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Making
Sparkling Wine - the 'Champagne' Method
Producing
sparkling wine at home is relatively simple, but it does require more
steps than regular red or white winemaking. During fermentation, yeast
consumes sugars in grape juice to create alcohol and carbon dioxide gas
(CO2). Normally the CO2 escapes. However, when the wine is sealed in
champagne or pressurized bottles, the CO2 is captured and carbonates the
wine, creating the tiny bubbles that make sparkling wine so delightful.
Forced carbonation by an amateur carbonation machine (e.g. The FizzDevil)
will not produce the required CO2 pressure over the required time period
to produce the tiny, magic bubbles required to make true 'champagne' style
sparkling wine.
Good
choices for quality sparkling wines are fruity, full-bodied
whites and delicate, fruity reds (use the free run juice only, before red
skin contact) with lively, but not tart, acidity. Chardonnay and/or a
Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend are the best grapes for French type bubbly.
People who prefer German-style sparkling wine should use 100 % vinifera
Riesling grapes. Pink or rose bubbly should be made from 100% Pinot Noir
(again, free run juice only with a little skin contact this
time). A good rule of thumb when considering making quality
sparkling wine : buy the best juice or semi-juice wine kit you can afford
(Vintage Classic products are an excellent beginner's choice). Nothing is
more disappointing than waiting 6-9 months to test the results of your
efforts only to discover that you own 30 bottles of carbonated, but
mediocre, sparkling wine.
Note:
The word 'Champagne' is the trademarked name of a wine region in France.
The term cannot be used to describe sparkling wine from other countries.
However, it is used here to refer to the correct type of bottle, and to
the method for making sparkling wine.
Wine
Base Preparation
1.
Ferment a 6 US gallon (23 L) premium wine juice or semi-juice wine
kit (see recommended wine types above) in the normal way, up to the
stabilizing and clearing steps. Do not add the stabilizing add-packs..
This is very important because these packages contain enough sulphite and
potassium sorbate to prevent the wine from carbonating properly.
2.
At the stabilizing and clearing steps, rack the wine into a sanitized
primary fermenter. Dissolve ¼ teaspoon of metabisulphite powder in ½ cup
(125 mL) of cool water and add to the wine. This amount will prevent
the wine from oxidizing, but will not hamper yeast during bottle
carbonation. Add the finings (isinglass or other), following the wine kit
instructions. Remember: Do not add the stabilizing add-packs.
3.
Rack your wine back into a clean, sanitized carboy. Wait 10 days.
4.
Observe your wine. When it is clear, it is ready to be made into sparkling
wine. It does not need to be filtered as it will be become hazy (and
re-clear) during re-fermentation in the bottles.
Bottling
1.
Rack the wine from the carboy into a sanitized primary fermenter. Avoid
disturbing the sediment. Dissolve 1¾ cups (325 mL) of sucrose (white
table sugar) in 2 cups (500 mL) of boiling water. Stir thoroughly and
gently into wine. Mix well.
2.
Carefully re-hydrate one package of proper champagne yeast (Lalvin EC-1118
strain or equivalent), following these instructions exactly: stir the
yeast into 2 oz. (50 mL) of water at 100°F (40°C). Wait 5 minutes, then
stir yeast thoroughly and gently into wine. Mix well.
3.
Siphon your wine into 30 (26 oz./750 mL) sparkling wine bottles, leaving 1
inch (2.5 cm) of head space at the top of each bottle. CAUTION! The
fermentation process creates tremendous pressure: the bottles must
withstand over 90 pounds per square inch. Only proper champagne bottles
can be used. Any other type of bottle may will not be able to
withstand the pressure, which could cause serious damage (not to mention
the loss of wine !)
4.
If your sparkling wine bottles accept crown caps, cap them now. Otherwise,
insert sparkling wine plastic stoppers and wire them down using wire cages
and a wire-twisting tool or pliers. Remember, using anything other than a
proper sparkling wine bottle could result in shattered bottles.
5.
Store bottles on their sides at 65–75°F (19–23°C) for two months to
properly carbonate.
Riddling
After
two months, invert the bottles (place them cap down) in wine boxes to
allow the yeast sediment to collect in the neck of the bottle. To assist
this sediment formation, raise each bottle about 5 cm (2 inches), turn
sharply ¼ turn, then drop back into the box. This is called riddling, and
should be repeated once a day for two to three weeks. (When riddling,
please wear gloves, long sleeves and eye protection.) The inverted wine
should then be aged for approximately two more weeks, until it is
completely clear.
Degorging
- Step 1: Preparing your dosage
(topping wine)
Because
the sediment collects in the neck of the bottle, you will be able to
remove it. This is called degorging. However, degorging results in the
loss of a small amount of wine, so it's necessary to top up bottles to
avoid low fill levels and oxidation. For your topping wine, choose the
same or similar wine base as your sparkling wine base and chill it; you'll
need between 2-4 oz. (50-100 ml) per bottle. If you wish to sweeten your
sparkling wine, dissolve a 1 oz. of sucrose (white table sugar) in every
cup of wine used for dosage. Gently warm the dosage wine to help dissolve
the sugar. Then chill the sweetened dosage.
Degorging
- Step 2: Freezing the yeast deposit
Remove
the sparkling wine from its storage box, still inverted, and place in your
freezer, inverted. Allow it to chill, monitoring the bottles frequently.
When ice crystals form in the neck of the bottle, it is ready to be
degorged. Do not allow the bottles to freeze completely; they will break
and spill your wine in the freezer.
Degorging
Step 3: Removing the cap (or cork)
This
step is best performed in a secure room where the walls, floor and ceiling
can easily be washed due to the possible gushing of the carbonated wine.
1.
Remove the bottle from the freezer. Keep it inverted.
2.
While holding the bottle upside down, remove the crown cap or undo the
wire and slowly, carefully pop the cork. The pressure will free the cork
and push the sediment out of the bottle in one step. As it gushes free,
cover the neck of the bottle with your thumb and turn it right-side up.
You will need to be very quick to avoid losing much wine!)
3.
Once the sediment is ejected from the wine, top the bottle with your
topping wine. Be careful and try to pour the topping wine down the inside
of the bottle to prevent foaming.
4.
Re-cork with a sanitized plastic stopper. Wire down securely. You will
have the most success with plastic sparkling wine stoppers. Natural
champagne cork stoppers are impossible to insert correctly using hand
equipment, and can be difficult to extract. They are also very expensive
and difficult to find.
Aging
and drinking
Age
your wine for at least two months at cellar temperature before trying it.
Champagne yeast will re-ferment in cool temperatures over a period of
time, thus causing the preferred tiny bubbles. Sparkling wine
will improve tremendously with age. While it may be tempting to drink it
all as soon as it is degorged, try keeping back a few bottles for a year
or more. You'll be delighted with the results.
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