Sparkling Wine

Sparkling Wine is wine with a large percent of carbon dioxide, making the wine fizz, bubble and be effervescent. Sparkling wines are made from the grapes: pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot munier. When Sparkling wines are produced from the Province of Champagne France, the wine is then labeled Champagne. Other regions of the world make knock-off Champagnes but the French have a tried-and-true-method steeped in tradition with strict guidelines they follow at each harvest, both when they plant, grow, cultivate, harvest and produce the wines. Because of this, their Champagne is known far and wide as reigning superior.

Sparkling wines are difficult and time-consuming to make. Additional time is needed to cultivate the mix producing just the right delicate taste. Carbon dioxide bubbles (released in most wines) are trapped within the sparkling wines to create the bubbly effect that tickles the nose and makes the liquid effervescent.

The grapes are harvested earlier than with other wines. The purpose is to keep the sugar levels as low as possible in the grapes because that allows for a lower alcohol content. Because the fermentation period is longer for sparkling wines, sugars will be reintroduced at a later time. The grapes are gathered and pressed not crushed which deters oxidation and color from forming.

The temperature during the initial fermentation is strictly controlled. The wine is generally stored in large, stainless steel tanks. After a three-week period, the wine is tested to be sure that all the natural sugars in the grapes have been converted over to alcohol. The storing temperature remains cold, and sediment and particles can be seen collected along the bottom of the bottles.

The clear wine is then separated from the sediment and the new bottle of wine is now stored, usually on its side. At this stage, bottles and casks can burst open due to the intense pressure building up inside, so care is taken to have fortified bottles ready to hold the wine.

The sediment will continue to collect in the wine bottles during this aging process. Years ago, it was a hard shake by a human hand that would disperse the sediment from collecting, but this was time-consuming and expensive.

Today there are computer-automated machines that perform the same task in less time. The sediment is periodically removed in a process called “disgorging.” This is where a small amount of the wine is removed from the neck of the bottle where the sediment has collected. The old cork is then discarded, the wine is topped off by another sweetened wine, and a new cork is added. The bottles are then stored upside down allowing over time, more sediment to collect in the neck, and the process is repeated.

There is a second process used called the transfer process. The difference in this process is that the wine is bottled under-pressure and the wine is filtered from the tanks it is stored in and then placed in bottles. This cuts the production time drastically because there is no riddling, or disgorgement that takes place (riddling is where the bottles of wine are placed on special racks and periodically turned to disperse the sediment and particles forming inside).





Wine Home Wine Essentials Wine Types Wine Fermentation Food and Wine Wine Making Wine Tasting Wine Racks Glossary of Wines Regional Wine Australia Wine French Wine California Wine German Wine Shopping Buying Wine Online	WineWine.com.au / Major Wine Types / Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine Sparkling Wine is wine with a large percent of carbon dioxide, making the wine fizz, bubble and be effervescent. Sparkling wines are made from the grapes: pinot noir, chardonnay and pinot munier. When Sparkling wines are produced from the Province of Champagne France, the wine is then labeled Champagne. Other regions of the world make knock-off Champagnes but the French have a tried-and-true-method steeped in tradition with strict guidelines they follow at each harvest, both when they plant, grow, cultivate, harvest and produce the wines. Because of this, their Champagne is known far and wide as reigning superior. Sparkling wines are difficult and time-consuming to make. Additional time is needed to cultivate the mix producing just the right delicate taste. Carbon dioxide bubbles (released in most wines) are trapped within the sparkling wines to create the bubbly effect that tickles the nose and makes the liquid effervescent. The grapes are harvested earlier than with other wines. The purpose is to keep the sugar levels as low as possible in the grapes because that allows for a lower alcohol content. Because the fermentation period is longer for sparkling wines, sugars will be reintroduced at a later time. The grapes are gathered and pressed not crushed which deters oxidation and color from forming. The temperature during the initial fermentation is strictly controlled. The wine is generally stored in large, stainless steel tanks. After a three-week period, the wine is tested to be sure that all the natural sugars in the grapes have been converted over to alcohol. The storing temperature remains cold, and sediment and particles can be seen collected along the bottom of the bottles. The clear wine is then separated from the sediment and the new bottle of wine is now stored, usually on its side. At this stage, bottles and casks can burst open due to the intense pressure building up inside, so care is taken to have fortified bottles ready to hold the wine. The sediment will continue to collect in the wine bottles during this aging process. Years ago, it was a hard shake by a human hand that would disperse the sediment from collecting, but this was time-consuming and expensive. Today there are computer-automated machines that perform the same task in less time. The sediment is periodically removed in a process called “disgorging.” This is where a small amount of the wine is removed from the neck of the bottle where the sediment has collected. The old cork is then discarded, the wine is topped off by another sweetened wine, and a new cork is added. The bottles are then stored upside down allowing over time, more sediment to collect in the neck, and the process is repeated. There is a second process used called the transfer process. The difference in this process is that the wine is bottled under-pressure and the wine is filtered from the tanks it is stored in and then placed in bottles. This cuts the production time drastically because there is no riddling, or disgorgement that takes place (riddling is where the bottles of wine are placed on special racks and periodically turned to disperse the sediment and particles forming inside).

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