Theory Flashcards
Grapes used for high quality sparkling wines are generally…
Just-ripe in flavour, with high acidity, sugar level for base wine quite low (9-11.5% abv)
____ pressing is often practised for premium traditional method sparkling wines.
Whole-bunch
Pros and cons of whole-bunch pressing
Pros - Gentle, low in solids and phenolics (thus delicate fruit flavours), stems help to channel juice flow
Cons - time consuming as fewer bunches can be loaded
Typical primary fermentation temperature for sparkling wines
14-20°C
Reasons for using a low temperature for primary fermentation
- To retain fruit flavours
- Not too cold for the yeast
_____ yeast is used for primary fermentation for reliability
Cultured yeast
Why is cultured yeast widely used?
- Base juice v low pH so can be stressful for most yeast strains
- Certain strains promote unwanted flavours, thiols or esters
- Pronounced primary flavours are generally not wanted for autolytic styles -> neutral-ish wine
What properties are desirable for the yeast used in traditional method sparkling wines?
- Tolerance for low pH
- Neutral yeast
- Promotes rapid autolysis
- Encourages easy flocculation (dead yeast clumping togehter)
Which Champagne yeast strain is widely used?
Prise de mouse EC1118
Malolactic conversion can cause the base wine for sparklings to be
- Lower in acidity
- Thicker in texture
- Produces diacetyl, giving a buttery flavour
But diacetyl will be metabolised by yeast during the second fermentation, thus devoid the wine with buttery notes
The eight reasons for blending and their applications in making sparkling wines
- Balance -Pinot Noir for body, Chardonnay for acidity, Meunier for fruits
- Consistency - NV consisitency, house style
- Style - easy drinking vs for ageing
- Rose wines - in Champagne, blending reds and whites is allowed
- Complexity - blending vineyards, parcels, clones, oak treatment, MLF, ageing for a more complex wine
- Minimisation of faults - small imperfections could be diluted
- Volume - with different varieties and/or reserve wines
- Price - Meunier cheaper than Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
Statbilisation happens at which stage of making traditional method sparkling wines?
Between the first and second fermentation - stablised for tartrates and proteins
What is liqueur de tirage?
A mixture of wine, and/or must, sugar, cultured yeasts, yeast nutrients and a clarifying agent (bentonite and/or alginate)
What is alginate?
A seaweed extract to facilitate riddling
What does prise de mousse mean?
Capturing the sparkle
The more sugar in the liqueur de tirage, the _____ the pressure and _____ bubbles.
The higher the pressure, the more bubbles.
For most sparkling wines, ____g sucrose per litre is added via liqueur de tirage to give ___ bar atmospheres
24g/L for 6 bars
_____ is used to seal the wines for second fermentation
Crown cap
The typical settings for the second fermentation
- “Sur latte” - bottles laid horizontally
- 10-12°C
- 4-6 week depending on the temperature
- The lower the temperature the long the fermentation time
Ageing on lees takes ____ months for the autholytic notes to become detectable
15-18 months
Remuage
French for riddling
Time difference to complete riddling - machine vs hand
4 weeks for gyropalettes and riddling machine
~8 weeks for manual riddling
Sur latte
bottles laid horizontally
Sur pointe
bottles stored upside down on their cecks
What is in liqueur déxpedition?
A mixture of wine and sugar/RCGM.
The wine can be young for a boost of youth and fruitiness, old for finesse, red for rose colours
Dosage
Same as liqueur d’expecdition
Maillard reaction
Sugar reacting to the protein formed during yeast autolysis to develop roasted, toasted, vanilla aromas. Thus appellations encourage their producers to carry out bottle ageing post disgorgement.
Three key benefits of the transfer methods
- Save time and cost by skipping riddling
- Reduce bottle-to-bottle variation
- Make bottling special formats easier - half bottles, jeroboams and above
Favoured by large-volume producers
Describe the different steps of transfer method
- Same up to second fermentation, with the liqueur de tirage doesn’t need to contain fining agents to help flocculate
- Lees ageing to the appropriate length
- Bottles to be chilled to 0°C
- Bottled opened by a transfer machine and poured into pressurised receiving tanks
- Add sugar/RCGM and SO2
- Sterile filtering before bottling
Labelling differences between traditional method and transfer method
Traditional - “Fermented in this bottle”
Transfer - “Fermented in bottle”
Pet Nat
Abbreviation of Petillant naturel
Four cons of the ancestral method
- Outcome varies significantly
- Unwanted RS
- Fermentation may start again
- Potential cloudiness
Describe the different steps of the ancestral method
- Fill half fermented must in the bottle
- Crown cap it to capture the sparkles
- Winemaker to decide whether to disgorge it or leave as it is, ie. cloudy
Cuve close
Another name for the tank method
Charmat method
Another name for the tank method
Martinotti method
Another name for the tank method
Three key benefits of the tank method
- No riddling time or costs
- No disgorgement needed saving costs
- Cutting back lead time ie. lees ageing
Therefore good for inexpensive large volume easy drinking wines
Why is the tank method considered inferior to the traditional method?
- Prestige associated with Champagne
- Low cost
- Quality of fruit is usually lower anyway
The first fermentation is typically ______ °C for the tank method to retain floral and fresh fruit characteristics.
16-18°C
Describe the different steps of the tank method
- First fermentation at 16-18°C in stainless steel tanks
- Sugar and yeast added to the base wine
- Rapid second fermentation in pressurised tanks
- Short lees ageing with the option of dropping the tank to 2-4°C and paddling to stir up the lees for added texture and flavours
- Cold stablise to precipitate tartrates
- Remove yeast through centrifugation or filtration
7 . Adjust sugar level and add SO2 - Bottle and ship off
Describe the different steps of the Asti method
- Only single fermentation in a pressurised tank
- Once the desired level of pressure and amount of sugar are achieved, chilled to stop ferment
- Yeast filtered out, add SO2, cold stabilise
- Bottle and ship off
RS for Brut Nature, Bruto Natural, Naturherb, Zero Dosage
0-3 g/L
RS for Extra Brut, Extra Bruto, Extra Herb
0-6 g/L
RS for Brut, Bruto, Herb
0-12 g/L
RS for Extra-Sec, Extra-Dry, Extra Trocken
12-17 g/L
RS for Seco, Secco, Seco, Dry, Trocken
17-32 g/L
RS for Demi-Sec, Semi-Seco, Medium-Dry, Abboccato, Halbtrocken
32-50 g/L
RS Doux , Dulce, Sweet, Mild
50+ g/L
Five factors that affects the quantity and quality of mousse
- Amount of sugar in tirage to be converted -> quantity
- Base wine quality affect how CO2 dissolves -> quality & quality, ie.botrytis reduces the amount of bubbles that can form
- Time on lees -> quality and quantity, ie. the longer the time the more CO2 will dissipate; the longer the time the more integrated the CO2 will be
- Disgorging carefully will retain more CO2 -> quantity
- Size and shape of the glass -> quantity, flute will best retain
