Previous articleIntroducing to the story of Champagne and how Champagne was invented, interested friends can click on the link below to read about Champagne Story:
How much do you know about French champagne? This article takes you to tell the story of French champagne
So how exactly does the blistering in champagne come about? That article takes you to understand the secrets of bubbles in champagne.
Article overview:
1. The underlying logic of winemaking
2. Champagne is a sparkling wine
3. Champagne foaming process
4, only champagne can be called champagne
The underlying logic of winemaking
The first thing to know is this: Champagne is a type of wine. The previous article also introduced that 200 years ago, champagne still had no bubbles, because at that time, science was not advanced enough to grasp the bubble production in wine. Later, with the advancement of chemical science, it was not until 1836 that François could accurately determine the fermentation law in wine, and foaming could be accurately controlled by winemakers.
Therefore, we must first know the fermentation principle of wine:
The fermentation process of wine Image source: Zhihu - Thinking grapes
The sugars in the grape fruit are fermented by the action of yeast and then converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide is a gas as we know it, so carbon dioxide is the source of sparkling wine.
If in the process of fermentation, find a way to leave carbon dioxide gas in the wine, carbon dioxide becomes bubbles in the wine, and the sparkling wine becomes spontaneous. That's how champagne gets bubbled.
Champagne is a sparkling wine
There are many classifications in wine, according to whether there is foaming in the wine, it can be divided into stationary wine and sparkling wine.
If you continue to classify, according to the degree of foaming, sparkling wine can continue to be divided into high sparkling wine and micro-sparkling wine.
Champagne, on the other hand, is a high sparkling wine, while champagne-like sparkling wines include Cava in Spain and Prosecco in Italy.
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If you are interested in this cava and prosecco sparkling wine, you can read my article by clicking on the link below:
Champagne too expensive? What are some good and inexpensive starter sparkling wines? Take a look at Spanish kava
Champagne too expensive? Then come to its affordable prosecco sparkling wine
The type of micro-sparkling wine is a wine category represented by the small sweet water Moscato. Similarly, I have a dedicated article introduction, if interested you can click on the link to read:
What is the origin of Moscato, who is known as "popular lover and girl killer" in wine?
Of course, there are many more ways to classify wine, and those who want to know can click on the links below to read my article:
That's a little bit about wine classification! How to choose an introductory wine? This article tells you
The sparkling process of champagne
Nowadays, there are many ways to retain the bubbles produced by wine fermentation, and there are even ways to add bubbles and inject them into the wine. However, Champagne is widely known first of all because it was first brewed into sparkling wine, but also because it can only be brewed using the traditional and time-consuming brewing method of drunkenness, commonly known as the "traditional method", which can also be called "Champagne method".
This way you can get a drunken quality lather, as well as a drunken flavor. So let's introduce the brewing method of the "traditional method".
After normal grape harvesting and pressing to obtain grape juice:
Step 1: Brew the base wine.
In this process, the grape juice ferments, consumes sugar, and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide, but the carbon dioxide is not retained in the liquor. Therefore, the base wine is not bubbly, similar to our usual red wines and white wines, dry, without too many grape aromas, particularly high acidity wine.
Winemaking Image source: winetoday.org
Step 2: Blend blending
In this step, the main thing is to mix different vineyards, different varieties, or different vintages of the base wine, which is very important for the winemaker. Because it will basically determine the style and characteristics of the sparkling wine in the final bottle.
Step 3: Secondary fermentation
This link is one of the links that retain the bubbles in the sparkling wine.
In the first two steps, after mixing and blending the base wine, the base wine is loaded into a bottle with a plastic cup insert crown cap closure.
At the same time, the bottle is then added to the re-fermentation liquid (Liqueur de tirage) composed of liquor, sugar, yeast and yeast nutrient solution, and finally the bottle is sealed.
In this way, secondary fermentation can occur in the bottle. Although slow, the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation will completely dissolve in the liquor, and the pressure in the bottle will rise until it is 5-6 atmospheres.
Secondary fermentation process Image source: quintessenceblog.com
Step 4: Yeast autolysis
This is the link that gives champagne its typical aroma.
After the secondary fermentation is completed in the bottle, the yeast dies and a slurry precipitate is formed in the bottle. After a few months, the dead yeast begins to decompose, and some of the compounds will dissolve into the liquor, a process called yeast autolysis.
