Champagnization

Champagnization is a technology for producing sparkling wines in which the wine is saturated with carbon dioxide naturally, through secondary fermentation. Its classic, most prestigious variant is the traditional method (French méthode traditionnelle; for Champagne wines — méthode champenoise), by which true champagne and many other quality sparkling wines are made.

The essence of the method is this: to a bottle of finished still wine a liqueur de tirage — a mixture of sugar and yeast — is added, and it is hermetically sealed. Inside, a second fermentation begins: the yeast processes the sugar, releasing carbon dioxide, which, having no way out, dissolves in the wine, forming those same fine, persistent bubbles. Then the wine is aged for months or years on the sediment of dead yeast (the lees), which gives it a complex flavour with notes of pastry, bread, and nuts. At the end the sediment is skilfully removed: the bottles are gradually turned neck-down (remuage), the neck is frozen, and the sediment plug is “shot out” (dégorgement), the wine is topped up and finally corked. This labour-intensive process is what makes sparkling wine so refined. There are also simpler, cheaper methods of champagnization in tanks, but it is the traditional one that is considered the benchmark of quality.