https://www.vinology.

com/wine-terms/
https://worldsbestwines.eu/wine-making/
1. Acidity
 Acidity in wine works in much the same way lemon does in a dish: to
enhance the original flavours. The tartness that comes from the acidity is
what gives wines that refreshing kick that causes you to salivate and invites
you to take a second sip.
2. Body
Full-bodied, medium-bodied and light-bodied are terms you’ve
probably heard before. These are used to describe the impression of weight
that a wine leaves in your mouth. For example, a light-bodied wine would
be more delicate and glide over one’s palate. A full-bodied wine, on the
other hand, would feel heavier.
SEE ALSO: World’s most amazing wine cellars you can visit
3. Sweet
When the wine comes into contact with the tip of your tongue, the
first thing you taste is its sweetness. This is derived from the level of
residual sugar that was not converted by yeast into alcohol through the
process of fermentation. Thus, the sweeter the wine, the less the
fermentation and the more the residual sugar. In addition, sweet wines
could also come about because of the addition of grape brandy to fortify it.
Sweet wines are typically drunk with dessert or certain cheeses.
4. Dry
On the opposite end of the spectrum, a wine that is described as “dry”
contains little to no residual sugar.
5. Aroma
The smell of a wine is an important component of tasting and
enjoying wine. Aromas are strongly linked to the flavours and taste of
wines, and are derived from the types of grapes used. For example, the
aroma of wines can be described as fruity, floral, spicy and herbaceous.
SEE ALSO: Interview: Michael Hill Smith MW on the
evolution of wine
6. Bouquet
While “aromas” are used for younger wines, the term “bouquet” is
used to describe a collection of smells that have resulted from the processes
of fermentation and ageing.
7. Texture
 Much like cakes, wines, too, have various textures worth exploring.
The texture of a wine is an important aspect of its personality as it adds
dimension and balances the overall structure of it. Words such as smooth,
rich and velvety can be used to describe how a wine feels on one’s palate.
8. Tannic
Think of drinking a cup of strong black tea without any milk or sugar,
or eating dark chocolate; the bitter and drying sensation is comparable to
having a glass of wine that contains a high amount of tannins. Though
often thought of as a negative characteristic, tannins are important as they
add structure and complexity, and work as a natural preservative.
9. Astringent
A term often associated with a wine described as tannic is astringent.
Such wines are drying and often have a harsh feel on the palate, causing
your mouth to pucker, as though you have just sucked on a slice of lemon.
10. Finish
While swirling a glass of wine is said to make it taste better, the best
way to determine a wine’s quality is through its finish: the lasting
impression of flavour that lingers after a wine has been swallowed. Wines
can either have a long or short finish.
 1. Acidity
Acidity refers to the tart, lively notes that hit the tongue after sipping wine. The more a
wine activates these dancing sensations on your tongue, the higher its acidity level.
You can determine your wine’s general acidity by counting how long its tartness lingers
after swallowing. Acidity that fades before 15 seconds is considered low, between 15 and 30
seconds medium and 30 seconds or longer high.
A wine’s acidity level also influences how much it activates our salivatory glands.
Higher-acid wines tend to produce more powerful salivatory reactions. This is the main reason
why so many hearty dishes pair best with high-acidity wines since the salivatory activations
help “cut” through heavy sauces, creams, cheeses, meat fat trimmings and more.
Notably acidic wine types include riesling, pinot gris, Chianti, Sangiovese and New
Zealand Sauvignon Blancs.
2. Appellation
At its most basic, appellation names the subregion where a wines’ grapes were grown.
For example, Sonoma County in California is considered an appellation, as is the Burgundy
region in France or Castilla y Leon in Spain.

