D4 Sparkling Wines Flashcards
What are differences between 5 main production subregions in Champagne?
Main 3 regions Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Cote de Blancs where all Grand Cru’s are located, where are the best grapes.
Montagne de Reims - Pinot Noir in plateau than mountains, north facing have more cooler sites - wines high acidity and austere
Vallee de la Marne - Meunier grape in clay and clay/marl soils - fruity wines
Cote de Blancs - purest chalk soil, great intensity wines and longevity wines mainly Chardonnay.
Cote de Sezanne - clay and clay/silt soils, mainly Chardonnay - south facing - fruity riper grapes
Cote des Bar - main source for Pinot Noir for NV wines - kimmeregian calcareous marl, slopes - well ripen.
The common winemaking features for Cremants?
- Whole bunch pressing therefore hand harvest
- max yield press 100 L per 150 kg
- Min 9 m on lees
- min 12 m between tirage and release
- max 13% abs
- min 4 atm
Grape varieties for Cremant d’Alsace?
Pinot Blanc
Auxerrois
Chardonnay
Riesling
Pinot Gris
Pinot Noir
Cremate d’Alsace Rose grape?
100% Pinot Noir
Explain the growing environment for Cremant d’Alsace climate?
Climate - sunny and continental
It’s often dry and hot during growing season, though rain at harvest can be problem (hazard) and no irrigation allowed.
In this climate hot days and cool nights - ideal for traditional method sparkling wines.
Vineyards planted on eastern side of Vosges, this protects from westerly winds.
Global warming - spring frost can be a problem and has
become worse in recent years with warmer and earlier springs resulting in early bud break. This
in turn makes the vines more vulnerable to spring frost and leads to reduction in yields
Explain the grape growing options for Cremant d’Alsace
Grapes: 6 PB, PG, PN, Char, Riesl, Aux - all low aromatic grapes suitable for traditional method.
Best sites plated with Riesling, Pinot Blanc - planted on lower level of elevation (more fertile soil) and on cooler sites (higher valleys where grapes would struggle to ripen).
Example - P.Blanc planted in Munster Valley.
High yield similar to champagne 80 hl/ha
Harvest is early – the last days of August to first part of September – because just-ripe fruit with high acidity is sought. Harvest is by hand, as whole-bunch pressing is mandatory. This is with a view to producing high-quality juice with low phenolic content.
Explain the growing environment for Cremant de Bourgogne?
The appellation boundary is the same as for Bourgogne AOC.
Because of the size of region there is variation of climate
North - cool climate, vines need to be south or south east faced to get max light and warmth (high acidity, lighter body).
Central area - continental, somethings freezing winters with sunny, dry summers. Producing just ripe fruit and high acidity (due high prices for still wines very little goes for Cremant).
South - Maconnais, Beaujolais - mediterranean influence, higher summer t*,
produce ripe fruit, lower acidity.
However risk of summer storms.
Hazards - hail, spring frost, fungal disease, esca.
Explain the grape growing for Cremant de Bourgogne?
Grapes: Pinot Noir, Char, P Gris, P Blanc, Gamay, Melon de Bourgogne, Aligote
High yields: The maximum yield is 75 hL/ha. Its significantly higher than for the still wines of Burgundy. If
growers wish to take advantage of this higher yield, as stated, they are required to declare
that the vineyard will be used for Crémant before the end of March, i.e. at the end of winter
when decisions about pruning have been made.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are the dominant as both can display autolytic traits well.
The blend must be a min of 30 % Chardonnay,
Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris, either alone or in a blend.
The max permitted
amount of Gamay in a blend is 20%.
In practice, however, mainly Chardonnay and Pinot
Noir are used for white wine as there is very little Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris planted.
Most rosé wine - mainly Pinot Noir.
Explain the growing environment for Cremant de Loire?
The climate for Crémant de Loire is typically cool and continental with maritime influences, particularly due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean extends its cool, mild influence to just east of Tours, in the centre of
Touraine. This covers most of the area delimited by the Crémant de Loire appellation.
