Bubbles!

Well, it’s that time of year again. Shorter and colder days, sweaters, Pumpkin Spice, whatever form of it you’re into, and of course my favorite holiday libation - Bubbles! 

Of the many forms one can drink the grape, bubbles has to be by far one of the most fascinating. The accidental invention of sparkling wine forever changed how and what most people around the world use to celebrate special occasions. 

Sparkling wine production is arguably the most technical, labor intensive and difficult in the wine world. 

The first reason sparkling wines are challenging to make is because unlike traditional still wine, sparklers go through not one, but two fermentations! The first fermentation process transforms grapes into stable, filtered, finished wine. 

The second fermentation is where the magic of bubbles/carbonation takes place. Sparkling wines have been around since the mid 1500’s, albeit it in a different form (much less stable and consistent as well), and have been witness to some of  the greatest moments in history. 

Fun Fact - the Russian Czar and his court were the largest consumers of sparkling wine in the world at one point. 

Some of you may have enjoyed or have heard of Crystal Champagne? 

This iconic Champagne was first developed in 1876 for Russian Emperor Alexander II. Not only was top quality a stipulation the Czar had asked for but, more importantly, given the tumultuous political times, he wanted a clear see-through bottle to ensure that a bomb could not be smuggled in the form of a wine/Champagne bottle! 

Louis Roederer was the only house that was able to meet the challenge, producing the highest quality Champagne in a crystal, transparent bottle. They won the bid as the exclusive supplier to the Czar. Sadly, as we know, that was a short-lived contract, but it’s one of many amazing Champagne stories. 

Now let’s get back to sparkling wines, including Champagne, and how they’re made and how they differ.

How are bubbles made?

There are six major methods used to produce sparkling wines, with the emphasis being mostly on two of them. Each method produces a different level of carbonation and ultimately the mouthfeel and style of sparkling wine. 

• Traditional Method

• Tank Method

• Transfer Method

• Ancestral Method

• Continuous Method

• Carbonation

The two most commonly used methods are Traditional Method (used to make Champagne) and Tank Method, used to make Prosecco and other more commercial sparkling wines. I find the best way to explain some of these is to see them, so there will be some show and tell coming up as a more succinct explanation.

The first thing about sparkling wine is, well, that it’s bubbly/sparkling. There are three main classifications for these: 

• Beady: A wine bottled that has less than one additional atmosphere of pressure (14.7 psi). Bubbles appear on the sides of the bottle (or glass) when the wine is opened. It is almost like a cider or beer to the eye.

• Semi-Sparkling:  You may see terms like “Frizzante”, “Pétillant”, or “Pearl” on the label. This is a wine with 1 – 2.5 atmospheres (14.7–37 psi) of pressure that is slightly sparkling. This will look much closer to what you would find in Prosecco, but not to be confused because those technically can be labeled as the next category. 

• Sparkling: You may see “Mousseux”, “Crémant”, “Espumoso”, “Sekt”, or “Spumante” on the label. The EU has ruled that sparkling wines with three or more atmospheres (44 psi, that’s as much as your average SUV tires, by the way!) can be labeled as sparkling. 

Let’s start with the Traditional Method which is the most technically challenging and produces – amongst many other popular sparkling wines – Champagne.  

Other examples of this method include Cava, Crémant, Franciacorta. This method is the most appreciated for sparkling wine production in terms of quality, yet is by far the costliest in terms of production and labor.

Below is a great depiction from WineFolly 

1.     The start is a base Wine or “Cuvée”: This is finished wine, mostly white or rose. In the case of Champagne, it will be a blend of three grapes.

If you want to impress folks at your next holiday party remember this fact: Champagne is a blend of 3 grapes - Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. 

The winemaker then takes this blend of wines (or “Cuvee” as the French refer to it) and starts the process. 

2.     The next step is Tirage:  Here yeast and sugars are added to the cuvée that the wine maker started with in order to re-start fermentation. Yeast loves to feed on sugar, so feeding the yeast you added will induce fermentation. The bottles are then temporarily topped with soda-like caps. 

Now the secondary fermentation (inside the bottle) starts. The secondary fermentation adds about 1.3% more alcohol and the process creates CO2 as bi-product, which gets trapped inside the bottle and gives us our desired bubbles! But wait, we’re not done.  The yeast dies in a process called autolysis and remains inside the capped bottles.

3.     The cuvee is now aged: Wines are aged on their lees (the autolytic yeast particles) for a period of time to develop texture in the wine. Champagne requires a minimum of 15 months of aging (36 months for vintage Champagne). Cava requires a minimum of 9 months of aging but requires up to 30 months for Gran Reserva Cava. 

4.     Riddling: Clarification occurs by settling the bottle upside down and the dead yeast cells collect in the neck of the bottle.

5.     Disgorging: Removing sediment from bottle. The bottles are placed upside down into freezing liquid which causes the yeast bits to freeze in the neck of the bottle. The crown cap is then popped off momentarily which allows the frozen chunk of lees to shoot out of the pressurized bottle.

6.     Dosage: A mixture of wine and sugar (called Exposition liqueur) is added to fill bottles and then bottles are corked, wired and labeled.

And now we age and wait… 

Now let’s go over the Tank Method which is most commonly used for Prosecco production and other non-Champagne sparkling wines. 

Again, I fell a little show and tell would be the most succinct way of explaining this. 

During the Tank Method production, we are essentially creating a secondary fermentation but doing so, well, in a tank. 

The major difference between the Tank Method and the Traditional Method is the use of individual bottles versus the use of a larger container (tank) to turn still wine into sparkling wines. Here, base wines are added together with the sugar and yeast mixture (Tirage) into a large tank. As the wine has a second fermentation, the CO2 released from the fermentation causes the tank to pressurize the way the other wines do in the bottles.

Tank Method sparkling wines usually have a much fresher note to them with more of the primary fruit on the nose and palate. Some argue that using the Tank Method is a cheaper way of making sparkling wines (it does lessen the touches and time it takes, for sure) and while it is less cost intensive, many fine sparkling wines are produced via this method. 

That was a lot of steps and touches to make that delicious bottle you’ll be enjoying this holiday season, wasn’t it? 

Hopefully, this brings a bit more appreciation this holiday season next time you hear that cork pop and enjoy your favorite sparkling libation! 

Cheers! And Happy New Year!