An appellation will contain a “fingerprint” of environmental, geographic and cultural

conditions that create its unique grape profile. Every wine-producing country in the world
maintains a list of appellations whose weather, soil, climate and more results in the same
grape varietal looking and tasting differently. An appellation will also adhere to regionally set
laws on how a wine can be produced, beginning with the grape’s cultivation down to the type
of aging and bottling techniques the wine can receive.
3. Aroma
 Aroma refers to the smells produced by and associated with a specific type of grape.
Also known as primary aroma, these “signature” smells are typically classified according to
being fruity, floral or herbaceous. Wine drinkers use primary aromas to help identify the type
of wine they’re consuming during blind taste tests as well as to profile the complexity or
maturity of a varietal.
4. Astringent
The word astringent is commonly used during wine tastings to describe the sharp,
drying and puckering sensation caused by drinking wine with high tannins.
Less effective astringent wines tend to be harsher and even slightly bitter, leaving an
ashy flavor in the mouth. On the other hand, more balanced wines can still be astringent,
leading to that puckering note. Yet they’ll also carry notable sweet and acidic qualities,
harmonizing all tastes and sensations.
5. Blend
A “blend” is a type of wine made from two or more wine grape varietals. Blends make
up just over 10% of wine drunken in the U.S. and are the third-most-popular type of
wine consumed.
Wineries combine grapes typically to pair complementary flavors together, therefore
creating a more dynamic, complex wine profile. Popular wine varietal blends include syrah
and pinot noir for added body/weight and chardonnay, pinot noir and Pinot Meunier to make
classic French champagne.
6. Body
Body describes the weight and texture of wine in your mouth as you drink.
While wine tasting, people generally tend to categorize a wine’s body into three levels:
 Full-bodied: Heavy and lush, with the richest and boldest flavors lingering the longest
in your mouth after you swallow.
 Medium-bodied: A firm yet approachable wine, with modestly intense flavors and
slight lingering palate.
 Light-bodied: Light and subtle, more watery as you drink with flavor notes that
disappear quickly between sips.
Both red and white wines have full-, medium- and light-bodied versions.
Pro tip: When it comes to red wines, there tends to be a correlation between body and
acidity. Fully-bodied red wines will generally contain less acidity, making them richer, heavier
and silkier to drink. A great example of this is a merlot. Conversely, lighter red wines
like dolcetto or zinfandels tend to have higher levels of acidity and more of that drying,
puckering feel.
7. Bouquet
Bouquet describes the smell of a specific bottle of wine. Also known as a wine’s
“secondary aroma,” the bouquet is often one of the first characteristics discussed to classify
and rate a wine. Tasters will take large whiffs of their wine before and while drinking to reveal
the fundamental connection between taste and smell and to pick up the nuances of a
particular vintage.
 And while the term automatically denotes floral smells, bouquet can also describe
other olfactory notes. Petroleum, baking spices, vanilla, nuts, yeast, yogurt, cured meat,
smoke and more are common bouquet descriptions you’ll hear noted during wine tastings.
8. Decant
Decanting is the act of opening a bottle of wine and pouring its contents into a second
container, preferably a designated wine decanter.
Trading wine vessels like this is an essential step for many aged wines. First,
decanting ensures you don’t pour any unwanted residual sediment into your glass, which is
typically leftover from a wine’s aging and fermentation process. (See “lees” below for more on
this.) Second, decanting allows wines “to breathe” — that is, to take in oxygen and chemically
express its full range of flavors.
Heavy, full-bodied wines like cabernet sauvignons and syrahs benefit best from
decanting and should be opened and transferred a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.
9. Dry
Dry is a taste description used to denote wines that trigger a tongue clicking, or
puckering, sensation.
Dry is typically seen as the opposite of sweet. Red, white and rosé wines can be
