Sparkling Wine Flashcards
Sparkling Wine Ideal Growing Environment
Cool Climate
- Ripe enough flavours
- Retain acidity
- Low sugar/potential alcohol (9-11%)
Warmer areas:
- riper fruit, lower acidity
- good for short-aged wines (tank or short time on lees) where lees flavours wouldn’t dominate
Less expensive wines can be grown on flat, fertile plains
Sparkling Wine Grapes: Chardonnay
Apple and citrus flavours well-suited to autolytic flavours
Early ripening of flavours but retains acidity
Vulnerable to spring frosts bc early budding
Prone to coulure and millerandage
More disease resistant than Pinot, but powdery mildew, grapevine yellows, and botrytis bunch rot if rain before harvest
Yields can be high without loss of quality
Sparkling Wine Grapes: Pinot Noir
Early Budding and Ripening
Prone to spring frosts, coulure
Moderate yields and quality is worse the higher the yield
Disease prone: downy mildew, powdery mildew, botrytis, bunch rot, fan leaf, and leaf roll.
Add body and red fruit flavours
Vineyard Management for Sparkling Wine
Higher Yields: leads to high acid, low potential alcohol, delicate flavours
Good to have high yields in Champagne as mitigates volumes if some of the crop is damaged
Avoid botrytis, which releases enzyme laccase
Off flavours enhanced by the effervescence
Sparkling Wine Harvest
Early harvest for high acidity and to avoid autumn rain
Hand harvest in small crates to avoid splitting grapes/oxidation and introducing phenolics to the juice. Sorting in the vineyard
OR mechanical harvesting for large volume. Can ensure all grapes pick at optimal ripeness, as quicker to harvest. Night harvest. Cheaper. Needs sorting after picking.
Sparkling Wine Pressing
Whole bunch: for premium trad method. Gentlest press, low in solids and phenolics. Stems create channels for juice to flow which minimises pressure required. Takes longer as less can fit.
Minimise maceration and extraction from skins
Basket and pneumatic presses
Split into press fractions. Press juice matures faster - for immediate drinking
Clarified before fermentation and can be fined
Sparkling Wine: Primary Fermentation
14-20 degrees C: retains fruit flavours but warm enough for yeast. Low pH juice is stressful for yeast
Stainless steel tanks: large volumes with temp controls
Cultured Yeasts specially chosen to ferment to dryiness in high acid/low pH environment. Can choose strains for certain flavours (for tank method) or neutral (for trad)
Same yeast used for second ferment - must use yeast that can operate in 10% abv with low pH, low temp, high pressure
Rapid autolysis and easy flocculation.
Yeast called Prise de Mousse (EC1118) most common strain
Sparkling Wine Yeasts
Prise de Mousse - EC1118
Eperany selection - LALVIN DV10 (neutral character, works in low pH, high total SO2 and low temp environments)
Base Wine Maturation
Can be matured in oak (usually neutral) or on the lees
Stainless steel for fruity styles
Assemblage/Blending
Balance Consistency Style Rose Complexity Minimise faults Volume Price
Traditional Method: Secondary Fermentation
- Called Prise de Mousse
- Liqueur de Tirage (wine, sugar, nutrients, yeast, clarifying agent) added
- 24g of sucrose per litre for most fully sparkling. +1.5% alcohol for every 24 g/L of sucrose
- CO2 produces pressure - approx 6 bars for more sparkling wine
- less sugar for less sparkling
- bottled and sealed with crown cap
- stored horizontally at 10-12C
- Cooler temp = slower ferment, maybe more complex
- 4-6 week second ferment
Traditional Method: Lees Ageing
- Matured horizontally (sur latte) in bottle at around 10C
-Autolysis detectable 15 months - Autolytic flavours + anti-oxidative qualities
BUT the longer it ages on lees, the quicker it evolves once disgorged
Traditional Method: Riddling and Disgorgement
Pupitres for hand riddling
Gyropalettes for mechanical riddling
Bottles cooled to 7C and neck frozen in brine solution
cooling makes CO2 more soluble and the wine less fizzy
Liqueur d’expedition/dosage added
Sparkling Wine Sweetness Levels
Brut Nature 0-3 g/L
Extra Brut 0-6 g/L
Brut 0-12 g/L
Extra Sec 12-17 g/L
Sec 17-32 g/L
Demi-sec 32-50 g/L
Doux 50+ g/L
Transfer Method
Same as traditional, but the wines are transferred into tank instead of riddling
Consistency between bottles
Cost and time savings
Fining agents not needed in liqueur de tirage
Bottles opened by transfer machine and poured into pressurised tanks. Wine sweetened, SO2 added, sterile filtering
Ancestral Method
Bottled before first fermentation started. Remaining sugar ferments in the bottle and the CO2 is trapped.
