Making sparkling wines

The ancestral or rural method, the Champagne or traditional method, pet nats: the art of effervescent or sparkling wine takes many shapes and forms.

The release of carbon dioxide during vinification and the ability to produce bubbles is a natural phenomenon linked to the fermentation process. Before the modern development of oenological science, this fermentative process was often interrupted naturally during the cold of winter and then resumed with the return of Spring: the wines bottled before fermentation had ended thus finished fermenting in the bottle, and the release of carbon dioxide gave them an effervescent character. This is the origin of the so-called "ancestral" or "rural" method of various historic regions (Limoux, Gaillac, Die), which is, more widely and in a more controlled way (cooling the wine to interrupt the fermentation in progress, and possibly filtration), the method used for ”petillant naturel” wines, a type of sparkling wine that is widespread today in many wine-producing regions of France and elsewhere.

The history of sparkling wine in Champagne - a cool northern region which for a long time favoured red Pinot Noir wines before beginning to recognise, from the 16th-17th centuries, the quality of its white and especially ‘grey’ wines (white wines made from Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Gris), all still wines - is very different. For the Champenois, the random return of fermentation at the end of Winter was considered a handicap, but this sparkling stage in the wine nevertheless had its followers, particularly in England where, from the second half of the 17th century onwards, wine lovers were looking for early bottling (March) and did not hesitate to give the wine and its bubbles more vigour by adding sugar.

The practice of adding sugar was developed in Champagne in the 19th century, supported by several major discoveries of the fermentation process: Chaptal's discovery of the role of sugar and Pasteur's discovery of the function of yeast. The scientific bases were thus established to provoke in a controlled way - and no longer undergo – the appearance of bubbles and to ensure the "prise de mousse" by the addition of a "liqueur de tirage" (sugar + yeast) to the still wine in the bottle: the "méthode champenoise" was born.

This same method is used, under the name "méthode traditionnelle", for sparkling wines from regions other than Champagne and called crémants (crémant de Loire, crémant du Jura, etc.) as well as sparkling wines from other countries ("metodo classico" in Italian, "sekt" in German, etc.). In these traditional method sparkling wines, some producers prefer to add fresh must with its natural sugars and yeasts to the liqueur de tirage.

In order to stabilise the Champagne production process and avoid "breakage" - which was catastrophic for a long time - it was necessary to improve the resistance of the glass bottles and to adjust the composition of the liqueur de tirage, i.e. 24 g of sugar per litre for a pressure of 5 or 6 bars (which amounts to "chaptalisation", as it increases the alcohol content by more than 1°). From the beginning of the 20th century, Champagne houses also began selecting yeasts made in regional laboratories, and developed a cork with an appropriate cork stopper held in place by a Champagne wire known as a ‘muselet’.

Progressively, throughout the 19th century, the Champenois’ savoir-faire was refined: "mise sur pointe" and "remuage" (riddling) of the bottles to allow the deposit of lees to descend into the neck and then to be expelled during disgorgement, before the wine was finally sealed, sometimes preceded by the addition of a "liqueur d'expédition", i.e. wine or brandy + "dosage" sugar to rebalance the acidity of the wine.

The different types of champagne that are exist today are as follows:

Before disgorgement, champagne must legally respect a maturation time on lees ("sur lattes") of at least 3 months and then age for at least 1 year, and, for vintage champagne, at least 3 years. This élevage - generally prolonged well beyond the legal minimum - brings into play the phenomenon of oxido-reduction (in relation to the small quantity of oxygen present) and the phenomenon of autolysis, a process of biochemical degradation of the dead yeasts that make up the lees, releasing numerous components that nourish the wine in terms of texture (the fineness of its bubbles and "creamy" mouthfeel) and aromatic and gustatory complexity, beyond the fruity and floral nuances (notes of brioche, dried fruit, spicy notes, and subtle rancio).

Since the 18th century, the Champagne region has been dominated by large Champagne houses, with a status known as "négociant-manipulant", and also, since the beginning of the 20th century, by winegrowers' cooperatives, with their immense capacity for varied suppliers (terroirs, regions, grape varieties) and for blending. But in recent times, champagnes crafted by grower-producers, known as récoltants-manipulants, who vinify only the production of their vines (often just a few hectares) and thus highlight their own terroir, have considerably gained in importance and reputation.