dry. When wine tasting, many people will categorize a wine on a spectrum from “dry” to “off-
dry” to “sweet,” with off-dry wines sitting somewhere in the middle. Wines that are described
as dry will be notably less fruity than their sweet counterparts and carry less residual candied
or fruit flavors.
10. Earthy
Earthy is wine vocabulary for when a wine smells or tastes vegetal or “green.”
Earthy aromas can often serve as a tell for what varietal a wine is made from, such as
bell peppers for cabernet sauvignons. Similarly, earthy bouquets help distinguish subregions
and wineries from one another, with fermentation and aging techniques coaxing additional
green or natural smells into a vintage.
Earthy can also describe a wine’s taste, as well. For example, Spanish
Tempranillos are often considered extremely earth red wines, with flavor notes of cedar, dill,
oregano and limestone common in this varietal.
11. Enology
Enology is the study of wine and winemaking. It is also known as oenology depending
on what country you’re in. The field delves into a myriad of scientific and horticultural topics,
including plant physiology, microbiology, pasteurization, filtration, soil management and more.
12. Finish
Finish specifies the flavors, weight and texture that remains after swallowing wine.
Common sensations associated with wine finishes include oily, crisp, light, aggressive, blunt
and astringent, among others.
 A wine’s finish also includes how long those flavors and textures last. Long finishes —
meaning a wine that lingers in your mouth before fading away — tends to signify a higher
quality bottle or release. Shorter, less flavorful finishes can be due to the nature of the varietal
but are traditionally associated with less mature or reputable wines.
13. Lees
Lees are a type of particle sediment that collects in wine barrels and tanks during wine
fermentation. They include sediments such as yeast cells, seed scraps, grape pulp, vine
matter and other plant materials added to the fermentation vessel and contribute — though
not always successfully — to a release’s full taste, aroma and bouquet palate.
Overall, there are two kinds of lees winemakers address — gross and fine lees. Gross
lees are larger particles that tend to settle at the bottle of a barrel or tank and are removed
fairly quickly after fermentation. Fine lees, however, can mix and linger with the wine’s
contents for longer. It’s these fine lees that wine producers will choose to remove more
gradually.
When a wine has been positively influenced by fine lees, it is referred to as “leesy,”
signifying the rich and often complex complementary notes created by “resting on its lees.”
Many white wines are purposefully kept on their lees to add depth and body to their naturally
fruity flavors.
14. Malolactic Fermentation
Malolactic fermentation is a common secondary fermentation technique across many
wine types.
To understand malolactic fermentation, though, you must first understand malic acid.
Malic acid is one of the three primary acids found in grapes and many other fruits. This acid
type contributes much of the tart, sour tang found almost universally in wines. This tang can
be coaxed into differing expressions depending on fermentation timelines, barrel or tank type,
sugar levels, additives and more used on the wine.
Malolactic fermentation is one such technique used to alter malic acid. Specifically, it
changes the tart-forward notes into smoother, tamer and more lactic ones. This gives wines
which have undergone malolactic fermentation their characteristic “creamy” or “buttery”
flavors, ultimately lessening their overall acidic bite. Common wines that undergo malolactic
fermentation include chardonnays, though reds like cabernet sauvignon and even merlot are
no stranger to it.
15. Mouthfeel
Mouthfeel describes the sensation of wine on your tongue and overall palate. It is one
of the most common vocab words you’ll hear during wine tastings as well as in formal wine
reviews and publications.
Authors employ the wine term mouthfeel right before listing off its associated tactile
adjective. Popular mouthfeel descriptors include words such as velvety, prickly, oily, waxy,
rough, coarse, chewy, lean, juicy and many, many more.
16. Nose
You’re probably most familiar with the saying “on the nose” when wine tasting. On the
nose, or the much shorter “nose,” simply refers to all the smells, bouquets and aromas
associated with a glass of wine while drinking.