The cool climate helps to produce grapes with low potential alcohol and high acidity
levels, perfect for the base wines used in sparkling wine production. However, fungal diseases
and untimely rain (during flowering, fruit set and at harvest) can be a problem.
Explain the grape growing for Cremant de Loire?
Grapes: Chenin B, Cab F, Cab S, Groleau Noir, Groleau Gris, Pinau d’Anis, PN, Char
Max 30% allowed Cab S and Pineau d’Anis (together or separately)
The maximum yield is 74 hL/ha. Producers declare in
July to make Crémant.
May types of soil - clay-limestone, flint, gravel and tuff.
More chalk in Touraine,
Schist and limestone (Anjou, Saumur)
Best exposed sites - used for still wines, for sparkling generally less exposed sites with higher proportion of clay soils (however excess clay soil not classified)
Due to high limestone content use rootstocks - Fercal & Riparia Gloire de Monpellier
Grapes for Cremant de Bourgogne?
Chardonnay
Pinot Noir
Pinot Gris
Pinot Blanc
Melon de Bourgogne
Gamay
Aligote
Grapes for Cremant de Loire?
Chenin Blanc
Cab Franc
Cab Sauv
Grolleau Noir
Grolleau Gris
Pineau d’Anis
Pinot Noir
Chardonnay
What are prestige Cuvee’s for all 3 Cremants?
Cremant d’Alsace - Cremant d’Alsace Emotion
min 75% P. Blanc, Char, PN
min 24 m on lees
Cremant de Bourgogne - Eminent and Grand Eminent,
Eminent:
min 24 m lees
Grand Eminent:
1. Only PN and Char
2. Rose max 20% Gamay
3. min 36 m on lees
4. Brut only
Cremant de Loire - Prestige de Loire:
1. min 24 m on lees
2. only white
3. Only Chenin Bl, Cab F, Char, PN
4. Must be vintage
5. Brut, BN, EB
4 permitted vine trainings in Champagne?
- Taille Chablis (used for Char, why? protect against frost, light reflected from soil)
- Cordon du Royat (used for PN and Meunier - better light and airflow)
- Guyot (managing vine vigor)
- Vallee de la Marne (similar to guyot but with larger numbers of buds - using less now).
Hazards in Champagne (7)
- Winter frost (can kill vine)
- Spring frost (reduce yields)
- Disruption on flowering and fruit set due to cold and rainy weather in June
- Violent storms and hails (damage and kill vines)
- Hot&humid weather especially after heavy rainfall - spread of botrytis
- Downy & powdery mildew
- Dagger nematodes, which spread fan leaf virus
What is the “échelle des crus” system?
It was a rating system in Champagne, to establish the price of grapes based on the quality of the village they came from. Villages were ranked 80-100 % , grand cru was highest 100%.
The system of fixed pricing ended under pressure from EU, but designations Grand Cru and Premier Cru still exist.
Price set by market now, large producers influencing trends
What is blocage system?
- now known as reserved wines
- was introduced to store young wines as a safeguard against poor future harvests
-Over time, it evolved into a method for blending non-vintage Champagne, reducing vintage variation and improving quality by adding depth and complexity.
Describe the climate of champagne what have changed?
- acidity dropped
- alc increased by 0.7%
- harvest date moved forward by 18 days
- warmer climate in the last 30 years
Name sustainable viticulture approaches in Champagne?
- Sexual confusion techniques (don’t use pesticides)
- Soil protection methods - cover crop & management of ground water)
- recycling waste & by-products
- Lighter weight bottles (by 60gr)
Vineyard management for Prosecco, what are 3 training systems?
Sylvoz - high cordon system with shoots hang downwards
Double arched cane - like replacement cane, canes are bent into arches
Single or Dbl Guyot - used in flatter land
Advantages and disadvantages of Sylvoz?
+ well suited to high vigor (Fert, flat)
+ inexpensive to create
+ minimise winter pruning
+ suitable machine harvest
+ High cordon ->protect from frost
- may overcropping
- require monitor and trimming of the canopy to avoid excess shade
- difficult to distribute clusters evenly
Prosecco Col Fondo / Sui lieviti
slightly cloudy, dry, frizz ante
2nd fermentation is in the bottle & the wine is left undisgorged & is bone bone dry
crown cap & contain sediment
How Asti DOCG and Moscato d’Asti DOCG made?
