Winemaking
The traditional method
A second fermentation inside the bottle, followed by ageing on the dead yeast.
Overview
The method behind Champagne, Cava, Crémant, Franciacorta, Cap Classique and English sparkling wine. Its defining feature is that the bubbles are created inside the bottle the wine is sold in.
The bready, brioche character these wines share comes from autolysis — the breakdown of spent yeast cells over months or years. It is a function of time and method, not of grape or place, which is why Champagne and English sparkling taste more like each other than either tastes like Prosecco.
It is labour-intensive and slow, which is much of why these wines cost what they do.
Step by step
1 Base wine
A still wine is made, deliberately high in acid and low in alcohol. It would be austere to drink on its own.
2 Assemblage
Base wines from different villages, varieties and often years are blended to a house style.
3 Tirage
Sugar and yeast are added and the wine is sealed under a crown cap.
4 Second fermentation
Fermentation restarts in the sealed bottle. The carbon dioxide has nowhere to go and dissolves into the wine, typically reaching five to six atmospheres.
5 Lees ageing
The wine rests on the dead yeast. Autolysis develops the bread, brioche and toast character. Minimums are set by regulation and good producers exceed them.
6 Riddling
Bottles are gradually tilted and turned so the sediment collects in the neck.
7 Disgorgement
The neck is frozen and the plug of sediment ejected by the bottle’s own pressure.
8 Dosage
Wine and sugar are added to replace what was lost, setting the final sweetness — Brut Nature through to Doux.
Sources
Sources consulted
- Comité Champagne — Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne
- WSET educational materials and the Systematic Approach to Tasting — Wine & Spirit Education Trust
More in winemaking
Winemaking
Fermentation
Yeast converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide — the step that makes wine wine.
Winemaking
How red wine is made
Fermenting grape juice in contact with the skins, which is where colour and tannin come from.
Winemaking
How white wine is made
Pressing the juice off the skins before fermentation, then fermenting the clear juice.