Sparkling Wine Production

Question 1

Second fermentation also increases what?

Answer 1

Alcohol levels by 1.2% - 1.3%

Question 2

Grapes should be relatively low in what?

Answer 2

Sugar

Question 3

What is the best climate for sparkling wine?

Answer 3

Cool

Question 4

When should grapes be pressed?

Answer 4

On arrival at the winery it should be done as soon as possible

Question 5

In most EU regions, legislation determines what?

Answer 5

-Maximum pressure that can be used during pressing

-Amount of juice that can be extracted from the grapes

Question 6

How many methods to produce a sparkling wine?

Answer 6

6

Question 7

What is Traditional method?

Answer 7

-A wine that has undergone 2nd fermentation in the bottle in which it is later sold

Question 8

For TM sparkling, where does the 1st fermentation take place?

Answer 8

Large temp controlled stainless steel vats
Some still use oak vats or barrels

Question 9

For TMS, based on the style of wine to be made, what does the winemaker decide before the 2nd alcoholic fermentation?

Answer 9

Whether the wine will undergo Malolactic conversion and/or a period of maturation in oak

Question 10

What is the purpose of blending in TMS?

Answer 10

House style-Blending wines from different vineyards, grape varieties, and/or vintages can help to create this house style year after year

Can Be used to improve the balance of the wine

Can enhance the complexity of the wine

Question 11

Once the blend is made up in TMS what is added?

Answer 11

Small amount of Liqueur de triage (Mixture of wine, sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients, clarifying agent)

Question 12

Once 2nd alcoholic fermentation is complete in TMS, what dies?

Dead yeast cells start to break down releasing chemical compounds is known as what?

Answer 12

Yeast, they form a sediment of lees in the bottle

Autolysis-Contribute to flavour of wine, giving bread, biscuit, toasty notes
It is most active over the first 4-5 years

Question 13

How is yeast sediment removed in TMS?

Answer 13

Riddling and disgorgement

Question 14

What is riddling in TMS?

Answer 14

-Moving the bottle very slowly from a horizontal to an inverted vertical position

-Yeast settlement is dislodged, sliding down the side of the bottle, collecting in the plastic cup insert in the crown cap

Question 15

Riddling machine?

Answer 15

Gyropalette, a cage holding 500 bottles on a hydraulic arm which is regularly rotated and inclined
Only takes days

Question 16

What happens after riddling is complete in TMS?

Answer 16

-Neck of bottle is submerged in very cold solution, which freezes the wine in the neck
-Bottles are placed in upright position
-Crown cap is removed
-Pressure created by dissolved CO2 ejects the frozen wine, taking sediment and plastic insert with it
-Wine topped up with liqueur d’expedition and sealed with a cork secured by a wire cage

Question 17

What is liqueur d’expedition?

Answer 17

Mixture of wine and sugar
The amount of sugar used will determine the final level of sweetness in the wine and is known as the dosage (Used to balance acidity and help with flavour development)

Question 18

What is Brut Nature or Zero Dosage?

Answer 18

Without the addition of sugar

Question 19

In its original shape what does a cork look like?

Answer 19

A cylinder

Mushroom shapes comes after removing the cork

Question 20

After a wine has been corked what can happen next in TMS?

Answer 20

May be aged for a further few months to allow liqueur d’expedition to integrate with the wine

Question 21

What is the Transfer Method?

Answer 21

-Adaptation of TMS
-No Riddling/disgorgement
-Same process as TMS up until the point of riddling, at this point the entire contents of the bottles is disgorged into a sealed tank under pressure
-Wine in tank is filtered to remove the yeast lees, liqueur d’expedition is added and wine is rebottled into a fresh bottle

Question 22

What will Transfer method wines often state on labels?

Answer 22

Bottle fermented

Question 23

Winemakers using TMS will sometimes put what on their labels?

Answer 23

Traditional method or methode traditionnelle

Question 24

What is the Ancestral Method?

Answer 24

-Only 1 fermentation
-The fermenting juice is bottled part way through the single fermentation capturing CO2 in the bottle
-Wines may or may not be disgorged (Latter can cause them to be cloudy/have sediment)
-Released for sale while young

Question 25

Another name for Ancestral Mehtod?

Answer 25

Pet Nat
Typically dry-off dry (depending if fermentation has completed to dryness in bottle)
Low-med alcohol
Vary in pressure

Question 26

What is Tank method?

Answer 26

-Sparkling wine that retains the flavour of the base wine in large volumes at a lower price
-Great for making sparkling using grapes with strong flavours such as Muscat and Riesling as well as for fruity styles of sparkling such as Prosecco
-Cheaper, faster, less labor than bottle fermentation

Question 27

How does Tank method work?

Answer 27

-1st fermentation takes place in temp controlled stainless steel tanks to retain pure fruit/floral flavours of grapes

**Base wines do not usually under go Malolactic conversion or oak ageing

-Yeast, sugar, yeast nutrients. clarifying agents are added to wine and 2nd fermentation takes place in a sealed tank able to withstand the pressure as the CO2 dissolves in the wine
-Wine is filtered to remove yeast lees before it is bottled under pressure

***Most show NO notes of yeast autolysis as they do not spend extended time on their lees

Question 28

How can autolytic character be created?

Answer 28

Using paddles to stir up the lees during second fermentation

Question 29

What is the Asti method used for?

Answer 29

Used for the production of sweet sparkling wines in the Asti region of Piemonte

Question 30

How does Asti method work?

Answer 30

-Only 1 fermentation involved
-Juice is chilled and stored until needed
-Juice is warmed and fermentation takes place in pressurized tanks
-Initially CO2 is allowed to escape
-Part way through fermentation the tank is sealed so that CO2 is retained
-Ferment continues until the alcohol has reached approx 7% abv and pressure 4-5 atmospheres

-Fermentation is stopped early by chilling wine, which is then filtered under pressure to remove yeast
-Wine bottled for immediate sale

Question 31

What is the carbonation method?

Answer 31

-CO2 is injected into a still wine, which is then bottled under pressure
-Good for producing fruity sparkling wines that retain the flavours of the base wine
-Often made from grapes with strong varietal flavours ex: Sauv B

***CHEAPEST METHOD

Question 32

What is non-vintage?

Answer 32

NOT A LABELLING TERM

Used to describe wines made from grapes harvested in more than one vintage

Question 33

What is Vintage?

Answer 33

Champagne-Wine must come from a single year

**Some appellations in other regions may allow a small % of grapes from other years to be included in the blend

Question 34

How is t Rose sparkling made?

Answer 34

-By blending red and white base wines

-Or by a short maceration

Color can also be adjusted with the liqueur d’expedition

***Some sparkling wine appellations that only allow their roses to be made by maceration

Question 35

Blanc de Blanc?

Answer 35

A white sparkling wine made only from white grapes

Question 36

Blanc de Noirs?

Answer 36

A white sparkling wine made only from black grapes

Question 37

Prestige Cuvee?

Answer 37

NOT A LABELLING TERM

Describes the best wine (s) in a producers range