The recent increased demand for sparkling wine proves once again the ingenuity of Dom Perignon and other monks in Champagne. The millions of bubbles, lightness and effervescence of sparkling wines capture the imagination of young and old.
Although champagne producers were the first to mass-market sparkling wines, other French wine producing regions had similar products but only for local consumption i.e blanquette de Limoux.
The Mehtode Champenoise is the most elaborate, and yields wines with million of very fine bubbles. Since the inventio0n of Champagne method, others were invented to make sparkling wine – transversage, transfer, charmat, and carbonation.
Transversage technique involves the second fermentation, riddling and disgorging in bottles, which are opened and poured into tanks under pressure. Sweetness adjustments are undertaken after the wine has settled. The wine is then bottled under pressure to preserve all the bubbles. Manufacturers employ this method for splits, half bottles of champagne, and for a few high-end sparkling wines, which must not be labelled as champagne.
The transfer method requires the second fermentation in large format bottles, which are opened and poured into large stainless steel tanks under pressure. The wine is clarified, the sugar level adjusted, and bottled under pressure.
The transfer technique is used for many medium-priced sparkling wines, and often, or occasionally and erroneously labelled as produced by the methode champenoise.
Transfer method-produced wine have medium-sized, and fewer bubbles than sparkling wines crafted by either methode champenoise or transversage.
Charmat method involves fermentation in glass-lined tanks under pressure. The clarification and sugar level adjustment occur in the same tank. After this step, the wine is bottled under pressure.
Generally, low priced Australian, German and French sparkling wines are produced by this technique.
The carbonation technique is simply making the base wine and injecting carbon dioxide into it and bottle under pressure.
These wines have large and few bubbles offering less pleasure to the palate.
Carbonated sparkling wines are the least expensive of all, but enjoy huge volume sales in both retail and wholesale to restaurants and banquet halls.
The methode champenoise is the most labour intensive and time consuming of all. Sparkling wines produced using this technique are generally quite expensive pending on region of origin.
Champagnes are the most expensive of all, followed by cremant de Loire, Cava, and some high-end Australian and German sparkling wines.
The technique requires hand-harvested grapes. Each bunch is in the field carefully inspected to eliminate rotten, or under ripe grapes. Bunches are basket pressed and the juice is fermented using specially cultivated yeasts. Using wines from different vineyards creates the blend called cuvee. This is called the base wine and varies between all champagne producers according to their philosophy and brand. To this blend (cuvee), sugar and yeast are added then the wine is bottled and secured with a crown cap. After the second fermentation in the bottle is completed, each bottle is placed on a riddling pyramid (pupitre) in the shape of an upside down V. During the second fermentation debris develops, that must be removed. This is accomplished by riddling. The remueur (riddler) turns each bottle daily by one eight of the circumference of the bottle until all the debris accumulates in the neck of the bottle. This is the longest and most costly step in the production, following the fruit cost.
Now many champagne houses use riddling cages, which can accommodate several hundred bottles and do the riddling automatically.
In most cases producers show visitors only the manual version of the production.
Once the debris is fully accumulated into the neck of the bottle, the neck is dipped into brine at – 4 C to freeze the debris solid. Subsequently, the crown cap is removed. The pressure inside the bottle propels the now solid frozen debris. This amounts to approximately 30 – 60 ml (1 – 2 oz) of wine. The gap is filled either with the same wine, and called brut sauvage, or replaced with a blend of sweetened wine to adjust the sugar level
The nomenclature of residual sugar per litre of wine is as follows:
Extra brut 1 – 6 grams of sugar
Brut 5 – 15 grams of sugar
Extra dry 12 – 20 grams of sugar
Sec 17 – 35 grams of sugar
Demi-sec 33 – 50 grams of sugar
Doux 50 grams and up
Champagne bottle sizes vary from split all the way up to Nebuchadnezzar.
The names of bottles and their size are:
Split 187 ml
Half bottle 375 ml.
Full bottle 750 ml.
Magnum 1500ml.
Marie-Jeanne 2500 ml.
Double magnum or Jeroboam 3000 ml
Rheoboam 4500 ml.
Imperial or Metuselah 6000 ml.
Balthasar 12 000 ml.
Nebucchadnezzar 15 000 ml.
Champagne producers expedite large format bottles reluctantly as vibrations occasionally cause bottles to explode. The pressure in the bottle is as high in the tube of a bicycle wheel.
When buying sparkling wine always read the label carefully i.e Blanc de blanc (white wine produced of white grapes only), blanc de noirs (white wine produced from black grapes only), cremant de …. (sparkling wine with less pressure and less bubbles).
Sparkling wines should be appropriately rested after purchasing, and cooled to 6 – 8 C.
Use champagne flutes to serve bubbles. Champagne saucers are to be avoided at all cost.
Australia produces sweet sparkling red wines as a specialty.
In France, champagne is the most expensive and best-known sparkling wine, but the Loire valley, Burgundy, Alsace, Limoux, and Bordeaux produce sparkling wines using a range of techniques.
Spain is famous for its CAVA sparkling wines. They are priced using the champagne method, but employ locally grown grapes. CAVA wines cost a quarter or less of champagne, and can be pleasant, but lack the lightness and refinement of champagne.
Germany produces Sekt using the Charmat method (second fermentation in large tanks). Some inexpensive brands turn out carbonated wines at very low cost.
Riesling based German sekt can be very appealing and expensive.
German sparkling manufacturers are not allowed to the term champagne on the label due to the Treaty signed after the World War I.
Italy is famous for its sweet, Muscat-flavoured sparkling wines called Asti Spumante.
Prosecco comes from Veneto and uses prosecco grapes exclusively. It is light, aromatic, and refreshing. It is also less expensive and therefore popular with young and budget-minded consumers.
Australia, Chile, New Zealand, the U.S.A, Portugal, Switzerland, Ukraine, Hungary, Russia, and Austria produce large quantities of sparkling wine by either using the methode champenoise or the Charmat method.
Some Ontario wineries are known for their high-end sparkling wines, but most of the production is low-end and inexpensive sparkling wines.
Sparkling icewine is an Ontario specialty and is available at high cost.
Nova Scotia is now turning out some fine sparkling wines, as their grapes are generally high in acidity.
Methode champenoise terms in different countries
English language countries
Traditional method
France
Methode traditionnelle
Methode classique
Spain
Methodo tradicional
CAVA
Italy
Metodo classico
Metodo tradizionale
Germany
Flaschengarung nach dem traditionellen Verfahren
Klassiche Flaschengarung
Traditionelle Flaschengahrung
South Africa
Cap classique
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Tags: PRODUCTION, SPARKLING WINE, Techniques