Single fermentation in the pressured tanks at low t° 16-18°C to preserve primary fruits
CO2 comes from the sugar in the must not through the liquor de tirage.
RS comes from stopping the fermentation, not through dosage
Once RS and desired pressure obtained - fermentation stopped by chilling and filtering out the yeast under pressure.
Wine business in Lambrusco?
The average vineyard size is small, under 3 hectares, (though it has doubled since 2000)
.
Most growers take their grapes to co-operatives or large wineries, with co-operatives vinifying 95% of the fruit.
Riunite bottles about 40% of all wine.
20% is DOC, mostly sold in Italy, and 80% is IGT, mainly exported.
While some high-quality Lambrusco wines exist, the wine struggles with a reputation for being cheap, sweet, and frothy due to past exports.
To improve this image, the Consorzio Tutela Lambrusco was established in 2021.
VDP Sekt is what?
In 2018 - members introduced own standards for Sekt:
1. Hand picked early
2. Traditional method
3. 15 m on lees for NV, 24 m - vintage, 36 m - prestige sekt
4. Only estate grown gapes
5. each region own grapes, Riesling, PN, PBlanc; PGris.
What is Perlwein?
Semi sparkling wines
made either using carbonation or tank method,
sweeter than Sekt
what is Flascehngarung?
bottle fermented - AKA may be disgorged using transfer method
What is Klassische Flaschengärung?
Classic bottle fermented - AKA can’t use transfer method
How sekt must be produced?
Sekt must
be produced through a second fermentation (i.e. it cannot be
made by injecting carbon dioxide).
It must have an alcohol at least 10% abv and a CO2 pressure of at least 3.5 atm.
Wines labelled as Sekt can be made from base
wine of grapes grown in any EU country.
In addition, wines sold as varietal or vintage wines must be 85 per cent of that variety and/or vintage.
Tank method sekt - from triage to release 6 m (including 90 days on lees or 30 days if has stirrer)
Traditional method Sekt - 9 m on lees
Transfer method - can release after 9 m, 3 m on lees
4 categories of Sekt?
- Sekt - grapes from EU, made sparkling in Germany, largest category, no grape no vintage required
- Deutscher Sekt - German grown fruit
Tank method or traditional method
Vintage and NV - Deutscher Sekt bA - one of 13 Anbaugebiete , AKA regional grapes
Region can appear on the label
Tank method or traditional - Winzersekt - Winzer - grower
only estate grapes and estate bottled
traditional method, 9 m on lees
Typically made with Riesling
(apple, peach, smoky character on top of autholic);High acidity, brut style.
NV Franciacorta aging?
18 m on lees
Grape varieties of Lambruscos?
Lambrusco Salomino - most widely planted, deeply colored, full-bodied, med+ tannins, high acidity, north of Modena, closest to river Po
used as pollinator to Lambrusco Sorbara
Lambrusco Grasparossa - best on clay&silt, the only one grow on hillsides, deep color, full bodied, high tannins (south of Modena, farest from Modena)
Lambrusco di Sorbara - palest, lightest bodied wines w/med+ tannins, high acidity.
Ancestral, metodo classico, tank method
dry, off dry styles
around the town Modena
Only female flowers
What is transfer method?
Its developed in 1940s to avoid the cost of manual riddling, while retaining autolytic character.
Production is the same up to riddling.
Which means 2nd fermentation is taken in the bottle.
After aging in bottle on lees, bottle is chilled to 0°C and enter the transfer machine.
Transfer machine is under pressure - dosage, SO2 is added, sterile filtered and then bottled.
Discuss Pinot Noir?
Early budding and early ripening - suited to a cool climate
Which make prone to frost
It’s prone to
Coulure
Downey mildew
Powedery mildew
Botrytis
Fan leaf
Leaf roll
If yield too high - quality drops
PN adds body
