Sparkling Wines of the World

Question 1

What is the climate of Champagne and how does it affect their grape growing season?

Answer 1

Cool continental climate wherein temperatures reaches a high of 15 degrees. Colder winters, longer lasting snow and shorter growing season. One of the main challenges would be frost - to minimise threat most vineyards planted on slopes.

Plus, their soil ‘chalk’ provides good drainage after rain storms, but retains sufficient amount of water in dry periods.

Question 2

Grape varieties grown in Champagne and sub-regions

Answer 2

Main varieties used are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier.

Chardonnay - widely planted in Cote des Blancs and Cote de Sezanne. Gives lighter bodied wines than in Burgundy. High acidity with a floral citrus character.

Pinot Noir - dominates Montagne de Reims and Cote des Bar. Produces wines that greater in body and provides structural backbone to most blends. Red fruit characters

Meunier - Valle de la Marne. Buds late, protects itself from spring frosts that occur frequently in this area. Fruity flavours in a blend, important for wines made to be enjoyed young.

Question 3

Winemaking in Champagne

Answer 3

Made using traditional method. Grapes must be handpicked to allow selection in vineyard and retain whole, healthy bunches.

CUVÉE- first liquid to come off press. Contains purest juice. Best Champagne only made in best years.

PRIMARY FERMENTATION
stainless steel vats, oak barrels/mixture of both. MLF can be encouraged/prevented and the base wines aged in oak or stored in inert vessels only.

Question 4

Ageing on Lees (sur lie)

Answer 4

NV - minimum 12 mos. on lees. Generally lighter in body, more fresh fruit flavours.

VINTAGE - minimum 36 mos. on lees. Made in best years, more concentrated, toasty and biscuity notes from lees ageing.

Rosè - can be made in NV/Vintage styles. Best wines delicately balance aromas from autolysis with subtle fruit berry notes.

Blanc de Blanc (white sparkling wine made from white grapes) - typically light to medium bodied with citrus primary fruit.

Blanc de Noirs ( white sparkling wine made only from black grape varieties) - tend to be more fuller in body and more red fruit flavours.

Prestige Cuvée - finest wine range often not always vintage wines made from best parcels of grapes.

Autolysis - chemical reaction between wine and lees by which enzymes breakdown the dead yeast cells, producing amino acid and releasing carbohydrates into wine.

Flavours it imparts: aromas of bread dough, toast and brioche. Creamy and rich

Question 5

CREMANT

Answer 5

Term apples to a number of French sparkling wines ACs.

Most important are:

Cremant d’Alasace - Muscat and Gewurztraminer are not permitted, Chardonnay is allowed.
Cremant de Bourgogne
Cremant de Loire

Each of these wines will be made from the same grapes used in making still white wine.

Question 6

SAUMUR AND VOUVRAY
Loire Valley

After Champagne, next biggest centre of sparkling wine production

Answer 6

Made using traditional method and must spend 9 mos. on lees.

SAUMUR - made from local varieties as well as Chardonnay which with Chenin Blanc and Cab Franc important ingredient in best wines.
Sparkling red - Cab Franc

VOUVRAY - made in greater volume than still VOUVRAY. Vast majority made from Chenin Blanc.

CHENIN BLANC - naturally high in acidity, well suited to Sparkling wine production. And unlike Chardonnay, does not take on a bready, biscuity character and autolytic character tends to be Pinot Noir - Smokey and toasty

Question 7

CAVA’s notable growing regions and grape varieties

Answer 7

Vast majority comes from CATALAN vineyards centred on the town of SANT SADURNI d’ANOIA

Other notable areas
1. Navarra
2. Rioja
3. Valencia

Made using Traditional Method and must spend 9 mos. on lees.

Traditional grape varieties
1. Macabeo (ww)
2. Xarel-lo (ww)
3. Parellada (ww)
4. Garnacha (rw)
5. Monastrell (rw)

Question 8

CAVA’s flavours and winemaking style

Answer 8

Dry, with medium acidity and some character from YEAST AUTOLYSIS, but can differ in nature from bread and toast characters found in Champagne.

Most NV is ready to drink on release from winery. Lower in acidity compared to Champagne hence, approachable easy drinking style.

Few producers making premium CAVA have undergone extensive LEES ageing.

Question 9

ASTI DOCG
Piemonte, North-West Italy

Answer 9

made from Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains using the Asti Method. Distinct grapes character.

Best examples have pronounced, fruit aroma of peach and grape overlaid with floral notes.
all Asti is SWEET, low in alcohol (appx 7% abv) made without any autolytic characters which would detract from fruitiness of Muscat. Does not benefit from ageing, should be drunk young.

Question 10

ASTI METHOD

Answer 10

Method is somehow unusual - only one alcoholic fermentation involved.

Juice - chilled and stored until needed. When required, warmed and fermentation takes placed in pressurised tanks. Initially CO2 is allowed to escape. Midway tank is sealed to retain CO2.

Ferment continues until alcohol reaches 7% abv and pressure 5-6 atmospheres.

Fermentation is stopped early by chilling wine, then filtered under pressure to remove yeast. Bottled for immediate sale.

Question 11

TANK METHOD

Answer 11

Compared to traditional and transfer method that can produce wines - flavours of bread and toast, this method allows the production of sparkling wine that retains the flavours of base wine.

Ideal for sparkling wines out of varieties with strong flavours: Muscat and Riesling, and Prosecco.

Cheaper, faster, less labour intensive than bottle fermenting.

Question 12

TANK METHOD Fermentation

Answer 12

First: takes place in temp controlled stainless steel tanks to retain pure fruit and floral flavours of the grapes.

Resulting base wines do not usually undergo MLF or oak ageing. Yeast, sugar, clarifying agents are added to the wine.