Compounds dissolved in the liquor manifest themselves in the aroma of bread, biscuits and toast. The longer the yeast dissolves, the more pronounced this aroma is in the liquor.
Yeast precipitation in the bottle Image source: avenue.ca
A few steps ahead of here, the flavor and foaming of champagne wine have been basically formed, and the champagne at this time can be drunk. However, as introduced above, the champagne liquor at this time is still relatively turbid, and before the current slag removal process appears, such champagne will also be sold, and the outer packaging is specially designed to cover up these turbidity.
Until 1815, a key innovation of Madame Clicquot could effectively remove the sedimentation of wine in champagne bottles, that is, the two links of bottle transfer and spitting mud that will be introduced in the next article.
Step 5: Turn the bottle
The link of turning the bottle is actually the literal meaning of turning the bottle. In the previous session, after the yeast autolysis of the ripening process, the champagne wine began to be very slowly transferred from the horizontal position to the vertical position of the upside down.
This allows the yeast deposit to begin to move and gradually slide down the bottle, gathering into the plastic cup insert of the crown-shaped cap.
In the past, this was done by hand, usually taking 8 weeks. However, it can now be done with a machine, which greatly improves the efficiency.
Image credit: Huffpost Canada
Step 6: Spit mud and seal
After the end of the bottle transfer, the first thing to do is to spit mud. Soak the inverted bottle neck in an ice-cold saline solution to freeze the wine inside the neck. Then the bottle is flipped to the normal upright position, the frozen liquor and yeast precipitation, are fixed at the neck, the following is a clear liquor, at this time open the crown cap, the pressure inside the bottle will pop out of the frozen liquor. At the same time, the sediment and plastic inlay are brought out.
Image source: champagne-bliard-moriset.fr
After spitting out the mud, due to the partially frozen liquor popping up, it is also necessary to add some liquor to replenish. At the same time, the winemaker will also decide whether to add some sugar according to the style he ultimately wants.
So, the final liqueur d'expedition, consisting of liquor and sugar, fills the bottle.
Image source: justfunfacts.com
Finally, the seal is sealed with a safe fixing oak stopper with a wire cage. This sixth step can be completed in a matter of seconds, which reduces both pressure loss and the risk of oxidation.
At this point, a bottle of champagne is brewed!
Image credit: The Daily Meal
With the development of the winemaking process now, there are many ways to retain the bubbles in the wine, and even actively inject bubbles into the wine.
For example, the way to make Prosecco sparkling wines is the Tank Method; or the way to make Asti sparkling wines is the Asti Method; and the lowest cost carbonation method. This article will not be introduced one by one.
Only champagne can be called champagne
The process of making Champagne is so cumbersome and has been recognized worldwide for its outstanding quality. Can others imitate it casually?
OK!
Outside of the Champagne region of France, there are many regions where sparkling wines are made using the Champagne method. For example, the aforementioned Spanish kava sparkling wine is also made using the "traditional method"; for example, in Tasmania, Australia, there are also many wineries that use the Champagne method to make sparkling wines.
However, while they can make sparkling wine in the same way as they make Champagne, they cannot use "Champagne" as the name of their sparkling wine. Therefore, Champagne can only be Champagne produced in the Champagne region of France.
Since 1936, French law has established the Control of Origin (AOC) of Champagne, which can only be produced in the Champagne region of France and meets the strict requirements of viticulture and winemaking technology. The statutory AOC regime still controls the use of the term "champagne" in Europe to this day.
In 1941, the Champagne Interdisciplinary Council in France was established, and since then it has helped not only to govern the production regulations of Champagne, but also to promote Champagne sparkling wines throughout the world. At the same time, the Commission has established more than 60 offices around the world to protect the Champagne trademark.
One of the more serious incidents was that in 1958, the French Association of Champagne Regions sued the Spanish government for not allowing it to use champagne as the name of their sparkling wine. In the end, the Champagne Regions Association won the case, and the Spanish sparkling wine eventually had to be changed to "kava".
Of course, the United States, which is not in the European region, has long advertised itself as "Champagne" or "California Champagne", playing the edge of the law and seeking huge profits.
2016 was also a very important year for Champagne, which UNESCO has designated as a World Heritage Site, giving the region international recognition.
Champagne Interdisciplinary Council Image source: www.champagne.fr
Regarding the introduction of Champagne, this article will be introduced here first, and the next issue will also introduce "What are the well-known brands of Champagne?" And my opinion of these brands", if you want to continue to learn about wine, you can follow me and keep getting it!
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