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WSET Diploma 4 Sparkling Wines > Sparkling Wines: Standard Options > Flashcards

Sparkling Wines: Standard Options Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the key stages in second fermentation in the Traditional Method

A

In trad method 2nd ferment occurs in same bottle in which wine later sold.

  1. Add liqueur de tirage
  2. The yeast converts the sugar to alcohol (+1.5% for 24g/l) and CO2. CO2 cannot escape so creates pressure (6 bars)
  3. Any sugar added now is converted to alcohol so does not affect sweetness of wine.
  4. After adding the liqueur de tirage and inoculation, seal bottles with crown cap (holds plastic pot to catch sediment)
  5. Store bottles horizontally “sur latte” (on the strip - of thin wood) at constant 10-12C, 4-6 weeks (cooler longer, more complex)
  6. Stable temp important for yeast viability
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2
Q

Machine-harvesting pros and cons

A

(depends on location, local wine laws)

  • PROS
    • faster
    • cheaper
    • night time poss (keeps grapes cooler/fresher)
  • CONS
    • will rupture grapes skins (Phenolic extraction and oxidation)
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3
Q

Explain requirements for grape growing for sparkling wines

A
  • Higher yields than still wines:
  • achieve high acid, low potential alcohol, delicate flavours
  • also maximises vineyard/ more chance some of crop avoids disease in rainy climates (like Champagne)
  • Priority is clean, healthy fruit
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4
Q

Why and when would you use malolactic conversion in making sparkling wine?

A
  1. WHY To reduce excessive acidity
  2. WHY To enhance texture
    • malo buttery flavours NOT found in sparkling ‘cos diacetyl metabolised during 2nd ferment
    • lactic acid creamier than eg tartaric acid
  • WHEN during first ferment. Otherwise may happen in 2nd, which could turn wine hazy - a problem in trad method as difficult to rectify in bottle.
  • If malo not desired may sterile filter wine
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5
Q

The key steps in The Tank Method

A
  1. First fermentation slow and cool to retain fresh, floral and fruit aromas and flavours
  2. Sugar/ yeast (tirage) added - rapid second fermentation in reinforced tanks
  3. Fermentation arrested when desired pressure/ resid sugar by cooling wine to -5C
  4. Remove immed from lees, retain fruity aromas/flavours (Sometimes up to 9mths lees for style, but many of economic benefits lost.)
  5. After ferment/ lees wine cold-stabilised to precipitate tartrates. Yeast removed by centrifugation or filtration.
  6. Sugar levels checked, SO2 checked/ corrected prior to sterile filtering and bottling.
  7. Wine chilled to -2C to stablise/reduce effervesence, bottled with counter-pressure filter. (Counter pressure-filling: bottle first filled CO2 under pressure, filled with chilled wine replacing the CO2, thereby preventing O2 ingress and loss of CO2)
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6
Q

When do you harvest grapes for sparkling wine?

A
  • When they are just ripe (unripe flavours get more prominent as wine matures)
  • Earlier than still wines to achieve
    • high acid
    • low alcohol (2nd ferment adds alcohol)
    • avoids rainy Autumns in cool climates (less fungal risk)
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7
Q

Pros & Cons of tank method v trad method

A
  • PROS Makes large vol sparkling wine inexpensive, quickly, much less labour
  • No riddling/ disgorgement/ dosage/ long lees ageing
  • Ideal for fresh, fruity style wines semi-aromatic (eg glera) or aromatic (eg muscat)
  • CONS Seen as inferior method than trad
    • partly cos bias for prestigious trad method
    • partly cos inexpensive, so uses lower quality grapes
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8
Q

Chardonnay is one of the two most commonly used grape varieties for premium sparkling wine.

What are pros and cons of it?