Can disgorge or not
Ferment can slow or stop, and pick up again later
Tank Method
Quick and cheaper
First ferment at 16-18C to retain fresh aromas
sugar and yeast added for second ferment in pressurised tank
Stopped by cooling to 2-4C and filtering off lees (unless lees ageing desired)
Cold stabilised
Yeast removed by centrifugation or filtration
Sugar levels adjusted, SO2 levels checked/corrected, sterile filtering and bottling.
Bottling done at -2C to slow fizziness and bottled with a counter pressure filler.
Asti Method
Only one fermentation. The tank is sealed partway through and the CO2 is trapped. Can stop ferment early by chilling and filtering to leave some residual sugar
Carbonation
Like a sodastream
CIVC
Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne
Styles of Champagne: NV
Blended from multiple vintages
Follows a house style
Blended base wine with reserve wine from previous vintages to create similar profile each year
Styles of Champagne: Vintage
100% must be from the vintage on the label
Only produced from the best vintages
Reflects the house style but does show the unique vintage characteristics
Styles of Champagne: Rose
Rose d’assemblage if white blended with red
Rose de Saignee if done with skin maceration
Styles of Champagne: Blanc de Blancs
From white grapes only
Leaner and more austere in youth, with great ageing potential
Styles of Champagne: Blanc de Noirs
from black grapes only.
Fuller-bodied but age more rapidly than blanc de blancs
Styles of Champagne: Grand Cru
Only grown in vineyards belonging to grand cru villages
Styles of Champagne: Premier Cru
Only grapes that have been grown in vineyards belonging to premier cru or grand cru vineyards
Styles of Champagne: Prestige Cuvee
Top wine in a producer’s range. NV or Vintage
Styles of Champagne: Late release, recently disgorged
Extended lees ageing and disgorged just before release. Age more rapidly after disgorgement
Bollinger RD or Dom Perignon P2
Champagne Climate
Cool continental, some oceanic influence
700mm rain per year
Average annual temp 11C
Rain during flowering/fruit set an issues
Harvest dates have moved forward 18 days average in last 30 years, average acidity dropped and potential alcohol risen by .7%
Champagne Soils
Thick layer of chalk from an old seabed
High chalk content great for Chardonnay
Chalky limestone with limestone subsoil very common
Chalk is very porous and stores water
Well-drained soil and planting on slopes provides enough water without waterlogging
Montagne de Reims
- Black Grapes in Grand Cru villages of Mailly, Verzenay, Verzy, Ambonnay, Bouzy
- Some important Chardonnay vineyards
Grand cru vineyards on chalky soils with good drainage
Wide plateau not mountain
Top villages face north for cool-climate sites, although frost a risk
Wines have high acid and are austere
Vallee de la Marne
West of Epernay
Pinot Meunier
Clay, marl, and sandy soils
Fruity Meunier - bud break is later and ripening earlier than Chard and Pinot, which is good as valley is frost prone
Some Chardonnay
Grand Cru village of Ay
Cotes des Blancs
Due south of Epernay
Grand Cru villages Cramant, Avice, Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger
Chardonnay 95%
Purest form of chalk soils - good drainage and retention balance
Wines with great intensity and longevity, austere when young
Cote de Sezanne
Mostly Chardonnay
Clay and clay/silt soils with pockets of chalk
Warmer, southest facing slopes for fruitier and riper grapes
Less good than MdR, VdlM, CdB
Cote des Bar
Large area in south of Champagne
25% Pinot Noir
Kimmeridgian calcareous marls (also in Chablis and Sancerre)
Steep slopes and stony limestone soils - great drainage, good for Pinot Noir to ripen
Full-flavoured, ripe Pinot Noir for NV blends
Sparkling Wine Grapes: Meunier
Mutation of Pinot Noir
White hairs on leaves
Early budding but buds later than PN and Chard, less prone to spring frosts in VdlM
Does well on heavier clay soils
Ripens earlier than Pinot Noir, good in years with autumn rain
Susceptible to botrytis
Fruity and soft
Training/Trellising in Champagne
Taille Chablis: 3-4 cordons, max 5, spurs with up to 5 bids. Large proportion of permanent wood to protect against frost. Used for Chard
Cordon du Royat: single cordon, spur-pruned, VSP for Pinot Noir and Meunier
Guyot: replacement came with VSP in lesser rated vineyards for all varieties
Vallee de la Marne: similar to Guyot but more buds
Average number of fruiting buds per vine maximum 18 per square metre.
