a lengthy fermentation process within a sealed bottle, with sugar and yeast being added to a base wine, which creates carbon dioxide gas.

@lindsaysecrestmarean

it works tho #fyp #fy #sisters #ohio

♬ Ain't It Fun – Paramore

The CO2 can't escape from the enclosed bottle, so it dissolves into the base wine, creating the drink's signature bubbles. After at least nine months of resting time, the yeast is removed. In short, it's a much more complicated and time-consuming process than quickly infusing the liquid with carbon dioxide under pressure, which is how SodaStream works. While what you're creating may resemble champagne or sparkling wine, it's not the real deal.

But some TikTokers have embraced the trend, and swear they love the result. "I think it should be called Ohio champagne," said TikToker Lindsay Secrest Marean, whose viral video has been viewed more than two million times. Others have given it the cheeky moniker of "sham-pagne."

You might have noticed that sparkling wines such as Champagne and Prosecco come in thicker wine bottles than regular wines, and sometimes even have a protective wire cage around the cork. There's a reason for that. The dissolved carbon dioxide creates a lot of pressure, which builds up within the glass bottle. You can see that pressure when you pop the cork. So should that act as a warning for those wishing to try making their own fizzy wines?

Some people who have tested the method over the years have found that the results don't compare favorably to actual champagne — while others have discovered that it works better with some wines than others. But some of those who have tried the hack have reported far less success, and even full-blown disasters, ranging from undrinkable wine to dangerous explosions.

Unsurprisingly, SodaStream doesn't recommend the product for anything other than carbonating water. So if you don't want to risk ruining your soda maker, or your kitchen, it might be worth just getting busy with the fizzy water, and leaving the sparkling wine to the experts.