Remember, there is a technical difference between a wine’s “aroma” and a wine’s

“bouquet.”
 Aroma are the smells typically associated with an entire grape varietal. It’s broader and
primary.
 Bouquets are the smells associated with one specific bottle of wine. It’s more unique
and subjective.
  Nose includes all the aromas and bouquets together — that is, the wine’s entire
olfactory profile.
17. Oak Aged/Oak Aging
Oak aging is one of the most popular and prominent fermentation techniques for red
and white wines.
As its name suggests, oak aging is when winemakers ferment their wines in oak
barrels. The most popular oak sourced for wine barrels tends to come from France or the
United States, though distinct niche or craft oak barrels do exist in other wine regions.
Oak aged, therefore, is a wine tasting term employed when picking up on the flavors
and smells contributed by oak barrels. These flavors and smells tend to highlight warming
notes such as vanilla, cinnamon, clove, coconut, cream, mocha, chocolate and caramel but
can include some green flavors as well, such as dill, cedar, pine, leather and smoke.
18. Sommelier
Sommeliers are trained and certified wine professionals. They’re most commonly
employed at fine-dining restaurants, hotels, resorts and similar hospitality institutions, where
they lend knowledge and expertise on wine tastings, meal pairings, staff training and
education for all things wine.
Becoming a professional sommelier is no easy task. There are four official levels, or
tiered certificate programs, you must graduate to reach the highest level in the practitioner
field, master sommelier. Many can take years to complete. Additional courses and certificates
are also required to turn around and teach fellow sommeliers. There are also novice or
enthusiast courses, aimed at regular folks like us wishing to elevate their general wine
knowledge, identification and tasting skills.
19. Structure
Structure is a common though broad wine vocab word used to assess a wine’s overall
profile. More specifically, it begins identifying the major components or characteristics of a
wine, including its harmony between fruit, flower and herbaceous flavors, acidity levels, tannin
amounts, alcohol count and overall body.
Wines with “good” structure are those balancing these qualities to achieve a more
dynamic overall drinking experience. This doesn’t mean they have to contain all these
characteristics, though. For example, good-structured red zinfandel can be fruit-forward,
flowery and highly acidic yet can carry little to no trace of tannins and hold a delicate body.
Overall, structure refers to the building blocks of wine that help divide well-made,
complex and enjoyable glasses from those with less dimension and care.
20. Sweet
Sweet is one of the key tasting characteristics of wine. Wines are often discussed on a
scale of sweet to dry, with sweet wines carrying stronger notes of sugar and fruit in taste,
aroma and bouquet.
21. Tannins
Tannins are plant-based compounds that create that dry, tongue-clicking and often
puckering sensations when drinking wine.
Tannins are ubiquitous to most plants. The tannin types found in wine grapes,
however, are the essential ingredient behind what makes wines feel and taste dry. While all
wine types have tannins, classically dry varietals such as Nebbiolo, syrah, Monastrell, malbec
and cabernet sauvignon contain some of the highest and most pronounced tannins, which
contribute to their notoriously bold and chewy profiles.
 22. Terroir
Terroir is a fancy little French term used to express the unique features of a wine from
a specific vineyard. Terroirs are influenced by many factors, such as the vineyard’s rainfall
amount, topography, sun exposure, soil composition, planting and harvesting techniques,
barrel or tank fermentation process and many, many more.
23. Varietal
Varietal is a crucial wine term and a staple in your wine vocabulary. It refers to the
specific type of grape used to make a specific kind of wine.

While there are technically thousands of wine grape varietals, just 13 represent over a
third of all vine plantings around the world. Some of the most-planted grape varietals include
cabernet sauvignon, merlot, Tempranillo, Airén, chardonnay, syrah and pinot noir.
24. Vintage
Vintage refers to the year a wine was bottled, meaning it has completed its barrel or
tank fermentation stage and is ready for market. Vintage can also refer to the yield of a grape
varietal harvested during one season, with some vintages more prized than others for their
overall quality.
 How Red Wine is Made: Follow Along Step by
Step
Red winemaking differs from white winemaking in one important way: the juice
ferments with grape skins to dye it red.
Of course, there’s more to red winemaking than the color. Learning about the process
reveals secrets about quality and taste that will improve your palate. So, let’s walk through
each of the steps of how red wine is made from grapes to glass.

Step 1: Harvest red wine grapes

Red wine is made with black (aka purple) wine grapes. In fact, all the color you see in a
glass of red wine comes from anthocyanin (red pigment) found in black grape skins.
During the grape harvest, the most important thing to do is to pick the grapes at perfect
ripeness. It’s critical because grapes don’t continue to ripen after they’ve been picked.
1. Grapes picked too early may result in tart and thin-tasting wines.
2. Grapes picked too late may result in wines that taste overly ripe and flabby.
For all winemakers, the grape harvest season is the most critical (and very tense) time
of year!
 Step 2: Prepare grapes for fermentation
After the harvest, grapes head to the winery. The winemaker decides whether or not to
remove the stems or to ferment grape bunches as whole clusters.
This is an important choice because leaving stems in the fermentation adds astringency
(aka tannin) but also reduces sourness. As an example, Pinot Noir often ferments with whole
clusters, but not Cabernet Sauvignon.
During this step, grapes also receive sulfur dioxide to stop bacterial spoilage before the
fermentation starts. Check out this eye-opening article about sulfites and your health.

Yeasts like Saccharomyces Cerevisiae eat sugar and make alcohol.