Champagne Vineyard Hazards
Winter frost - kills vines
Spring frosts - destroys buds and reduces yields
Cold/rain in June disrupts flowering/fruit set - reduces yields or uneven ripening
Storms and hail in summer - damage grapes and vines
hot and humid summer - after rains, leads to botrytis
Dagger nemotode with spreads fanleaf
Taille Chablis
3-4 cordons, max 5, spurs with up to 5 bids. Large proportion of permanent wood to protect against frost. Used for Chard
Cordon du Royat
Single cordon, spur-pruned, VSP for Pinot Noir and Meunier
Guyot
Replacement came with VSP in lesser rated vineyards for all varieties
Vallee de la Marne
Similar to Guyot but more buds
Champagne Sustainable Viticulture
Promoted at a regional level by CIVC
Pesticides replaced by sexual confusion techniques Mangement of groundwater on slopes Cover crops to increase biodiversity Water management schemes Lighter champagne bottles for NV wines
Champagne Harvest
Comite Champagne sets harvest dates and yields after taking samples from 450 plots. They determine permitted yield and required minimum alcohol by volume.
A winery can apply to INAO for an earler harvest date.
Comite Champagne manages levels of reserve wines. Upper limit of yield is EU law 15,500 kilos/ha
Whole bunch required by AOC
harvest lasts 3 weeks
Champagne pressing
Cuvee: first 2050 litres per 4000kilos of grapes
High acid, long ageing potential
Taille: 500 litres
RIcher in colour and phenolics
Champagne Lees Ageing Requirements
NV: 12 months on the lees, 15 months total
Vintage: 12 months on the lees, 3 years total
What does extended lees ageing/late disgorging do to a wine
Protect against oxidation, but it evolves faster once disgorged.
Echelle des Crus
A hierarchy system from the early 20th Century that ended bc of EU pressure:
17 grand cru villages: 100%
42 Premier Cru villages: 90-99%
257 other villages 80-89%
The Comite Champagne sets price and then the percentage was given to the village.
Negociant Manipulant
Houses which buy grapes, must, or wine to make Champagne at their own premises and market it under their own label.
73% all Champagne Sales and 87% of exports
Recoltant Manipulant
‘Growers’ who make and market their own labels from grapes they grow in their own vineyards.
Mostly domestic market
Cooperative de Manipulation
Cooperatives that market Champagne under their own labels, made from their members’ grapes
Sales split between domestic and export
Major Groupings of Houses
top 5 groupings account for 2/3 sales by value
LVMH: Moet & Chandon, Dom Perignon, Mercier, Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart, Krug
Vranken Pommery Monopole: Vranken, Pommery, Monopole Heidsieck, Charles Lafitte, Bissinger
Export vs Domestic Market for Champagne
50/50
Total sales 302 million bottles in 2018
Maximum Yields for Champagne
Average Yield 10,500 kilos/ha over last decade
Comite Champagne sets max yield for base wine for coming year as well as proportion that will go into reserves
Champagne Main Export Markets
UK, USA, Japan, Germany, Belgium
USA and Japan have highest £/bottle.
UK biggest by volume and lowest average £/bottle.
Volume vs Price in Champagne Sales
Volume down by 10% but value up by 25% in 2008-2018
Lower yields/less chemical fertilisers. Quality over quantity. Lower supply and higher demand.