A
  • PROS: subtle apple/citrus aroma/flavours compliment not compete with biscuity yeast autolysis (chardonnay can become creamy)
  • adds finesse and longevity to a blend
  • early ripening asset in cool climate
  • retains acidity/low level alcohol but not unripe
  • high yields and quality in best years
  • CONS: early budding, so spring frosts
  • Prone to coulure and millerandage
  • More disease resistant than Pinot Noir, but susceptible to powdery mildew, grapevine yellows and botrytis bunch rot if wet before harvest
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9
Q

Describe pressing for sparkling wines

A
  1. Quick and gentle to minimise phenolic compunds in the juice (esp black varieties, least skin contact/extraction - unwanted colour/tannin)
  2. Whole bunch for premium (as gentle, minimise solids/ phenolics and stems create channels, less pressure needed)
  3. Pneumatic and basket presses (gentle)
  4. Common to split juice: diff press fractions - gives blending options.
  5. Juice is clarified before fermentation
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10
Q

EU Labelling Terms for Sweetness in Sparkling Wines

A
  • Brut Nature/ Bruto Natural/ Naturherb/Zéro Dosage 0-3gL - NB dosage cannot be added.
  • Extra Brut/ Extra Bruto/ Extra Herb 0-6g/L
  • Brut/ Bruto/ Herb 0-12 g/L
  • Extra-Sec/ Extra-Dry/ Extra Trocken 12-17g/L
  • Sec/ Eecco/ Seco/ Dry/ Trocken 17-32 g/L
  • Demi-Sec/ Semi-Seco/ Medium-Dry/ Abboccato/ Halbtrocken 32-50 g/L
  • Doux/ Dolce/ Sweet/ Mild 50+ g/L
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11
Q
  1. What does a wine maker do after blending and before second fermentation?
  2. Does it differ between wines made by the traditional method and others?
A
  1. Whatever method, all base wines should be clarified (using methods for any still wine)
  2. Yes. Traditional method wines: stabilise tartrates and proteins to avoid risk of spoilage: once it’s in bottle it’s much more dfifficult to correct faults or inbalances.
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12
Q

What is prise de mousse?

A

“Capturing the sparkle” = second fermentation

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13
Q

Explain the Transfer Method of making sparkling wine

A
  • Developed in 1940s to avoid cost of manual riddling, yet retain bready/ biscuit notes from yeast autolysis in bottle.
  • Nowadays mainly used for in champagne for small/large bottles as diffcult to riddle (eg esp by hand).
  • Like trad method but instead of riddling, after lees ageing chill wine to 0C, transfer machine opens bts and pour into pressurized tanks.
  • Wine is us. sweetened, add SO2, sterile filter just before bottling.
  • Back labels may say “fermented in bottle” rather than “in this bottle”
  • No riddling, so no fining agents needed to aid flocculation in liqueur d’expedition)
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14
Q

What is the liqueur de tirage?

A
  • A mixture of sugar, yeast, yeast nutrients and clarifying agent added to the base wine to achieve 2nd ferment
  • The sugar is for the yeast to convert into alcohol, but more importantly into CO2 to provide the fizz. Usually 24g of sucrose per litre (which creates + 1.5% alcohol)
  • The special yeast inoculates the wine. It must be able to
    • i) commence ferment in 9.5-11%
    • ii) moderate 16C
    • iii) high acid (PH <3)
    • iv) increasing pressure up to 6 atmospheres (bar)
    • v) flocculate readily
  • The yeast nutrients (nitrogen etc) help feed the yeast
  • Clarifying agent eg betonite and or/alginate (seaweed extract to facilitate riddling)
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15
Q

What is the ideal climate for making “elegant, balanced, long-lees aged sparkling wines”

and give examples

A
  • Cool climate
    • grapes just ripen (therefore can grow grapes in places for sparkling wine that couldn’t use for quality still wines)
    • retain acidity
    • little fruit flavour
    • sugar accumulates slowly= low alcohol (9-11%)
    • Important as 2nd ferment adds extra 1-2% abv
  • Greater latitudes (Champagne, England Tasmania)
  • Cooling influences
    • Near Coast (Sonoma)
    • High altitude (Trentodoc)
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16
Q

