Making The Wine With Bubbles

Methods of Creating Sparkling Wine

Carbonation Method

• Carbon dioxide is injected and forced into the wine
• Much the same as any “sparkling” beverage like soda
• Least expensive method, producing the simplest of sparkling wines (Not recognized as quality production)

Charmat Method (Tank Method)

• Dry base wine, sugar, yeast nutrients and clarifying agent placed in a large tank
• The still wine goes through a second fermentation
• Sediment is removed by filtration under pressure
• The finished beverage is placed into bottles under pressure to preserve the carbonation
• Production costs are much less but absent of yeast autolytic character
• Without yeast autolysis the character of the base wine is perceived much better
• Examples: Sekt (Germany) and Asti Spumante or Moscato d’ Asti (Italy) are best known examples

Transfer Method

• Process is the same as traditional method up to the process of riddling
• Entire contents disgorged into a tank while under pressure
• Wine is then filtered off of the lees
• The finished product is placed, under pressure, into the final bottle (the one you see in the store)
• The bottle in the store is not the same one the second fermentation took place in
• This method is used widely over the world, especially seen in Australia

Methode Champenoise

• Steps described below
• Examples: Cava (Spain), Some California Sparkling wines

Process of Methode Champenoise (now called Traditional Method):

1. Harvest

• Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are the only accepted varieties in Champagne
• The grapes are harvested by hand and placed in plastic cases to minimize damage to the grape
• Immediately taken the the press house (located close by) and weighed

2. Pressing

• The grapes are pressed as soon as possible to minimize the chance of oxidation
• The first gentle pressing is the best (rich in sugars and desirable acids and low in tannins)
• The amount of juice extracted is strictly controlled (102L canbe extracted from 160 kg of grapes)
• The first 80L calssified as cuvee
• The balance is called taille, is generally blended with the cuvee to make wintage and non-vintage Champagne
• Any juice drawn off after taille goes for distillation
• These juices are stored and fermented separately

3. Fermentation

• The first fermentation done at red wine temperatures rather than white
• Idea is to produce a wine with crisp, high acidity, moderate alcohol and relatively neutral in character
• Most now fermented in stainless steel with a few exceptions still done in oak

4. Blending (assemblage)

• After the still wine is made it is blended depending on the house style and the nature of the champagne itself
• It may consist of different varieties, vineyards and/or years
• Decision is on what wines to blend left to a head blender
• If a vintage is stated, the product must be wines from only that year

5. Liqueur de Tirage

• Once blended, the wine is bottled, and a mixture of sugar, yeast nutrients and a clarifying agent
• The bottle is closed with a crown cap and laid down, horizontally, in a cool, dark cellar
• This is where second fermentation takes place
• The cooler the temperature, the slower the second fermentation and the more complex the flavors

6. Second Fermentation

• Yeast + sugar = Alcohol , CO2 and heat (now with yeast sediment)
• Since the CO2 has no escape from the bottle, it dissolves back into the liquid
• The dead yeast and natural sediments settle to the bottom

7. Aging and Yeast Autolysis

• Occurs during maturation in the bottle
• Dead yeast cells eventually break down and their enzymes react with the wine
• This is where the bready, biscuit and toast notes come from
• Process lasts 4-5 years but can last up to 10 years
• Vintage Champagne must spend 3 years on its lees
• Non-vintage Champagne must spend 15 months on its lees
• Cava and New World sparkling made this way spend 9 months on the lees

8. Riddling

• Riddling then takes place where the bottle is racked with neck down on a special rack called a pupitre
• The bottle is turned in a series of half and quarter turns and gradually tilting further neck down
• This process encourages the dead yeast to migrate to the neck of the bottle
• When done by hand, this can take six to eight weeks
• Much done by a machine called a gyropallate (504 bottles at a time)

9. Degorgement

• The neck of the bottle is then immersed in an iced brine solution freezing the yeast into an ice plug
• The temporary cap is removed and the yeast-ice plug is removed from the bottle under pressure
• Sometimes, along with the plug, a small amount of wine is lost

10. Dosage

• Wine and sugar solution (called liqueur d’ expedition) is added back to the bottle to “top off” the bottle
• The amount of sugar (dosage) added will dictate the sweetness level of the Champagne:
  • Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 2grams of sugar per liter)
  • Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter)
  • Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter)
  • Extra Sec or Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter)
  • Sec or Dry or Secco or Troken (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter)
  • Demi-sec or Riche or Halbtroken or Semi-Dulce or Abbocato (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter)
  • Doux or Sweet or Dolce or Dulce (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

 11. Corking

• Compressed tightly to provide a good seal
• Wire muzzle added for security
• The foiled neck comes from a time prior to “topping-off” and the foil was meant to hide the gap between the wine and the cork

Styles of Champagne:

Blanc de blancs

• Champagne produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes (ideal for light first courses including seafood and soups)

Blanc de noirs

• Champagne made from 100% Pinot Noir and/or Meunier grapes
• Full-bodied and deeper yellow-gold in color
• Ideal for full-flavored foods, including meats and cheeses

Pink or rosé

• Accounts for less than 5% of Champagne produced
• Much of the Rosé sparkling wine is made by Saignèe method
• This method involves exposing the must to the skins of the red grapes when pressing  
• Traditional Rosé Champagne is made by the blending of white and red wines during the assemblage

Non-vintage or “NV” Champagne

• Makes up 85 to 90 percent of all Champagne produced
• Composed of several different years and different blends as well as different vintages, rather than from a single harvest 

Vintage Champagne

• All grapes used have been harvested from a single year
• There is no law governing when a year is a vintage (each house decides for itself whether it will produce a vintage)
• It is only produced when the harvest is particularly distinguished

Label Marks

• There are marks on a bottle of Champagne that tells who it was made by
• Grower (RM)
• Cooperative Cellar (CM)
• Champagne House (NM)
• Brand name not owned by the producer (MA)