Cost of grapes in Champagne
6.10 euros per kilo (1.2 kg of grapes per bottle)
Grand Cru and Premier Cru more expensive
Cost of NV Champagne vs Vintage Champagne vs Rose
NV: less ageing time, can be sold quicker, doesn’t need to be from grand or premier cru
Vintage: 3 years ageing, from higher rated vineyards
Rose: includes red grapes which are more expensive
Oak also raises price
Trends in Champagne
Brut Nature & Extra Brut
Sweet wines to be iced (Moet Ice Imperial)
Rose Champagne
Single vineyard Champagne
Grower Champagne
How many Cremant appellations are there?
8
What are the three largest Cremant appellations?
Alsace, Bourgogne, Loire
All Cremant wines have these common features
- Whole bunch pressing/hand harvesting
- maximum yield of 100L/150kg of grapes
- min 9 months lees ageing
- min 12 months ageing after tirage before release
- max 13% abv
- min 4 bars pressure
Cremant d’Alsace Style
Medium Intensity
Apple and pear with biscuit autolysis
Medium(+) to high acidity, light to medium body.
Mostly Brut
What is the production of Cremant d’Alsace?
25% total production of Alsace
500 Producers
Vineyard area has grown by 15% over last 10 years
Doubled in volume from 2000-2014
80% sold in France
Cremant d’Alsace Climate
Vosges rain shadow, 200-400m altitude
Sunny and Continental
Dry and hot during growing season but can have rain at harvest. Irrigation not permitted
HIgh diurnal range for acidity
Spring frost can be a problem
Pinot Blanc vineyard sites
Often fertile flats at lower elevations
Some cooler sites in high valleys where still wine grapes don’t ripen - like the Munster Valley with cool airflows
Cremant d’Alsace Grape Varieties
Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir
Chardonnay only 1% vineyard area. Mostly Pinot Blanc/Auxerrois. Pinot Gris added to raise quality
Pinot Blanc
early-budding, vulnerable to spring frosts
prone to fungal disease
early-ripening, harvested much earlier (end of Aug to early Sept) than other grapes, which helps to spread out harvest with grapes for other wines in teh range
pear and apple, high acidity
Cremant d’Alsace Maximum Yield
80 gL/ha, similar to Champagne
Cremant d’Alsace Rose
Must be Pinot Noir
Maceration on the skins 12-24 hours
Cremant d’Alsace business types
Co-ops - 43%
Merchant Houses - 37%
Independant Growers - 20%
Co-op Maison Bestheim is single largest company
Cremant d’Alsace Emotion
Prestige category launched in 2012
75% min Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir
Min 24 months on the lees
Production Figures for Cremant de Bourgogne
10% of the wines produced in Burgundy
More than doubled since 2000
170,000 hL
Sales have risen by 1/3 2007-2017
Cremant de Bourgogne Style
Brut
Medium (+) to high acidity. Medium intensity
apple and lemon to apricot, brioche
Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and Rose made
Main Areas for Cremant Grapes
Maconnais/Cote Chalonnais/Rully
Beaujolais
Near Chablis in Yonne and Chatillon sur Seine
Hautes Cotes de Beaune/Nuits
flatlands of Cote d’or
Cremant de Bourgogne Climate
Northern: cool climate, need to face south/southeast
- High acidity and light body
Central: continental with drier sunny summer. Expensive fruit
Southern: Mediterranean influence, higher temps, riper fruit and lower acid. Summer storm risk
Cremant de Bourgogne Maximum Yield
75 hL/ha
Much higher than still wines of Burgundy - so must delcare by March that it will be used for Cremant
Cremant de Bourgogne Grape Varieties
Gamay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Aligote, Chardonnay, Melon and Pinot Blanc.