Describe the role of yeast in primary fermentation

A
  1. Reliable healthy ferment to dryness is priority in sparkling.
    1. In high acid and low PH
    2. In cool 14-20C (if want primary fruit)
    3. Can promote flavour (eg thioles or esters if want fruity style)
    4. Use neutral yeast if autolytic style wanted
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17
Q

Hand-harvesting pros & cons

A

(depends on location and local wine laws)

  • PROS hand harvest
    • any growing environment/ slope etc
    • sorting at picking/post harvest
    • minimises crushing of grapes (and therefore oxidation/ pigment/ tannin extraction)
  • CONS
    • slow
    • labour intensive (so prob expensive)
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18
Q

What is Liqueur d’ expédition

A
  • Liqueur of despatch- A mixture of wine and sugar (dosage) or RCGM (rectified concentrated grape must)
  • It tops up bottle and determines sweetness
  • Dosage balances acidity (esp in young wines) Age softens acidity: older wine at disgorgement, less dosage
  • Some sugar us. needed to encourage classic post-disgorgement aromas (Maillard reaction)
  • Small, growing trend of no dosage (Brut Nature, tho rare to have suff balance, texture & complexity if bone dry) or Extra Brut (v small dosage wine <6g/l)
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19
Q

Pros and cons of Pinot Noir

A
  • PROS early budding, early ripening (cool climate)
  • adds body, structure, aroma and complex red fruit flavours to chardonnay blend
  • CONS prone to
    • spring frosts
    • coulure
    • quality drops if yields too high
    • thin-skinned and disease prone
      • esp downy mildew
      • powdery mildew
      • botrytis bunch rot
      • fan leaf
      • leaf roll
20
Q

What is lees ageing?

A
  1. Lees are yeast particles left over from autolysis (the breakdown of yeast cells by enzymes created in fermentation)
  2. As yeast cells break down release tiny sugars (polysaccharides) and amino acids which over time (15-18 mths for autolytic effects)
    1. add creamy body/texture to wine
    2. add flavours of biscuit, bread, toast, cheese, buttermilk, floral, elderflower, sweet, nutty aromas
  3. Lees ageing is leaving the wines horizontally in stacks or gyropalettes at @10C
21
Q

Reasons for blending (assemblage)

A
  1. Balance (eg PN body v C acidity. Warm v cool site)
  2. Consistency (NV brands)
  3. Style (cheap/early drink v aged concentrated)
  4. Rosé (if blend red & white base wines)
  5. Complexity (eg oak aged/ old and young)
  6. Minimise faults
  7. Volume
  8. Price (Meunier cheaper/ more press wine v free run)
22
Q

Asti method is a variation of the the Tank method.

How does it differ?

A
  1. Only one fermentation!
  2. The must is fermented in pressurised tanks.
  3. At begin of fermentation, CO2 allowed to escape. Once alcohol 6% (for a wine that will be 7-7.5%) tank closed. CO2 from sugar producing last 1.5% creates 5 bars.
  4. Fermentation stopped by chilling to retain desired resid sugar.
  5. Yeasts/remaining yeast nutrients filtered to ensure stabilised wine, despite high level of fermentable sugar remaining.
23
Q

Why use whole bunch pressing for premium traditional sparkling wines?

A
  • Gentle: delicate juice low in solids and phenolics (incl tannins and anthocyanins that give colour)
  • Stems provide channels for liquid (so less pressure)
  • Fewer bunches in press v crushed grapes so takes more time (costlier)
24
Q

What is LALVIN DV10?

A

the trademarked name of an Epernay selection yeast by company Lallemand, which they claim works in

  • low PH,
  • high total SO2,
  • low temperatures
  • gives neutral flavour
  • low foaming
25
Q

Describe the qualities of the perfect yeast in secondary fermentation

A
  1. Common to use same yeast for 1st & 2nd ferment.
    1. Must be able to start fermentation in abv 10%
    2. low PH
    3. low temp
    4. high pressure
    5. poor nutrients
    6. rapid autolysis - in trad method wines
    7. easy flocculation (process where fine particles clump together) - in trad method wines
26
Q

Options for riddling (remuage)

A
  • Riddling (remuage) is the process of slowly rotating bottles at an angle to loosen the sediment from the second fermentation until it flocculates and collects in the neck of the bottle prior to disgorgement.
  • By hand (bottle are placed in pupitres - racks) 8 weeks
  • Or by machine (gyropalettes 504 bts; 3-4 days)
27
Q

What is the Ancestral Method?

