Methods of Making Champagne
There are two other methods of making champagne, distinct from the
method of bottle fermentation. These are tank fermentation, and
impregnation or carbonisation.
The base wine for "champagne" made by tank fermentation is produced in
the same way as is the base wine of impregnated "champagne".
Supplementary fermentation is induced in the tank by the same means that
are used for bottle fermentation, and the gas retained by sealing the
tank. The sediment sinks to the bottom, the gaseous wine is pumped off
and filled into bottles to which have been added the requisite amount of
syrup, usually in a brandy.
The tank method has the advantage of being much less costly than that of
bottle fermentation, for the involved procedures of renwuage and
degorgement are avoided. Most connoisseurs will aver, probably quite
rightly, that the method does not produce the same fine quality of
champagne, but a very large volume of sparkling wine is made today by
the tank fermentation method. If the base wine used is of good quality
and is properly handled in its processing, there is no reason to scorn
the product of tank fermentation. Indeed, if one does not drink
sparkling wine made in this way, one will drink very little, for French
bottle-fermented champagnes are far too expensive except on the rare,
high occasion. Even the best Australian bottle-fermented champagnes are
not cheap.
The method of impregnating a still dry wine with carbon dioxide will
produce a sparkling wine. The procedure is simple enough. The wine is
cooled and carbon dioxide is forced into it at low pressure. When the
wine is warmed, pressure increases.
A characteristic of well made champagne is the quality of the bubble. A
champagne fermented in the bottle will "hold" its bubble in the glass
for a long time and the bubbles will be small. The bubbles of an
impregnated sparkling wine will be large and will rapidly dissipate. The
tongue readily distinguishes the difference between the large and the
small carbon dioxide bubbles. The reason for the differing quality of
bubbles in sparkling wines, according to Harrison (WINES AND SPIRITS,
Penguin Books, 1957), is that carbon dioxide produced by fermentation
combines chemically with the alcohol in the wine, but carbon dioxide
pumped into wine is merely dissolved and the chemical forces that tend
to brake the effervescence of natural fermentation are not present in
impregnated wines.
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