Mainly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc grape requirements
30% minimum Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris. Max 20% Gamay
Cremant de Bourgogne Blanc de Noirs grapes
Only Pinot Noir
Cremant de Bourgogne Rose grapes
Mostly Pinot Noir, but a small amount of Gamay allowed
Cremant de Bourgogne Business Types
Merchant Houses: 66%
Co-ops: 30%
Independant Winemakers: 2%
Significant Producers of Cremant de Bourgogne
Jean Charles Boisset
Louis Bouillot
Export Markets for Cremant de Bourgogne
USA and Sweden
Growth in UK, Belgium, and Germany
Premium Cremant de Bourgogne Categories
Cremant de Bourgogne Eminant: 24 months lees age
Cremant de Bourgogne Grand Eminant:
- Whites are Chard and Pinot only
- Rose has only 20% Gamay
- Vintage optional but encouraged
- 36 months lees age minimum plus 3 months in bottle
- only Brut
Sparkling wine appellations of the Loire
Cremant de Loire
Sparkling Vouvray
Sparkling Saumur
Sparkling Wine Production Figures
Sparkling is 13% of all Loire production
Cremant = Vouvray and Saumur put together
90% is white
1/2 Lire sparkling domestic and 1/2 exported
Germant, USA, UK
Champagne Houses in Loire
Bouvet-Ladubay - owned by Taittinger for 40 yrs
Gratien & Meyer - owned by Alfred Gratien
Langlois-Chateau - owned by Bollinger
Loire Sparkling Chenin style
Medium intensity apple and citrus with light toasty autolytic notes Develop honey aromas High acidity Mostly brut, but also Demi-Sec Mid-priced, with some premium
Cremant de Loire Production Figures
from 1600 to 2100 from 2012-2017
500 Producers
Cremant de Loire vineyard areas
Middle Loire: Anjour-Saumur and Touraine
Cremant de Loire climate
Atlantic Ocean influence
cool, maritime
Low potential alcohol and high acid
Fungal disease and untimely rain is a problem
Cremant de Loire soils
clay-limestone flint-clay sand gravel tuff
More schist and limestone in Anjou and chalk in Touraine
Overall, good drainage and water retention
Best sparkling sites less well exposed with high proportion of clay but not too much clay
High lime content, so need to use rootstocks with high lime tolerance like Fercal and Riparia Gloire de Montpellier to protect from chlorosis
Cremant de Loire Rootstocks
High lime content, so need to use rootstocks with high lime tolerance like Fercal and Riparia Gloire de Montpellier to protect from chlorosis
Cremant de Loire Grape Varieties
Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau Noir and Gris, Pineau d’Aunis, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay.
Max 30% Cab Sauv and Pineau allowed
Cremant de Loire Maximum Yield
74 hL/ha and must declare in July
Cremant de Loire Premium Categories
Prestige de Loire - white only - Chenin Blanc, Cab Franc, Chard, Pinot Noir -24 month lees ageing vintage -Brut -sustainable viticulter
Cremant de Loire Business Types
19 Merchant Houses
10 Co-ops
400 Producers
Nine large houses = 80% production
Saumur Mousseaux and Vouvray Mousseaux still vs sparkling
60:40 sparkling to still
Saumur Mousseaux production
10.6 million bottles on average per year
Saumur Mousseaux grapes
minimum 60% Chenin Blanc
max 10% Sauv Blanc
Rose must be 60% Cabernet Franc and only 10% Sauv Blanc
Saumur Mousseaux Harvest
Can be mechanically harvested
more juice extranted than Cremant
100L from 130kilos
Vouvray Mousseaux grapes
Majority Chenin Blanc with small amount of Orbois
Vouvray Mousseau production
8.2 million bottles per year
Sparkling wine specialist producer
Berger Elaborateur
Does all the specialist sparkling stuff for regular producers.