Second: 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 bottled under pressure.

Majority of Tank method: shows no notes of yeast autolysis - they do not spend time on lees.

Autolytic character: created by using paddles to stir up the lees during 2nd fermentation. But most winemakers would want to retain primary fruit flavours.

Question 13

CARBONATION

Answer 13

In this method, CO2 is injected into a still wine, which then bottled under pressure.

Useful for producing sparkling wines that retain the flavours of base wine. For this reason, used to make sparkling wines from grapes with strong varietal flavours I.e Sauvignon Blanc. CHEAPEST OF ALL METHODS.

Question 14

TRADITIONAL METHOD

Answer 14

Indicates a wine has undergone a 2nd fermentation in the bottle then later sold. Technique most often used albeit being costly and time consuming. Wine it makes can offer command the highest prices.

After harvesting and pressing..

Question 15

PRINCIPAL STEPS OF TRADITIONAL METHOD ARE: MBSYRDB

MAKING THE BASE WINE

Answer 15

1st alcoholic fermentation usually takes place in large temperature controlled stainless steel vats but some produces use oak vats/barrels for some of all their wines.
RESULT - completely dry with neutral flavours and high acidity.
After, winemaker will decide whether the wine will undergo MLF and/or a period of maturation in oak before 2nd fermentation.

Question 16

BLENDING

Answer 16

Process is very important in the making of sparkling wines and serves a number of functions.
1st, many producers aim to make their wines in a particular house style esp. non-vintage products. Blending wines from different vineyards, grape varieties and/or vintages can help to achieve this style yr on yr despite vintage variation.
2nd, can be used to improve balance. I.e. Chardonnay is widely considered to bring citrus fruit, finesse and longevity to a blend, whereas Pinot Noir brings aromas and flavours of red fruit and more body.
3rd, can enhance the complexity of the wine. Old reserve wines bring out flavours of dried fruit to fresh flavours of young wine.

Question 17

SECOND ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION

Answer 17

Once the blend is made up, LIQUER DE TIRAGE is added. Mixture of wine, sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients and a clarifying agent.
Bottle is closed with a crown cap that includes a plastic cup insert. The bottles are then stacked horizontally in the producer’s cellar at a cool, constant temperature. Slow fermentation takes place, alcohol raised by around 1.2-1.3% abv and the CO2 generated by the yeast dissolves into the wine creating the sparkle. This creates pressure in the bottle equivalent to 5-6 atmospheres.

Question 18

YEAST AUTOLYSIS

Answer 18

Once this 2nd alcoholic fermentation is complete the yeast die and form a sediment of lees in the bottle. Over a period of mos, these dead yeast cells start to break down releasing chemical compounds into the wine, process known as YEAST AUTOLYSIS. This compounds contribute flavours of bread, biscuit and toasty notes. Autolysis can last for between 4-5 years, can be 10 yrs too.

Once complete, keeping the lees in contact with wine can maintain wine’s freshness for years.

Question 19

RIDDLING

Answer 19

After period of maturation, lees sediment is removed using the 2 processes of riddling and disgorgement.

Riddling involves moving the bottle very slowly from a horizontal to an inverted vertical position.yeast sediment is dislodged and gradually slides down the side of the bottle collecting the plastic cup insert in the crown cap.

Nowadays riddling is usually mechanised so that the work can be carried out faster and in bulk. Standard machine in use today GYROPALETTE, a cage holding 500 bottles on a hydraulic arm, regularly rotated and inclined.

Question 20

DISGORGEMENT and CORKING

Answer 20

Once riddling is complete the neck of the upturned bottle is submerged in a very cold brine solution, w/c freezes the wine in the neck.

Bottles are then inverted into a normal upright position and the frozen wine holds the sediment in place, keeping the wine clear. Crown cap seal removed and the pressure created by the dissolved CO2 ejects the frozen wine taking the sediment and plastic insert with it.

Then topped with LIQUER D’EXPÈDITION and sealed with a cork then sealed with a wire cage. Mixture of wine and sugar. Amount of sugar used will determine the final level of sweetness in the wine and is often known as DOSAGE.

Question 21

BOTTLE AGEING

Answer 21

Once it has been corked the wine may then be aged for a further few months to allow the LIQUER D’EXPÉDITION to integrate with the wine.

Question 22

PROSECCO
North-east, Italy

Answer 22

2 delimited regions
1. Prosecco DOC - covers a wide area of Veneto and Friuli
2. Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOCG - higher quality. Fruit should be grown between these two towns

Typically produced in TANK method. Wines have medium acidity with fresh aromas of green apple and melon.

These wines have slightly higher levels of residual sugar than would be found in Champagne and Cava.

Question 23

SEKT

Answer 23

Enormous market and highest per capita consumption of sparkling wine in the world.

Made using TANK method. Base wines comes from Italy/France but turned into sparkling wines in Germany.

DEUTSCHER SEKT. Must only use grapes grown in Germany. Best are made in Riesling.

Question 24

AUSTRALIA

Answer 24

Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills and Tasmania
Capable of producing complex, elegant traditional wines - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Riverina - inexpensive wines, warm region. Tank method/Carbonation.

Question 25

NEW ZEALAND and SOUTH AFRICA

Answer 25

NZ established reputation for high quality traditional method sparkling wines made from Champagne grape varieties.
Grapes grown in all wine regions except Auckland. MARLBOROUGH produces the highest volumes. SPARKLING SAUV BLANC also produced usually by carbonation/tank method.

SOUTH AFRICA
made in Traditional method are labelled Mèthode Cap Classique. Sourced throughout Western Cape, best wines are made using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Cap Classique association age wines on lees for a minimum of 12 mos. Outside of association, 9 mos.