Weekly wine defined: Methode Champenoise
August 12th, 2013 by brynn grimleyMéthode Champenoise is the process of making a sparkling wine with the same method used in the cellars of Champagne, France.
It’s a secondary fermentation inside the bottle that creates those tiny bubbles we all love so much. All Champagne and most high-quality sparkling wine is made by this process.
Sparkling wine starts out as a still wine, either red or white. And then it is blended usually to produce a consistent house cuveé.
The next step is to add the dosage which is more sugar and yeast. The bottle is capped not corked and put in a riddling rack on its side neck down.
For the next two to four years, the riddler’s job is to turn each and every bottle a quarter turn four times a day. The action shakes the spent yeast cells down into the neck of the bottle.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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