WineXpert Sparkling wine(Champagne)

[Wade E]

For all you newer wine makers out there, we can also make sparkling wine (Champagne) with our fermented wine and it is awesome. It requires a little more work and special bottles with the plastic stoppers and wire ties but really is fun. You will need a freezer that can fit a few champagne bottles at a time(5 at the most at once) and a crisp wine like a Sauv. Blanc or any fruit wine or you can get the Millennium Sparkling Wine kit from George in which I just opened my first bottle of and its very good. For more info just ask! There are a few of us that have done it and NW is a veteran of this and helped a few of this through it.

Oh, by the way, Sparkling wine is the same thing as Champagne but Champagne is a trademarked word that is only abl to use if made in a certain area of France as that is where it originated.
Edited by: wade

 

[dfwwino]

Wade,


I've always been too lazy to go through the hassle of riddling and degorgement. I prefer to siphon a good white wine into a cornelius keg and force carbonate. Maybe one day when I retire I'll find the time to use the méthode champenoise.

 

[A62Rambler]

Wade,
I bought a Millenium kit from George. It doesn't have the degourging routine. I'm thinking I want to degourge it to remove the sediments. Should I add extra yeast if I decide to riddle and degourge?

I've read all the posts on sparkling wines and expect that my neighbors will think I'm crazy when they see me degourging. What the heck, I'm not so sure about their sanity either.

I think I'll probably do another white and split it half and half for stable and sparkling. That won't be until after my port comes out of one of my 3 gal carboys though.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Wade....you had asked about sweetening Sparkling Wine at the dégorgment stage...other than Splenda there are other non-fermentable sugars and sweeteners....maybe Lactose and Invert sugar might work for you at the re-bottling stage......Something others might be interested in too.

 

[Wade E]

I read an article that says how to make your Sparkling wine a sweeter style, this is copied from the article and I'm going to try it this time.



Next, place your
bottles in a freezer and chill the wine to about 25ºF. This usually takes two
to three hours. You may see a little ice within the bottles when they are
ready. Now get an equal number of champagne bottles. Put into each of these
bottles one ounce standard sugar syrup and one tablet of wine stabilizer
(Crushed and dissolved potassium sorbate), and put these bottles into the
freezer along with the wine. The stabilizer is essential to inhibit the yeast
and prevent a third fermentation and possible explosions.</span>

When the wine is cold
enough, bring out one bottle of wine and one champagne bottle. Uncap the wine
and siphon it gently into the cold <st1lace wt="on">Champagne</st1lace>
bottle, taking care to leave the sediment behind. Since the wine is cold, it
will loose very little gas. Now insert the plastic stopper and wire it down.
Then invert the bottle several times to mix the syrup and wine.</span>

This wine will be very
palatable almost immediately after bottling. Note, that one ounce of syrup
gives brut (Slightly Sweet) wine. If you want a Sweet wine, use two ounces of
syrup per bottle, plus the wine stabilizer tablet.</span>

*
Sugar Syrup 2 cups of sugar per one quart water yields five cups of syrup</span>

 

[Wade E]

Ranmbler, that is the kit that I did and dont judge it by when it is stable cause I thought it was pretty nasty at that point but is very good sparkled.

 

[A62Rambler]

Wade,
My palate is about as discerning as an army recruiter during wartime

but I tasted that Millenium between primary and secondary carboy and thought it had potential as a sparkling wine even then. What's your advice about adding a packet of yeast if I decide to disgorge? Do I need to treat it like any other wine or should I just add the sugar and disgorge?

 

[Wade E]

Personally I would would Riddle it and Disgorge. I did not add the second pack of yeast on mine and it worked fine but NW is the veteran when it comes to Sparkling wines and she uses another yeast packet each time.

 

[NorthernWinos]

The most important thing at the end of clearing is DO NOT stabilize with anything.....at bottling [Sparkling Wine bottles, plastic stoppers andwire hoods only] rinse all sulfites off of everything....Then, mix up the yeast in warm water at it and dissolved sugar, stir while bottling....let it sit for 2 months, then riddle for 2 weeks or till you are ready to dégorge it...refill bottles, re-cap.......and wait for a short time for the bubbles to regenerate..


It really is worth the extra effort.Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[A62Rambler]

Thanks NW and thanks Wade,
I'll try to take pictures when I degourge. It should be good for a laugh on the forum.

 

[Wade E]

Dont forget to riddle them rambler. that will help you get all the sediment into the stoppers especially if you add more yeast.

 

[Joanie]

Don't dégorge in your Sunday best, Rambler! You'll most likely be wearing some of it!!

 

[A62Rambler]

I'm going to get my brother to photograph the first degorging attempt. I figure you people can use a good laugh.

Edited by: A62Rambler

 

[dfwwino]

This morning, I picked up an issue of WineMaker Magazine that I had not yet read. The December 2006-January 2007 is dedicated to the topic of Sparkling Wine. There are two articles of particular interest:


Methode "Home-Penoise: Old Method, New Setting by Walt Huber; and


Carbonate Bubbly: The Counter-Pressure Bottle Method by Daniel Pambianchi.


The former contains a very detailed review of the traditional method of making Sparkling wine with very good instructions. The article advises wearing a face shield, protective apron, long sleeves and gloves when degorging in the event a bottle bursts into shards of glass.


The latter describes how to artificially carbonate still wine to create sparkling wine using a home kegging system and counter-pressure bottle filler. If you use the latter, I heartily recommend purchasing Bleichmann Engineering's "Beer Gun," which is easier to use than a standard counter pressure bottle filler. I use it to bottle beer from my kegs.Edited by: dfwwino