Sparkling wines, Champagne and Prosecco

Depending on the dosage, Brut, Extra Dry, Sec, Demi-Sec or Dolce, the bubbles can be combined with many preparations from aperitif to dessert, enhancing aromas and flavors of finger food, cheeses, cured meats, meat, fish, shellfish, but also fruit and sweets. Why uncork a bottle of sparkling wine only on special occasions and celebrations? The habit of welcoming a friend with a Champagne, a Franciacorta is not widespread enough, a Prosecco or any other white or rosé bubbles and to accompany a dinner with a quality bottle to make the table still more enjoyable.

The snap of the cork, the sensation of the bubbles on the palate, the perlage and the brightness of the colors, as well as the unmistakable and elegant perfumes, make sparkling wine a perfect product to share moments of happiness and conversations with friends, synergy of its elements convey the table to a good mood. In addition, its structure enhances the flavors of foods by cleansing the taste buds and allowing you to better savor the matching dishes. Furthermore, the trend to create cocktails based on sparkling wine, prosecco or even champagne, also suitable for an aperitif with friends, is growing.

For a better selection of the sparkling wine to be inserted in your cellars it is right to take into consideration the duration of the aging on the lees, the dosage, the effervescence, the acidity, the quantity of alcohol, its softness, that is its roundness in the mouth, all elements that give each of these products a unique flavor.

Origins

Quality sparkling wines, as we know them today, were born in France at the end of the 1600s in the Champagne region.

Legend has it that Champagne, the progenitor of the quality bubbles so appreciated in our days, was invented in the 17th century by Don Pierre Pérignon (from which the famous takes its name champagne Dom Pérignon ), treasurer of the Benedictine abbey of Hautvillers. But often the reality does not coincide with the myth, as in this case that sparkling wine and sparkling wine appears already in previous centuries in a work by a Benedictine friar.

What is certain is that the experiences and discoveries of the Champagne winemakers were codified in the famous Méthode Champenoise , which allowed to transform a blend of still wines into sparkling products, thanks to the addition of yeasts and sugars. In these bottles, or at least in those that resisted the high pressure of carbon dioxide, a very appreciated wine was being created so much that the winemakers committed themselves over time to perfect that method, which would soon spread throughout the world.

Production method Classic Method

The colors from straw yellow to golden, intense and complex aromas, reminiscent of yeast or bread, flowers, fresh or dried fruit, brioches or biscuits, elegant flavors, structure and long aromatic persistence, they are all distinctive features of the best expressions of the Classical method.

Everything must be done with the utmost attention, starting from the base-wines : the ideal vines to obtain base-wines to be processed with the Classic method are chardonnay , pinot nero , pinot bianco and pinot meunier. The cuvée is the wise union of the base wines in variable proportions chosen by a winemaker oenologist according to the sparkling wine he wants to obtain. Being able to count on different wines also from previous years, preserved for quality and value, we arrive at the definitive cuvée which, if composed of wines made from grapes of the same vintage or for 85%, leads to the creation of the famous vintage , the vintage of which will be shown on the label. Conversely, if wines from previous years are also used there is a sans année , sparkling wine without vintage indication, intended for a shorter aging on the lees compared to the 4-8 years of the vintage

Once the cuvée has been created, add the liqueur de tirage , a mixture made up of wine and a precise quantity of cane sugar, yeasts and minerals. Thanks to this mixture, bubbles will slowly form. The amount of sugar in the liqueur de tirage is a fundamental variant because it determines the final pressure . Normally it should be around 24 g / l (in the case of the Satèn Franciacorta , in fact, the final pressure is lower because the amount of sugar is reduced to 18 g / l).

Once the liqueur de tirage has been completely blended into the cuvée, the wine can be bottled in the traditional champagnotte bottles designed in all respects to relieve the internal pressure and avoid bursting. (The color of the glass also has its function: dark green, brown or almost black to protect the wine from the action of light which could activate oxidation phenomena.) In this phase the bottles are temporarily sealed with a crown cap of stainless steel which avoids the attack of the rust that could be created with the humidity of the cellars during the fermentation period.

Here, in the absence of vibrations, noises, heat, light and with an adequate level of humidity, the wine begins the slow process of fermentation in the bottles positioned horizontally, in cellars or temperature-controlled rooms at temperature of 10-12° C. About six months will pass before the yeasts transform sugar into carbon dioxide, ethyl alcohol and many other secondary substances that enrich the sparkling wine with aromas and flavors. But the aging time on the lees varies from 18 months to 36 up to 7-8 years for some great products.

At the end of the refinement process, the bottles are placed in special wooden trestles, called pupitre . Here, the remuage (now more and more mechanized) is performed, a method by which experts bring the bottles upright, carrying out careful and meticulous rotations and shaking a little at a time which cause the detachment of the residues and accumulations of yeast from the walls and from the bottle cap.

The residues are then eliminated through the disgorgement à la glace or dégorgement: the neck of the bottles is immersed for a few minutes in a solution saturated with salts, at very low temperature (even at -30 ° C ) until a couple of centimeters of ice form forming the sediment. Once the bottle is uncorked, the effect of internal pressure expels the frozen sediments, leaving the wine perfectly clear. Once the disgorgement was made à la volée whereby the bottle was straightened until the air bubble reached the neck of the bottle and only then did the cap release so that the bubble of air would throw out the sediment. But this very spectacular method could cause the waste disposal to fail.

Last but not least is that of the dosage , i.e. the addition of a syrup, the liqueur d'expédition , which represents the manufacturer's signature and is generally composed from more or less aged wine, cane sugar and sometimes even a distillate or brandy, mixed according to the type of product you want to obtain.

This process follows, the final capping with the traditional mushroom cap and with the characteristic iron wire cage , labeling and refinement

Metodo di produzione Metodo Martinotti o Charmat

In order to speed up the production process and reduce the costs so far very high, an Italian, Federico Martinotti , had the idea of sparkling wine in a large sealed container, designed together with the French engineer Eugène Charmat .

This production method is often used to produce sweet sparkling wines since it allows to maintain the fruity and aromatic characteristics of the grapes used. As in the Classic method, the cuvée is prepared with base wines carefully assembled on the directives of the oenologist. The big difference lies in the process of fermetation in the autoclaves : large stainless steel containers with double walls and equipment for controlling the temperature of the wine. Here, after preparing the pied de cuve, that is the base of selected yeasts, sugars and mineral salts to promote development and activity, the second fermentation will be carried out. With the Martinotti method (Charmat), the fermentation times are much shorter and within a few months the sparkling wine is ready to enter the market.

The grapes

The choice of grapes must be made according to the objectives to be achieved.

More aromatic grapes are ideal for the production of sweet sparkling wines. The white muscat, the malvasias and the brachetto are the most used for the creation of sparkling wines generally elaborated with the Martinotti Method which rewards their fragrant spontaneity.

Vines most suitable for producing bubbles with the Classic Method are, on the other hand: chardonnay, capable of expressing itself at high levels in the broadest soil and climatic conditions, is often used as a single grape variety and gives good structure and acidity but above all elegance and finesse; Pinot Noir, a black grape variety vinified in white for the creation of pure sparkling wines and many cuvées, to which it gives strength and body, persistence and structure; Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris which make the aromas pale, with a reduced or delicate degree of acidity and structure.

Only in Champagne is the black berried pinot meunier used, chosen above all for its resistance and adaptability to the difficult climatic conditions of the area.