With carbonic maceration, grapes are picked and processed carefully, because the goal is to keep as many whole clusters and un-squished grapes as possible. On a very basic level, what happens is that the fermentation of the juice takes place inside the uncrushed berry. The fruit is kept in an anaerobic environment during fermentation by pumping CO2 into the sealed tank (it is complicated, but the berries even soak up the CO2 and use it in fermentation processes.) After about a week or so, the fruit is pressed as normal. The resulting red wines are fruity with mellow acidity and are typically not very tannic. Wine that is commonly made this way is Beaujolais Nouveau, which is normally made from Gamay grapes. They’re simple, fruity wines and are good to drink young (they really don’t age well, so get sipping!) Mmm.
Carbonic Maceration is a pretty nifty winemaking technique, but it isn’t right for all styles of wine. It is likely that the first wines were made this way, because their fermentations probably occurred by accident.
With carbonic maceration, grapes are picked and processed carefully, because the goal is to keep as many whole clusters and un-squished grapes as possible. On a very basic level, what happens is that the fermentation of the juice takes place inside the uncrushed berry. The fruit is kept in an anaerobic environment during fermentation by pumping CO2 into the sealed tank (it is complicated, but the berries even soak up the CO2 and use it in fermentation processes.) After about a week or so, the fruit is pressed as normal. The resulting red wines are fruity with mellow acidity and are typically not very tannic. Wine that is commonly made this way is Beaujolais Nouveau, which is normally made from Gamay grapes. They’re simple, fruity wines and are good to drink young (they really don’t age well, so get sipping!) Mmm.
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Firstly, I'm sorry I skipped a week of posting! My dad was visiting, and we had such a good time, I just didn't squeeze a post in! But, here I am, back on track...
In a previous post, I’d mentioned that sparkling wines are made in two basic ways. I’m going to go into a little more detail here about the more traditional methods now because I think they’re pretty interesting (the quickie, contemporary method is to just inject CO2 into the wine. Done.) The older method, formerly widely referred to as Méthode Champenoise, is now pretty commonly just referred to as the “Traditional Method.” This is because the French are pretty dang picky about anything not made in Champagne bearing the champenoise label. The basic gist of how wines are made sparkling under this method is that they are fermented normally, but then undergo a secondary fermentation in some sort of enclosure (bottle or tank) and the bubbles come as a byproduct of that fermentation. The grapes are usually picked earlier, so that the starting wine has a higher acidity and lower sugar. Then, a sugary wine mixture and yeast are added, and the wine is bottled and tightly sealed (no sulphur dioxide is added here- in order to not kill the yeast.) Thus the carbon dioxide released by the yeast in this secondary fermentation is trapped in the bottle. The wine is then aged on this yeasty sediment (even though they’ve died) for varying times. The French have all sorts of laws relating to how long the wine must sit on the yeast, ranging from about 1-8 years. At this point, the winemaker is faced with getting the dead yeast cells and sediment out of the wine, without losing all of the precious carbonation. What to do? Well, it’s actually pretty smart! The bottles undergo a process called riddling. They’re put into a rack that tips them upside down at an angle. Every day, they’re gently shaken and rotated till all of the sediment falls down into the neck of the bottle. Traditionally this was done by hand. Yes, a person would go in every day and shake and turn the bottles! Today, it’s usually done by machine. Even in Champagne. Then, the very top of the neck (or bottom, as they’re upside-down) is frozen. When the cap of the bottle is taken off, the ice plug shoots out, the bottle is topped up with a wine that is pH and sugar balanced, then it is corked, caged, and ready for labeling and sale! Voila! It’s neat that in this method, the wine undergoes the secondary fermentation in the same bottle it is sold in. A twist on this Traditional Method is the Transfer Method. It seems a little silly to me in that the bottles undergo the secondary fermentation, but then are dumped into a tank, the wine is balanced for pH and sugar, and then is filtered and re-bottled. I think the reason they do this is to avoid the riddling process and speed things up a little. And even though it is done under pressurized conditions to avoid losing carbonation, I’d think it’d be not as fizzy, would risk oxygenation or microbial contamination, etc. Another way of carbonating the wine is the Tank Method. Here, the secondary fermentation takes place in a large tank (pressurized to keep the carbonation in) and is then bottled from there. It is not as well-regarded a method because it doesn’t allow for the extended