FNH 330 - Specialty wines

What is sparkling wine?

Sparkling wine made from a primary alcohol fermentation off the skins, plus a secondary alcoholic fermentation to make CO2

- dry to sweet

What is champagne?

French sparkling wine made by the méthode champenoise/traditionelle

- usually not vintage (blends multiple years)

- comes from Champagne AOC/P region

What is the french wine regulatory system?

Appelation d'Origine Controlee/Protegee

What is a vintage chammpagne

Champagne made from wine grown in the same vintage. Not super common, but made in exceptional years.

Recoltant manipulant (RM)

Grower and Champagne maker, may sell grapes

Négociant manipulant (NM)

Champagne makers, grow and buy grapes/wine

Cooperative manipulant (CM)

Co-op champagne makers under single brand

What are the 3 types of champagne producers?

1. Recolant manipulant

2. Negociant manipulant

3. Cooperative manipulant

What are the 3 types of champagne grapes and their colours?

1. Pinot noir (red)

2. Pinot Meunier (red)

3. Chardonnay (green)

What are some important characteristics of champagne grapes?

- high acid and relatively low sugar

- keeps final alcohol levels low

- may need chaptalization

What occurs during grape harvest and processing for champagne making?

- picked by hand with stems to sort in vineyard (avoid Botrytis) and to reduce pigment extraction

- pressed in whole clusters to avoid pigments and flavours from the skins

- pressed with traditional vertical champagne press or a more modern tilt plate/membrane press

- pressed in 2 stages: Cuvee and taille

How is the base winemaking done for champagne?

Similar to white wine making

- add SO2 to juice, may add pectinase

- chaptalization is permitted, may be necessary

- fermentation at 15-18°C, stainless steel tanks

- MLF may be used

- wines cold stabilized, kept separate till blending

What are the 7 steps of the champagne method?

1. Assemblage - non-vintage

2. Tirage

3. Secondary fermentation

4. Bottles are stored, aged sur lie

5. Riddling

6. Disgorgement

7. Dosage and corking

Cuvee

Final blend of base wines (the champagne house style)

How is the base wine compiled?

- estate wines, contracted wines, and reserve wines are compiled and blended (non-vintage) to create the cuvee

- in exceptional years they just blend estate wines and contracted wines of the same vintage

- cuvee is cold stabilized after

What occurs when the year's champagne grapes are exceptional?

They make and declare a vintage champagne

- processing and aging is extended

What occurs in the tirage step of champagne making?

Cuvee is mixed with liqueur de tirage and transferred to bottles

- crown clap closure seals each bottle

Liqueur de tirage

- yeast nutrients = diammonium phosphate, thiamine

- sugar = 24g/L of cuvee to make CO2

- S. Cerevisiae var. bayanus

What is the variety of yeast used in champagne making?

S. caravisiae var. bayanus

What is the final pressure of champagne?

6 atm

What is the ABV after primary and secondary fermentation in champagne?

1° - 10%

2° - 12-12.5%

What occurs during secondary fermentation?

- bottling must occur after Jan 1 following grape harvest

- proceeds at cool temperatures (12°C) for 48 weeks

What does it mean to store a bottle and age it sur lie?

Bottles lie on their sides during secondary fermentation and after.

- improve foam/mousse quality and stability

- produces a bouquet: yeast/bread dough

What amount of time are certain sparkling wines aged sur lie?

NV champagne: min 15 months

V champagne: min 36 months

Spanish Cava: min 9 months

What occurs in the riddling step in champagne making?

Bottles are regularly twisted back and forth and gradually tilted towards vertical. Form this, the yeast settles as a plug at the cap

- occurs for weeks

- could be by hand or by gyropalette

What occurs in the disgorgement step in champagne making?

- wine chilled 0°C to keep CO2 stable in wine

- cap end is frozen at -15°C, making a solid plug of yeast and frozen wine at the opening

- closure is removed at 45° angle, and the CO2 pressure pushes the sold plug out

What happens in the dosage and corking step of champagne making?

Loss due to disgorgement is topped up with more champagne or sweetened brandy

- sugar balances high acid, alcohol inhibits 3rd fermentation

- cork inserted and then bottle is stored for a year

What are the 3 types of champagne (depending on grape type?)