Cava growing areas
95% grown in Penedes
Penedes Region
Mediterranean climate with moderate rainfall, some vineyards are high elevation
Soils vary from alluvial soils and clay at low altitude to stony clay and granite at higher altitude
All poor in nutrients with sufficient drainage and water retention
Principal towns are San Sadurni d’Anoia and Vilafranca del Penedes
Lleida Province
Includes the mountains, 100-700m
Mediterranean climate at lower levels and continental at higher levels
Irrigation system - water from Pyrenees
2200 ha Raimat estate owned by the Raventos (who own Codorniu)
Tarragona Province
Mainly low and gentle hills
Mediterranean climate
Simple wines for early drinking
Macabeo dominated
In Conca de Barbera, there is Trepat for Cava Rosado
Rioja
Grapes grown at high altitude in Rioja Alta have higher acidity
Macabeo/Viura (ripens later than Penedes)
Chardonnay
Cava Grape Varietals: Macabeo
36% of cava vineyards
typically planted 100-300m above sea level in Penedes and higher in Rioja and Lleida
Late budding
High yielding
Susceptible to Botrytis bunch rot and bacterial blight (warm moist conditions)
Light intensity, apple and lemon
Cava Grape Varietals: Xarel-lo
25% of cava vineyards
at sea level up to 400m in Penedes
Indigenous to Cataluna
Mid-budding (spring frost prone)
Powdery and downy mildew an issue otherwise good resistance
Greengage and gooseberry, herbal and fennel notes, can be earthy when overripe. Ok affinity with oak
Cava Grape Varietals: Parellada
20% cava vineyards
planted on higher sites (500m) in Penedes
Indigenous to Cataluna
Lowest yielding but latest ripening
Needs altitude for long enough growing season to reach full flavour without high alcohol
Adds finesse and floral notes.
Early budding and susceptible to powdery mildew
Cava Grape Varietals: Chardonnay
9% cava vineyards
Adds body, richness, finesse
Choice of clone and rootstock essential or otherwise ripens too quickly
Cava Grape Varietals: Garnacha Tinta
oxidises quickly, so it used less
Red fruit and spicy notes
Cava Grape Varietals: Trepat
Local to Conca del Barbera
Strawberry and high acid
Cava Grape Varietals: Pinot Noir
often made into Blanc de Noirs
Cava Maximum Yield
12,000 kg per ha
Usually low to moderate density
traditional bush vines or single or double cordon
Irrigation permitted but controlled
Cava rootstock
Chosen for tolerance to line
Macabeo excessive growth if the wrong rootstock
Cava vineyard threats
Misty & humid mornings = botrytis and downy mildew
Powdery mildew when dry
Grapevine moth (sexual confusion)
Cava: Gluconic Acid Values
Indicates botrytis infection
Cava harvest methods
can harvest mechanically or by hand
90% harvested by hand
Cava Rosato
Minimum 25% black grapes, skin contact rather than assemblage
Cava Yield
80 hL/ha
Cava fermentation temperatures
Base wine: 14-16 C
No MLF
Styles of Cava: Cava
9 months lees ageing
light to medium intensity
lemon, apple, herbal, light biscuit
medium to medium (+) acidity
Acceptable to Good quality, inexpensive to mid-priced
Styles of Cava: Cava Reserva
15 months lees ageing
Good to very good, midprices
Styles of Cava: Cava Gran Reserva
30 months lees ageing
toasty, smoky notes
Good to outstanding, premium price
Styles of Cava: Cava de Paraje Calificado
single-estate
From the grapes of one estate, owned by the producer
vines at least 10 years old
max yield 8000 kg/ha, 48 hL/ha
No acidification
Aged min 36 months
Brut or lower
Corpinnat
Producer group of wineries that left Cava DO
100% organic
Grown in Penedes
Hand harvest
vinification at winery
90% local varieties
3 categories with min ageing: 18, 30, 60 months
Classic Penedes
sparkling wines from organic grapes grown in the DO
Traditional method
15 months on lees
Espumoso de Calidad de Rioja
hand harvested traditional method Crianza (15 months) Reserva (24 month) Gran Anada (36 months)
Cava Export Markets
Germany, Belgium, UK, USA
Cava Sales Figures
250 million bottles in 2018
Basic cava 87%
Reserva 11%
Gran Reserva and Paraje Calificado 2%
Rosado 8%
How much Italian wine is traditional method vs tank method?
96% tank method
4% traditional method
Prosecco Style
Light to medium(-) intensity apple and pear light body medium to medium (+) acidity low or medium alcohol Brut to Demi-Sec (extra dry is most popular)
Spumante and frizzante (lower pressure) style
Acceptable to good quality for Prosecco DOC
Good to very good quality for DOCG
Prosecco PDOs
Prosecco DOC: 82% production volume. Large area from Trieste to Vicenza, 23,000 ha. Mostly grown on the plain
Conegliano Valdobbiadene - Prosecco DOCG: 16% production volume. Hilly area between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene at 200-320m. Within spumante category, can add Superiore
Asolo Prosecco DOCG: 2% production volume. 1800 in hills south of Valdobbiadene. Can add Superiore to spumante wines.