contact with the dead yeast cells that the other methods do. It is also sometimes referred to as the "Charmat Method." To sum up (that was a lot of info, I know,) many modern wines are made by injecting CO2 into the wine like soda. Traditionally produced wines undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, are aged on the dead yeast and stuff (lees) which is then removed and they’re bottled! The Transfer Method does the secondary fermentation in the bottle and aging on the lees, but then dumps the wine out of the bottles in order to remove the sediment. It’s then rebottled. And the Tank Method does the secondary fermentation in a large tank, but is not aged as long on the lees. That’s it! That’s generally how sparkling wines are made! Did you know? Wine lees consist of dead yeasty sediment (actually a combo of live and dead yeast cells along with teeny tiny particles of grape left in the wine.) There is a French phrase called “sur lie” which means “on the lees.” Many sparkling wines are aged “sur lie,” as described above, but many other wines (usually whites) may also undergo extended contact with the lees. This imparts a sort of toast flavor to the wine and can be used to take a hard bite off of acidic whites. Really extended contact time with the lees (months and months and months and months) in barrel or tank is referred to as bâtonnage, but as these cells start to decompose, the wine has to be stirred around frequently to keep a rotten egg smell from taking over. Ick.
Pardon the crummy photo...
Just in case all this wine talk has inspired you and you're now feeling super motivated to learn more about wine on your own, (though I hope you’ll still keep checking in with me!) here are some books I recommend. The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil: I think the great thing about this book is that she manages to give lots and lots of information, but to present it in a more approachable way. Some of it is still pretty dense and complex (I’m looking at you, French wines) but she makes it more manageable than some. The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia, 4th Edition by Tom Stevenson: The people at my local wine store love this book. It is certainly full of good information and often contains more specifics that Karen MacNeil in terms of well-known wine labels, etc. However, this one is definitely not a light read. It means business and is a bit of a tome. It is a great library volume for those wanting to really improve their know-how, but not meant for the beach. Biology of the Grapevine by Michael G Mullins: While this is more of a viticulture textbook, it is a paperback, and I think is actually very readable. The first few chapters in particular are a breeze and very interesting. They focus on the history of grape cultivation and the difference between American and European grape varieties (remember?) If you’re dying to get down to a more botanical level and understand how the vines make the berries so very tasty, this one is a really great read. And, in a more fun and frivolous vein, I was given The Food Lover's Guide to Wine by Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg as a Christmas gift a few years ago. It's very basic in terms of tasting techniques, color evaluation, etc. But I think it does have some of the most usefully simplified descriptions of varietals and what to expect from them. One friend commented on my post a few weeks ago regarding wine descriptors saying she's more of a food gal, so food references are useful to her when trying to describe wines. Well, this book has a whole section that is basically "if you like ____ (be it cheese or honey, or nectarines, etc,) then you might like ____ wine." Kinda fun if you're trying to branch out and try new stuff! I know I've linked these to Amazon, but where possible, please support your local bookstore! If they don't have it in stock, most will be happy to order it for you. Do you have any favorite wine books? Share them in the comments! Did you know? Due to pH and alcohol content, there are no known human pathogens that can survive in wine. Even wines that are considered spoiled will not make people sick. Glug Glug! This video is nothing new. From what I can tell, it has actually been going around online since at least 2007, and the actual event may've taken place as early as 1998 (from one source I found- and the styles look about right for that...) It even spawned a Family Guy parody.
If you haven't seen it- stick with it. The beginning is a little slow, but the payoff is there... And my personal favorite parts are the reactions by the anchors at the end. Pricelessly non-human and wooden! So good. If you have seen it, watch it again! I've watched this a zillion times and it never ceases to make me laugh out loud. So many things to love. Enjoy! Hope this helps get you through Friday and into the weekend! |
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AuthorI'm a wine-loving actress in the Windy City who holds certificates in Enology and Viticulture from Washington State University. I also own a hilarious cat. Archives
October 2014
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