Making Sparkling WineChampagne' Method
Producing sparkling wine at home is relatively simple, but it does require moresteps than regular red or white winemaking. During fermentation, yeastconsumes 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 thetiny bubbles that make sparkling wine so delightful. Forced carbonation by anamateur carbonation machine 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 anddelicate, fruity reds (use the free run juice only, before red skin contact) withlively, but not tart, acidity. Chardonnay and/or a Chardonnay/Pinot Noir blend arethe best grapes for French type bubbly. People who prefer German-stylesparkling wine should use 100 % vinifera Riesling grapes. Pink or rose bubblyshould be made from 100% Pinot Noir (again, free run juice only with a little skincontact this time). A good rule of thumb when considering making qualitysparkling wine : buy the best juice or semi-juice wine kit you can afford (VintageClassic products are an excellent beginner's choice). Nothing is moredisappointing than waiting 6-9 months to test the results of your efforts only todiscover that you own 30 bottles of carbonated, but mediocre, sparkling wine. Note:The word 'Champagne' is the trademarked name of a wine region inFrance. 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 themethod for making sparkling wine.
Wine Base Preparation
1. Ferment a 6 US gallon (23 L) premium wine juice or semi-juice wine kit (seerecommended wine types above) in the normal way, up to the stabilizing andclearing steps. Do not add the stabilizing add-packs
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. This is very importantbecause these packages contain enough sulphite and potassium sorbate toprevent the wine from carbonating properly. 2. At the stabilizing and clearing steps, rack the wine into a sanitized primaryfermenter. 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 stabilizingadd-packs.
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