Prosecco climate
warm and moderately continental
moderate rainfall
flat plain gets moist air and fog from river, sprays essential for fungal disease
Prosecco soils
Fertile on the plain, higher yields, lighter and less intense wines
Glera
Vigorous, semi-aromatic variety
High Yield
Susceptible to millerandage, powdery mildew, and downy mildew, grapevine yellows
Glera Trellising Overview
Must be trained long as first two buds don’t produce. 8-12 buds with low to medium planting density
Sylvoz
Double Arched Cane
Single/Double Guyot
Prosecco permitted yields
Prosecco DOC - 125 hl/ha Prosecco DOCG - 94.5 hl/ha Rive - 90 hl/ha Cartizze - 85 hl/ha Asolo DOCG - 94.5 hl/ha
Glera Trellising: Sylvoz
High cordon, with shoots that hang down
good for high vigour sites on fertile plain
Inexpensive, minimal winter pruning, suitable for mechanical harvest
Height protects from forst
Encourages over cropping, needs monitoring and trimming to avoid shading, clusters not evenly spaced
Glera Trellising: Double Arched Cane
Replacement cane pruning, bent into arches to improve evenness of clusters and ventilation
Common on hillsides with high quality fruit
More labour intensive with shoot thinning and tying individual branches
Glera Trellising: Guyot
On flatter land, allows mechanisation
Ciglione
Grassy terraced banks on the steeping part of Prosecco DOCG, usually needs to be hand harvested
Prosecco Fermentation Temps
Primary: 18C for 15-20 days, blocked malo
Secondary: 12-15C for one month
Sweetness in Prosecco
Traditionally without dosage. Winemakers would calculate sugar needed for CO2 (for either spumante or frizzante) and the residual sugar for the final wine.
Charmat Lungo
tank wines kept on the lees for at least 9 months
Prosecco Col Fondo
Lightly cloudy dry wines in frizzante style. Can be DOC or DOCG.
Must say rifermentazione in bottiglia.
Undisgorged
Tranquillo Prosecco
a small amount of still wine made in Prosecco
Rive
Rive + Place name (single commune or vineyard)
43 Rives
Handharvested, lower max yield and vintage on label
Means “slope of a steep hill”,
Superiore di Cartizze DOCG or Cartizze DOGC
Single vineyard of 108 ha in Valdobbiadene
Lower yield requirement
Only Spumante
Steep hills, very good drainage, the highest quality area
Fuller body and more rs than Brut
Prosecco not on the label - Valdobbiadene Superior di Cartizze DOCG or Valdobbiadene Cartizze DOCG
Prosecco DOC exports
Prosecco DOC is 50% Italian sparkling wine and has doubled in production between 2011 and 2016
75% spumante and 25% frizzante
Exports tripled between 2004-2014
UK, Germany, USA
Prosecco DOC Business Types
10,000 growers but only 1200 producers of base wine and 350 makers of sparkling
Co-ops: just over half of grapes grown
Private companies bottle 75% of the wine (finishing the base wine from cooperatives)
Treviso
Prosecco vineyards area for volume of production and sale of base wine to bottling companies. Can appear on label after Prosecco DOC if grapes and production takes place there.