A
  • Single bottle, single fermentation sparkling
  • Fermentation is paused (ie partly fermented must) then bottled, so remaining sugar converted into alcohol and CO2, providing fizz. No dosage
  • Sugar levels in must can be measured accurately so final pressure can be judged
  • There will be sediment (dead yeast cell); often kept, as style of certain wines (eg Jura, Loire)
  • Often called Pet Nat (pétillant nature), as no set regulations
  • Often low alcohol, cloudy, dry/off dry, often cider like flavours. No additional SO2, early drinking.
28
Q

What is Champagne RD?

A
  • “Recently disgorged” champagne (eg Bollinger RD)
  • A champagne kept on lees AFTER autolysis finished: Anti-oxidative qualities of yeast cells protect wine v disgorged wine of similar age.
  • But longer kept on lees like this, faster evolves once disgorged. (Older it becomes, less able to withstand the shock of oxygen)
  • Therefore RDs intended to be drunk soon after release
29
Q

What is the Maillard reaction?

A
  • The development of roasted, toasted, vanilla aromas (the browned food/ butter smell) caused by the reaction of sugar in the liqueur d’expedition with compounds formed during yeast autolysis.
  • Corked-sealed sparkling wines may be stored extra few months to ensure integration of these aromas before sale.
30
Q

Name a commonly used yeast in trad method wines

A

“Prise de Mousse” EC1118

31
Q

Describe disgorgement

A
  • Wines are (stored) sur pointe prior to disgorgement so lees in neck of bottle
  • Need to remove lees with min loss of wine/pressure
  • Bottles cooled to 7C, necks immersed in frozen brine
    • i) Freezes sediment - won’t fall back into bottle when turned upright
    • ii) increases solubility of CO2, reducing risk of gush
  • Disgorging machine inverts bottle to upright, removes crown cap, allows ejection of frozen yeast plug under pressure.
  • Liqueur d’ Expédition added, then cork, wire muzzle and metal capsule
32
Q

Three synonyms for tank method

A
  1. Charmat
  2. Cuvée Close
  3. Martinotti
33
Q

Pros & Cons of the carbonation method?

A
  • The carbonation method is simply taking a still wine and and injecting it with CO2 in a pressurised tank.
  • PROS
    • It is the least expensive. Good for cheap/bulk.
    • Does not alter aroma/flavour of base wine, so good for aromatic/fruity
    • Bubbles die quickly, but good for pétillant, lower pressure wines.
  • CONS
    • Bubbles die quickly.
    • Base wine needs to be good quality as bubbles accentuate any faults.
    • Perceived as cheap/ lower quality method
34
Q

Define press fractions and what are their benefits?

A
  • A press fraction is a portion of juice extracted from the press. The more pressure applied the more phenolics (can make wine bitter/coarse, add unwanted colour) solids and PH
  • Diff regions have diff max allowances of press juice v free run
  • Diff fractions offer blending options
  • Wines from press juice faster maturing, so useful in wines for immediate consumption
35
Q

Explain how corking works

A
  • “ordinary” cork but significantly fatter - 31mm diameter
    • imposs to cut cork this width from tree of right age, so use agglomerate + disks natural cork (glued)
  • Cork compressed by machine’s jaws to half its diameter, inserted into 18-21mm bottleneck (compressed to 60-70% original, clinging to glass and prevents leak)
  • DIAM reconstitute corks to remove cork taint aromas from cork particles and ensure consistent porosity
36
Q

What are the main risks in grape growing for sparkling wines

A
  • Aim is to produce clean, healthy grapes with high acid, low potential alcohol, delicate flavours. These are best achieved in cool climates, with high yields.
  • RISKS
    • Rain/ damp = fungal
    • Perception of off-flavours exacerbated by effervescence
    • Enzyme laccase released by botyritis infected grapes can cause serious oxidation
37
Q

How does a wine maker make a lower pressure traditional wine?

