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There are three main methods of 'Sparkling wine' production. The first is simple 'injection' of CO₂, the process used in soft drinks, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass. The second is the 'Metodo Italiano - Charmat process', in which the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bulk tanks, and is bottled under pressure. This method is used for Prosecco and Asti in particular, and produces smaller, longer-lasting bubbles. The bubbles for more complex wines are produced in the 'traditional method' or "'méthode champenoise'" of secondary fermentation in bottle. As the name suggests, this is used for the production of champagne and other quality sparkling wines, but is slightly more expensive than the Charmat process.

Contents

Gas injection

Metodo Italiano (Charmat Process)

Traditional method

Harvesting

First fermentation

Second fermentation

Aging on lees

Riddling

Disgorging

Bottle Aging

Vintage vs. Non-vintage

Sugar content

Wine faults

References

See also

Gas injection

Cheap sparkling wine is made by simple injection of CO₂ from a carbonator.

Metodo Italiano (Charmat Process)

The Charmat process is known as the "Metodo italiano" in Italy, where it was invented and is most used. The wine undergoes secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks rather than individual bottles, and is bottled under pressure in a continuous process. Many grape varieties like Prosecco, are best suited for the fermentation in tanks. Metodo Italiano sparkling wines can be sold at a slightly lower prices than méthode champenoise wines.
The process was first studied by the Italian enologist Federico Martinotti and patented in 1907 by French winemaker Eugène Charmat, but quickly abandoned.. It was only in the late 1930s the process was totally redefined and completely renovated by Antonio Carpenè, Jr (founder of the Prosecco di Conegliano and Valdobbiadene industry, and the father of Etile and Clara Carpenè, two renowned Prosecco producers) to adapt it to the italian Prosecco grapes. The secondary fermentation in tanks under this renovated method proved to be ideal for the Prosecco grapes and surpassing in many aspects the quality of secondary fermentation in individual bottles.

Traditional method

The "traditional method" is the process used in the Champagne region of France to produce the sparkling wine known as Champagne. It used to be known as the 'méthode Champenoise' but the Champagne producers have successfully lobbied Brussels to restrict that term to wines from their region. Thus wines from elsewhere may not use "méthode Champenoise" when sold in the EU, and you will see "traditional method", "'méthode traditionelle'" or the local language equivalent. Consumers outside the EU may still see "méthode Champenoise" on labels, but it is becoming less common.
After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding several grams of yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae although each brand has its own secret recipe) and several grams of rock sugar.
At this time the champagne bottle is capped with a crown cap. The bottle is then riddled (see below), so that the lees settles in the neck of the wine bottle. The neck is then frozen, and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the lees, and the bottle is quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution.

Harvesting

Grapes used for Champagne are generally picked earlier, when sugar levels are lower and acid levels higher. Except for pink or rosé Champagnes, the juice of harvested grapes is pressed off quickly, to keep the wine white.

First fermentation

The first fermentation begins in the same way as any wine, converting the natural sugar in the grapes into alcohol while the resultant carbon dioxide is allowed to escape. This produces the "base wine". This wine is not very pleasant by itself, being too acidic. At this point the blend, known as the cuvée is assembled, using wines from various vineyards, and, in the case of non-vintage Champagne, various years.

Second fermentation

The blended wine is put in bottles along with yeast and a small amount of sugar, called the ''liqueur de tirage'', and stored in a wine cellar horizontally, for a second fermentation. Champagne requires a minimum of 1.5 years under the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée to completely develop all the flavour. For years where the harvest is exceptional, a "''vintage''" (millesimé) is declared and the wine has to mature for at least 3 years.

During the secondary fermentation the carbon dioxide is trapped in the bottle, keeping it dissolved in the wine. The amount of added sugar will determine the pressure of the bottle. To reach the standard value of 6 bars inside the bottle, it is necessary to have 18 grams of sugar, and the amount of yeast, ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'', is regulated by the European Commission (Regulation 1622/2000, 24 July 2000) to be 0.3 grams per bottle. The "liqueur de tirage" is then a mixture of sugar, yeast and still champagne wine.

Aging on lees

Wines from Champagne cannot legally be sold until it has aged on the lees in the bottle for at least 15 months. Champagne's AOC regulations require that vintage Champagnes are aged in cellars for three years or more before disgorgement, but most top producers exceed this minimum requirement, holding bottles on the lees for 6 to 8 years before disgorgement.

Riddling

After aging (a minimum from one and a half to three years), the sediment ('lees') must be consolidated for removal. The bottles undergo a process known as ''riddling'' (''remuage'' in French), in which they are rotated a small amount each day with periodic abrupt shakes, and gradually moved to a neck-down orientation so that the sediment collects in the neck.^[1]
Many stores now sell riddling racks simply for decorative storage of wine.

Disgorging

The removal process is called "disgorging" (''dégorgement'' in French), and was a skilled manual process, where the cork and the lees were removed without losing large quantities of the liquid, and a ''dosage'' (a varying amount of additional sugar) is added.
Until this process was invented (reputedly by Madame Clicquot in 1800) Champagne was cloudy, a style still seen occasionally today under the label ''méthode ancestrale''.
Modern disgorgement is automated by freezing a small amount of the liquid in the neck and removing this plug of ice containing the lees. A cork is then inserted with a capsule and wire cage securing it in place.

Bottle Aging

Even experts disagree about the effects of aging on Champagne after disgorgement. Some prefer the freshness and vitality of young, recently disgorged Champagne, and others prefer the baked apple and caramel flavors that develop from a year or more of bottle aging.

Vintage vs. Non-vintage

The majority of the Champagne produced is 'non-vintage' (also known as 'mixed vintage'), a blend of wines from several years. This means that no declared year will be displayed on the bottle label. Typically, however, the majority of the wine is from the current year but a percentage is made of "reserve wine" from previous years. This serves to smooth out some of the vintage variations caused by the marginal growing climate of Champagne, which is the most northerly winegrowing region in France. Most Champagne houses strive for a consistent "house style" from year to year (largely for reasons related to price-setting and successful marketing), and this is arguably one of the hardest tasks of the house winemaker.
The grapes to produce vintage Champagne must be 100% from the year indicated (some other wines in the EU need only be 85% to be called vintage, depending on their type and appellation). To maintain the quality of non-vintage champagne a maximum of half the grapes harvested in one year can be used in the production of vintage Champagne ensuring at least 50%, though usually more, is reserved for non-vintage wines. Vintage Champagnes are the product of a single high-quality year, and bottles from prestigious makers can be rare and expensive.

Sugar content

Champagne's sugar content varies. The sweetest level is doux (meaning sweet), proceeding in order of increasing dryness to demi-sec (half-dry), sec (dry), extra sec (extra dry), brut (almost completely dry), and extra brut / brut nature / brut zero (no additional sugar, sometimes ferociously dry).

Wine faults

Several wine faults can occur in champagne production. Some that were present in early champagne production include ''yeux de crapauds'' (toads' eyes) which was a condition of big, gloppy bubbles that resulted from the wine spending too much time in wooden casks. Another fault could occur when the wine is exposed to bacteria or direct sunlight, leaving the champagne with murky coloring and an oily texture.^[2]

References

1. Excellent overview of riddling
2. D. & P. Kladstrup ''Champagne'' pg 45 Harper Collins Publisher ISBN 0060737921

See also

★ List of champagne producers

★ Winemaking

★ Oenology