Prosecco DOCG Exports
Extra Dry 60%
Brut 30%
Extra Brut introduced 2019
32 Companies making 1m bottles per year
40% exported, top countries Germany, UK, Switzerland
Asti Style
Medium acidity
Sweet
Low alcohol
Asti DOCG: higher in alcohol and fully sparkling
Moscato d’Asti DOCG: lower in alcohol, semi sparkling, higher RS
Good to Very Good and inexpensive to Mid-Priced
Asti DOCG climate
Moderate continental with cold winters and hot, dry summers
Adequate rainfall, spring and autumn rains
Spring rain can affect fruit set
Asti DOCG Soils
Regulated to be planted on hillsides
Limestone and clay soils (limestone best for aromatic Moscato Bianco)
Asti DOCG Yields
Max 75 hl/ha for tank method wines
Moscato Bianco
Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains
Aromatic
Early budding, mid-ripening
Prone to powdery mildew and botrytis bunch rot
Needs careful canopy management for air circulation
Wasps, bees, flying ants attracted by scent
Moscato Bianco/Asti Vineyards
Planted at medium density
Guyot system with VSP, to stop overcropping and ensure exposure and promote airflow
Harvested early to mid september before autumn rains and early enough for good acidity
Asti Winemaking
- If whole bunch picked, then whole bunch pressed (best quality)
- If destemmed or machine harvest, then pressed as quickly as possible to avoid oxidation.
- Must clarified
- Refridgerated to 2-3C and stored until needed for bottling (up to 2 years without losing aromatics)
- Single Fermentation at 16-18C
- Neutral, cultured yeast and no MLF
- CO2 released through a valve, which is closed partway through fermentation and the remaining CO2 is dissolved into the wine
- Chill and filtered once at the desired sweetness
Asti Fermentation Temperature
16-18C
Asti DOCG
Usually 6-8% abv and 100 g/l
Now can have drier styles (Extra Dry to Dolce), 12+ g/l
Asti Metodo Classico
Must spend min 9 months on the lees in bottle and must be Dolce (50+ g/l)
Moscato d’Asti DOCG
4.5-6.5% abv, around 130 g/L
Does not exceed 2.5 atmospheres (frizzante)
Asti Business Types
Large Producers like Martini & Rosso
Smaller producers sent their grapes to specialist sparkling wine companies or have the wines made for them.
Marketing types of Asti
Moscato d’Asti
Asti Secco (off-dry)
Asti (Asti Dolce)
Asti Exports
USA exports doubled since 2009
Majority sold in Europe
70% Asti, 30% Moscato d’Asti
Lambrusco Style
Medium to Medium (+) Tannin
Red cherry, red plum, strawberry
High acidity
residual sugar
Pale pink to Deep Ruby
Acceptable to Good
Inexpensive to Mid Priced
Lambrusco Climate
Inland in Emilia-Romagna
Low hills, 150m altitude
Warm continental, some threat of rain at harvest
Irrigation is allowed
Lambrusco soil
Alluvial clay & silt
Good water retention capacity but risk of compaction
Vineyards grassed between rows to help compaction
High fertility and high yields
Lambrusco Trellising
Sylvoz (cordon) training or Geneva Double Curtain, good for high vigour vines + mechanisatio
Lambrusco Grape Varieties
Lambrusco Salamino
Lambrusco Grasparossa
Lambrusco si Sorbara
Lambrusco Salamino
Most widely planted
Fragrant, deep-coloured, full-bodied
High acidity, usually blended
Lambrusco Grasparossa
Best of clay and silt, mainly on hillsides
Deep-coloured, full-bodied, medium (+) tannins
Lambrusco si Sorbara
Pale, lighter bodied wine with high acidity
Lambrusco DOCs
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC Reggiano Lambrusco DOC Lambrusco di Modena DOC
Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce
85% Salamino
Max Yield 133 hl/ha
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro
85% Grasparossa
Max yield 126 hl/ha
Lambrusco di Sorbara DOC
60% Sorbara
Max Yield 126 hL/ha
Reggiano Lambrusco DOC
Made from any Lambrusco varieties within area of Reggio-Emilia
Max yield 126 hl/ha
Lambrusco di Modena DOC
Lambrusco grown in province of Modena
Very high max yield of 161 hl/ha
Can have low concentration
Lambrusco Winemaking
Maceration 1-2 days only bc high levels of anthocyanin
Sometimes Grasparossa left 3-4 days for fuller bodied wine
First ferment at 18-20C, no MLF
Mostly Tank Method
Second Ferment at 12-15C, 2 weeks for frizzante and 4 weeks for spumante
No maturation on lees
Stop fermentation early or add RCGM for sweetness
Some traditional method and some ancestral method
Lambrusco DOC min abv
Spumante 11%
Frizzante 10.5%
Lambrusco Export
2/3 exported
