Russian version »
Site map »
|
The technology of champagne production
Russian collection champagne & Red matured sparkling wine
The technology of champagne production is divided into two essentially distinct processes.
There are two distinct ways of champagne production. One consists in the bottling method, the other in the use of tanks. The difference lies in the carbon dioxide treatment.
Sparkling wines
Sparkling wine is prepared in special tanks. The fermentation mixture is saturated naturally with carbon dioxide at certain temperatures. The technological cycle of champagne and sparkling wine preparation by reservoir method takes 16 to 28 days.
Classical bottling method
Bottling method whereby carbon dioxide saturation takes place directly in the bottle during fermentation and upon the introduction of special yeast to the wine substance produces the traditional vintage champagne. This process takes 40 days and, subsequently, the wine is aged for several years at a controlled temperature developing a harmonious complex bouquet, a refined taste and a maturity flavor.
Collecting of grapes
 Collecting of grapes
Grapes with a 17-19% sugar content are collected carefully, picked over and destemmed before they reach the winery where they are rapidly pressed. Only the finest part of the juice is used for champagne, the so-called free run, which is crushed only once. Grape juice or must macerate for twenty-four hours at low temperatures and with the addition of sylphure anhydride to protect the must from premature or wild fermentation. Then it is transferred to the fermentation department. During the fermentation process the yeast gradually converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide at a temperature of 18° Ñ. A slow transformation rate is essential for the preservation of the original aroma.
Assambling
Wine may be made of one grape variety grown in different vineyards: it is combined and assembled in large batches.
Subsequently, blending takes place using 5-7 different wines. By special technological processes, the blended wine is cleared acquiring a tear, like transparency, providing total decanting and stabilization.
Tirage
After a rest of 1 to 2 months the drawing off mixture is prepared. This mixture contains blended wine, wine liqueur and crystalline sugar, clarifying substances and yeast.
The mixture is filled into bottles. This process is called "drawing off". The mixture is brought to an automatic bottling line, which consists of three units: bottling, corking and stapling. A conveyor belt transfers the filled, sealed and properly stapled bottles to a room with a controlled temperature of 15-16° Ñ. There they are stacked in 18-20 high rows. Fermentation in the bottles starts already two days later, a small amount of carbon dioxide arises and connects with the wine. That is the process of sparkled wines. Bottle pressure at 10° Ñ reaches 5.5 atm.
Champagne is to age in tunnels for three years. The wine is saturated with carbon dioxide naturally during that period, while developing a harmonious flavor and a delicate bouquet. A yeast sediment forms during the three-year bottle ageing. In order to prevent a solidification of the sediment and its adherence to the glass, the bottles are turned and shaken once a year.
Remuage
Now the sediment must be transferred to the plug. Moving the bottles off the stock and to a stand, where they are placed in an inclined position, bottlenecks down. During 1-2 months the foreman turns the bottles daily by means of quick oscillations, gradually imparting them almost vertical position. The yeast deposit moves to the neck of the bottle and accumulated on the cork. This procedure is called "remuage", and the masters of this art are known as "remuers".
Disgorging
The sediment on the cork must be removed from the bottle. To do it, the bottlenecks with the sediment are frozen. Then the master opens the bottle, carefully removing the staple, the sediment is ejected by a natural pressure at a high speed. Then, the bottles are transferred to a liqueur dosage machine, where the decision about the style of champagne is made: It depends of the sugar content: brut with up to 1,5 % sugar, sec - 2%, demy- sec -4%. The alcohol content of all champagnes is similar and varies from 10.5 to 12.5%. The process of throwing off the sediments is known as "disgorging" and the man in charge is a "disgorger".
 The filled dosaged bottles are automatically sealed by means of a cork tied down by a wire "muzzle". They are smartly dressed up in a foil cap, a ring and a label. Then they are packed into boxes. Everything is made automatically.
The current technology of making champagne by traditional method involves a highly complicated and laborious processing; as a rule.,70% of the work is carried out by hands.
Champagne made at the "Abrau-Durso" plant by traditional method is the sole and only product in Russia.
The high quality, the value and the uniqueness of that product is based on the technology of the champagne making process. The plant has been in existence for the last 138 years while the old tradition of champagne making was not lost. Such practices as storing champagne in tunnels and remuage have not changed since the times of French champagne makers. The traditional manual processing of the bottle and champagne produced by the capable hands and the know how of the workers account for the top quality of the product. It is due to the achievement and the pain-staking labour of men, that this unique product, the vintage "Abrau-Durso", is created. The work, skill, energy and passion were really embodied in this wine.
|
)
)
)
Collecting of grapes )
)
)
)
)
