Sparkling wine

Question 1

What ingredients are used in the Liqueur de Tirage?

Answer 1

Mixture of wine and sugar along with yeasts are added to the blend of still wines in a champagne bottle to induce second fermentation

Question 2

What is the Liqueur de Expedition?

Answer 2

• Made up of wines reserved from previous years that have been sweetened with sugar (known as dosage)
• Takes the place of wine lost from disgorgement
• Added right before bottling

Question 3

What is degorgement?

Answer 3

The process of removing yeasty sediments from Champagne after secondary fermentation

Question 4

What is the cuvee?

Answer 4

• The wine from a selected barrel or vat
• Also used to describe the combination of wines used to make the final blend

Question 5

What is Remuage?

Answer 5

• Riddling
• Process of rotating bottles to concentrate yeast sediments in necks of bottles
• Done for years after second fermentation
• Can be done by hand in pupitres or by machine using a gyropalette.

Question 6

What is a magnum?

Answer 6

1.5 liter bottle
Equal to two 750ml size bottles

Question 7

What is the dosage?

Answer 7

In traditional method the degree of sweetness of the Liqueur de Expedition
Measured in grams per liter
Determines if brut, extra dry, dry, demi sec etc…

Question 8

What is cremant?

Answer 8

French sparkling wines made outside of the Champagne region in the traditional method
Cremant d’Alsace, Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Loire

Question 9

What are crayeres?

Answer 9

• Deep chalk pits in Champagne used by some proceders to age Champagne
• Dark humid and shaped like pyramids
• 60ft underground

Question 10

What is the Charmat/Tank Method?

Answer 10

• Second fermentation takes place in a large pressurized tank as opposed to bottle
• Prosecco and Asti made in this method
• Simple, fresh fruit flavors vs the yeastier/complex flavors of traditional method

Question 11

What are the advantages of the Charmat/Tank method?

Answer 11

• Saves a ton of time and cost with no riddling or disgorging
• Can be as little as 90 days from harvest to bottling
• Best process for making sparkling out of aromatic grapes

Question 12

What is an example of a wine made by the Charmat method?

Answer 12

Prosecco
Asti
Lambrusco

Question 13

What are good food pairings with sparkling wines made in Charmat/Tank method?

Answer 13

Since sparklers made in this method retain their fruity/fresh characteristics they pair nicely with:

Prosecco:
Asparagus
Asian food & Sushi
Smoked salmon

Or for sweeter Asti:
Lemong meringue
Fruit sorbet

Lambrusco:
Italian herb sausage
Pizza
Pulled pork

Question 14

What is Cap Classique?

Answer 14

• South African sparkling wines made by the traditional method.
• The term was adopted in 1992 in response to the ban on the use of the words ‘Champagne’

Question 15

What is the Transfer Method?

Answer 15

• Second fermentation takes place in individual bottles like in traditional method but instead of riddling and disgorging each bottle the wine is emptied into large tanks where these two prcoesses take place under pressure.
• Then filtered, liqueuer de expedition is added, and re-bottled.
• Cheaper!

Question 16

What are the advantages of the Transfer Method?

Answer 16

Lees contact for flavor is obtained
Riddling (which is expensive and time consuming) is eliminated

Question 17

What is the Method Ancestrale?

Answer 17

• Primary fermentation is paused midway
• Wines are bottled and fermentation finishes inside the bottle
• No requirement to remove the sediment by disgorging, bottled at a much lower pressure.
• Examples: Pet Nat

Question 18

What are some food pairings with Pet Nat or other Method Ancestrale wines?

Answer 18

Because they retain so much freshness and are light and refreshing they can pair with:
* Summer salad with fruit component
* Korean food (kimchi)

Question 19

What is gyropalette?

Answer 19

Also called a girasol
First invented in Spain
Machines to automate riddling
No difference in flavor
Can riddle wines in 1-2 weeks vs 2+ mos with pupitre