1. Blanc de blancs (made only of white grapes, ex: Chardonnay)

2. Blanc de noirs (made only of red grapes, ex: Pinot nour, Pinot Meunier)

3a. Rosé d'assemblage: blending red and white champagnes

3b. Rosé saignée: keep juice in contact with red grape skins for a few hours before pressing off

Table of sparkling wines terms

SLIDE 26

If something is made with metode champagne/traditionelle does that make it a champagne?

No. Spanish Cava and French Crémanr are made with this method but are from the wrong region

Charmat method

- Secondary fermentation, sur lie aging in tank instead of bottles

- much easier to process, but quality compared to champagne is a debate

- smaller surface area to volume ratio fo sur-lie aging, so there are mixers on tank to stir lees to facilitate contact

- weeks - 9 months

- wines are filtered to clarify

What is a type of wine that uses the charmat method

Prosecco

What is a sweet, late-harvest Botrytis affected wine?

Sauternes

What are some approaches to getting sweet, specialty wine?

- late harvest

- dried

- Botrytis affected

- frozen grapes

- variable fermentation

What are some characteristics of Late harvest wines (not botrytis)

- grapes are left to hang for longer periods

- variety, harvest time, and vineyard conditions are critical

- Riesling/Semillon have high acid for late harvest, making them good to balance desert style wines

- aim for low disease (Botrytis)

- typically 26-30° Brix (some dessiccation on the vine)

- aging is variable

What are some characteristics of Late harvest and dried grape wines

Grapes are picked and dried to concentrate sugars before fermentation and winemaking

- called appassimento

- Italy passito wines have raisin flavour

- regional ( Valpolicella, Italy and Jerez, Spain

What is noble rot?

Botrytis cinerea. It pierces grape skins, so the berry dehydrates in dry weathers to concentrate sugars and acids

- develops different flavours/aromas (honey, dried apricot)

What are some typical varieties of late harvest botrytis affected wines?

Riesling and Semillon

- skin thickness

- have higher acidity, balancing sugars

- sometimes Sauvignon blanc and Optima

- no red grapes!

What are some characteristics of late harvest botrytis affected wines?

- 26-34° Brix

- will be labeled botrytis affected (BA) in BC

- if grapes are totally botrytis affected, will be labeled totally botrytis affected (TBA) in BC

- some barrel aging

- grapes are pressed without crushing

- winemaking process is similar to white wines but the must is sugary and requires attention

What are some late harvest botrytis afected wines?

- Tokaji

- German. Beerenauslese/Trockenbeerenauslese

- Sauternes

What is Icewine?

- grapes remain on vine late with bird nets

- when temp drops below -8° or lower, grapes are picked and pressed frozen, at max -8°C

- water is frozen in berry, leaving a concentrated juice (sugar and acids)

- sugar in grape: min 35° Brix

- sugar in wine: min 100g/L

- no added sugar or artificial freezing allowed

- fermentation occurs at 17-20°C

- no oak aging

What is Port?

A fortified wine.

- hand picked

- crushing by foot or special mechanical crusher

- fermentation: closed or open tanks at 26-32°C

- fortified with brandy spirits when still sweet (~6%ABV) to about 20% ABV

- fermentation stops with the addition of alcohol

-pressing and blending for different varietal tannin, colours, and flavours

What are some varieties for port

- Touriga Nacional

- Touriga Francesca

- Tempranillo

Sometimes varieties are mixed randomly in vineyards, and are harvested and fermented together. Now it is more common to ferment varieties separately, then blend.

What are 4 styles of port?

1. Ruby: fermented, aged briefly (2 years) and released (economy)

2. Vintage: Premium, made in years where growing season is optimal. Ages 2-3 years in barrels/pipes before bottling. Aged in bottle before release

3. Late-bottled vintage: near premium, aged 4-6 years in barrels/pipes before bottling. Ready to drink on release

4. Tawny: premium, not necessarily one vintage, aged in barrels or pipes (10,20,30,40 years). Amber/red-brown (oxidized) on release