A

Adds less sugar in the liqueur de tirage

38
Q

Describe sparkling wine made in a warmer climate

A
  • Ripe fruit flavours, lower acidity
  • Therefore better for short aged wines with short times on lees as fruit provides only/dominant flavours
    • Tank method
    • (Transfer/ trad method) + short time on lees
  • Often less expensive wines (Lambrusco, Prosecco)
    • land cheaper
    • easier to cultivate high yields - flat, fertile plains
39
Q

What is inoculation in wine?

A

The technique of adding an active yeast culture or malolactic bacteria to juice, must or wine to activate (1st, 2nd, malo fermentation)

40
Q

What happens after pressing and before fermentation?

A
  • Clarification of the must - using any options available to still white wine makers eg 1) sedimentation (settling) 2) centrifugation 3) flotation 4) clarifiying agents
  • Need some grape solids as nutrients for healthy 1st and 2nd ferments
  • If excessive tannin or colour may fine eg 1) casein 2) gelatine 3) PVVP (polyvinylpolypyrrolidone)
41
Q

Why would you age wine on the lees?

A
  1. Style. Lees-aged character diff from fresh-fruit - adds a biscuity complexity
  2. Law: Eg min 9 mths in Cava, 12mths NV champage -usually much longer. NB Autolysis us. continues 4-5yrs up to max 10yrs
  3. Price (does ageing make sense?)
  4. Financial/physical ability to invest in long ageing
42
Q

Name four types of bottle closures for sparkling wine

A
  1. The cork - by far most popular (usually agglomerate with 2 disks of natural cork, as v diff to cut 31 mm width cork from tree of appropriate age)
  2. Diam (technical cork, removing cork taint aromas)
  3. Crown cap (ancestral)
  4. Synthetic re-sealable (eg Yellowtail)
43
Q

WSET says too many variables affect formation and size of bubbles, transition through the wine, way collect on surface to take it seriously. What are these?

A
  • More sugar converted to alcohol more CO2
  • Capacity of CO2 to be dissolved - depends on grape variety, grape health (eg botrytis reduces bubble formation), winemaking processes
  • Time on lees: some CO2 lost as more time on lees, but longer lasting foam
  • How much CO2 lost at disgorgement
  • Time in bottle/ type of closure
  • Size/shape glasses, how wine served, temp when served ( lower temp, less CO2 released)
  • Gen rule tank-fermented not lees-aged lively short-lived bubbles, trad method > 18mths lees finer, longer lived
44
Q

Average yields per major style of sparkling wine?

A
  • Champagne 10,500 kilos/hectare, max 65-75hL/hectare
  • Cava 12,000 kilos/hectare, max yield 80hL/ha
  • Crémant (d’Alsace) max yield 80hL/ha
  • Prosecco DOC max yield 125hL/ha
  • Prosecco DOCG 94.5 hL/ha or if Rive 90hL/ha
  • Superiore di Cartizze (don’t use word Prosecco) 85hl/ha
45
Q

What is the main problem making high quality sparkling wine in a warm climate?

A
  • Sugar levels can rise and acid levels can drop off very quickly
    • you have to pick early to get the correct levels of acid and sugar
    • this often means picking grapes that are green and herbaceous
    • such faults are amplified in sparkling wines
46
Q

Why are cool climates better for makeing quality sparkling wine

A
  • You want
    • low sugar (base wine 10-11% abv, 2nd ferment adds 1.2-1.5%)
    • high acid (refreshing style)
    • yet the flavours must be sufficiently ripe to avoid green and herbaceous characters (amplified by sparkling)
  • In cool climates the changes to sugar and acid levels happen slowly and at the same time as changes to the grapes’ flavours

WSET Diploma 4 Sparkling Wines (19 decks)

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