The Champenoise Method, the secret of Champagne

The Champenoise Method is a sparkling wine production technique equivalent to the Classical Method but, when referring to Champagne, it is more correct to refer to the Champenoise Method. Modern Champagne production is not very different from what was done in the Dom Pierre Pérignon days. This method, known as the Champenoise Method, is also used outside the Champagne region. In fact, most Italian sparkling wine producers use this method to create their champagnes (with the exception of the famous Prosecco Valdobbiadene, which uses a different method, see difference between Metodo Classico and Metodo Martinotti).

The Champenoise Method involves the following stages, which are distinct in time.

1 - The first alcoholic fermentation.

Basically Champagne is a wine, an initially still wine, produced like any other. Three main types of grapes are grown in Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir, although the varieties allowed in Champagne production are more. Around mid-September (but this is a variable factor) the harvested grapes are pressed to make a juice called grape must. After pressing, the must is transferred to large liddeless containers, called vats, where yeast, a type of fungus known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is added and allowed to begin to act, causing the vats to "bubble" and release a wonderful aroma into the air.

This first step is really the beginning of everything, a key chemical reaction in winemaking, known as alcoholic fermentation, which sees yeast converting sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide as a secondary element. Knowledge of the chemical process of fermentation dates back to the 1800s, when French chemist Joseph-Louis Gay-Lussac first described the fermentation process in scientific terms. How yeast contributes to the fermentation process was not clearly understood until 1857, when the famous French microbiologist Louis Pasteur made the understanding of the process complete and definitive. What did Pasteur discover? That glucose (C6H12O6) in the must is eaten by yeast, which produces ethanol (CH3CH2OH) and carbon dioxide (CO2). A curious thing in this context is the fact that.
the amount of alcohol generated by this first fermentation is about 11%. This percentage is the maximum amount of alcohol produced before all the yeast cells are killed by its concentration. After the first fermentation, Champagne is a still white wine and all the carbon dioxide produced during fermentation in the vats has been released into the air.

2 - The Art of Assembly

Because it is rare for a single wine from a single vintage, from a single vineyard and grape variety, to provide the perfect balance of flavor, sugar level, and acidity, it is usual for a Champagne to blend several still wines. This step is called blending (or blending or still cuvée) and is done directly after the completion of the first fermentation, using still base wines.
Blending is considered a staple in Champagne production although there are excellent exceptions from Salon to Krug. The Chef de Cave can also blend hundreds of different wines from different grape varieties, vineyards and vintages. Champagne, to respect the style of the Maison, is built wine by wine until the perfect result is achieved. This blending requires considerable insight because it is extremely difficult to predict the end result of blends that will be consumed years apart. The blending of still wines will produce a blend of wines that will be bottled for the second fermentation, and this is the most interesting part of Champagne production.

3 - The Taking of Foam or second fermentation.

Once the base blend (or single wine in some cases) is created, sugar (about 24 grams per liter), yeast and yeast nutrients are added. This new mixture is placed in a thick-walled glass bottle and sealed with a crown cap. The bottles are then placed in a cool cellar (12 to 14° C) and the wine is allowed to ferment slowly for a second time, again producing alcohol and carbon dioxide inside the bottle. In this case, thanks to the crown cork, the carbon dioxide will remain trapped in the liquid producing the famous bubbles or nearly so. The carbon dioxide is still not in the form of bubbles, but rather in the form of carbon dioxide molecules dissolved in the wine. Those 24 grams of sugar per liter of wine will produce about 12 grams of carbon dioxide and an increase in alcohol of about 1.5 percent. Once the Presa di Spuma stage is finished, the pressure under the cork will be about 6 atmospheres, and this value is a discriminant of Champenoise method sparkling wines.

4 - Maturation.

As the second fermentation proceeds, the yeast cells exhaust their capacity to transform glucose into alcohol and carbon dioxide; after a few months, when all the yeast cells will be exhausted and fermentation can be called complete. Under the cork, the gaseous pressure has reached 6 atmospheres, but the champagne will continue to age in the cellar for at least nine months and sometimes for several years, as with the most prestigious Dom Perignon-type Champagnes. This aging process allows the development of the so-called champagne bouquet. During this period, the yeast cells open up and their substances spill into the solution in a process called yeast autolysis, giving the champagne complex flavors and hints of yeast themselves. The much sought-after "toasted" flavor results from further chemical breakdown of the spent yeast cells. The longer the champagne ages, the richer this flavor becomes and the more the champagne is appreciated, some of which can age in the bottle as long as 15 or 20 years, such as Dom Perignon P2 or P3.

5 - Remuage and Disgorgement

Once aging is complete, the Champagne producer is left with one problem: how to expel the spent yeast from the bottle without losing the bubbles. The complete procedure to do this is a series of two steps, Remuage and then Disgorgement.
This procedure is essential to make Champagne clear and bright (the yeast, in fact, makes it cloudy) as well as allowing it to taste better. This may be reason enough to perform the Disgorgement, but there is also a question of taste.
The Remuage process involves placing the bottles in special racks that keep the necks tilted downward. This tilt forces dead yeast cells into the neck of the bottle due to the force of gravity pushing them downward. Twice a day, the bottles are slightly rotated a quarter turn; the process is typically handled by automated machines.

The bottles are then subjected to a process of Disgorgement, meaning the necks of the bottles are frozen, creating a small ice plug at the top of the bottle that retains the sediment from the spent yeast cells. The bottle caps are removed and the pressure that is released pushes the ice, along with all the yeast sediment, out of the bottle. During Disgorgement, some of the wine is lost and must be replaced with liquid, which brings us to the last and probably most secret stage of champagne production: dosage.

6 - Dosage

Dosing involves adding a small amount of "liquid" (a mixture of sugar and old wines) to the bottle to replace the part of the wine lost during disgorging. Each champagne house has a secret, well-guarded formula for this "liqueur d'expedition."
The wide variation in a champagne's sweetness levels-from brut (very dry) to doux (very sweet)-depends on the amount of sugar added during the dosing stage. The bottles are then quickly corked with traditional metal corks and cages, receive their labels, and are then ready to reach the wine shops and subsequently brighten our moments.