 Step 3: Yeast starts the wine fermentation
What happens is small sugar-eating yeasts consume the grape sugars and make
alcohol. The yeasts come either from a commercial packet (just like you might find in bread
making), or occur spontaneously in the juice.
Spontaneous fermentation uses yeast found naturally on grapes!
1. Commercial yeasts allow winemakers to produce very consistent wines year-in-and-out.
2. Natural yeasts are more challenging but often result in more complex aromatics.

A red wine fermentation takes about 2 weeks to finish.

Step 4: Alcoholic fermentation
Winemakers use many methods to tune the wine during fermentation.
For example, the fermenting juice gets frequently stirred to submerge the skins (they
float!). One way to do this is to pump wine over the top. The other way is to punch down the
“cap” of floating grape skins with a tool that looks like a giant potato masher.
1. Pump overs rigorously extract lots of flavor from the grape skins and make for rich reds.
2. Punch downs extract flavors more delicately and thus they tend to produce more subtle
red wines.
We can get an additional 15% more wine by pressing the skins.
Step 5: Press the wine
Most wines take 5–21 days to ferment sugar into alcohol. A few rare examples, such
as Vin Santo and Amarone, take anywhere from 50 days to up to 4 years to fully ferment!
After the fermentation, vintners drain the freely running wine from the tank and put
the remaining skins into a wine press. Pressing the skins gives winemakers about 15% more
wine!
The creamy-chocolatey taste in wine comes from special winemaking bacteria.
Step 6: Malolactic fermentation (aka “second fermentation”)
As the red wine settles in tanks or barrels, a second “fermentation” happens. A little
microbe feasts on the wine acids and converts sharp-tasting malic acid into creamier,
chocolatey lactic acid. (The same acid you find in greek yogurt!)
Nearly all red wines go through Malolactic Fermentation (MLF) but only a few white
wines. One white wine we all know is Chardonnay. MLF is responsible for Chardonnay’s
creamy and buttery flavors.
Many red wines age in oak barrels.
Step 7: Aging (aka “Elevage”)
Red wines age in a variety of storage vessels including wooden barrels, concrete, glass,
clay, and stainless steel tanks. Each vessel affects wine differently as it ages.
Wooden barrels affect wine the most noticeably. The oak wood itself flavors the
wine with natural compounds that smell like vanilla.
Unlined concrete and clay tanks have a softening effect on wine by reducing acidity.
Of course, the biggest thing that affects flavors in red wine is time. The longer a wine
rests, the more chemical reactions happen within the liquid itself. Some describe red wines as
tasting smoother and more nutty with age.
Focus on texture if you have a chance to make your own wine blend.
Step 8: Blending the wine
Now that the wine is good and rested, it’s time to make the final blend. A winemaker
blends grape varieties together or different barrels of the same grape to make a finished wine.
Blending wine is a challenge because you have to use your sense of texture on your
palate instead of your nose.
The tradition of blending created the many famous wine blends of the world!

Fining and filtering reduces the risk of bacterial spoilage.

 Step 9: Clarifying the wine
One of the final steps of how a red wine is made is the clarification process. For this,
many winemakers add clarifying or “fining” agents to remove suspended proteins in the wine
(proteins make wine cloudy).
It’s pretty common to see winemakers use fining agents like casein or egg whites, but
there is a growing group of winemakers using bentonite clay because it’s vegan.
Then, the wine gets passed through a filter for sanitation. This is important because it
reduces the likelihood of bacterial spoilage.
Of course, a large group of fine winemakers do not fine or filter because they believe it
removes texture and quality. Whether or not that’s true is something for you to decide.

“Bottle shock” happens if a wine is opened too soon after being bottled.
Step 10: Bottling and labeling wines
Now, it’s time to bottle our wine. It’s very important to do this step with as little
exposure to oxygen as possible. A small amount of sulfur dioxide is often added to help
preserve the wine.
Many fine wines continue to age in bottle for years.
Step 11: Bottle aging
Finally, a few special wines continue to age in the winemaker’s cellar for years. In fact,
if you look up different types of red wines (like Rioja or Brunello di Montalcino) you’ll
discover that this step is considered essential for reserve bottlings.
So, the next time you open a bottle try to figure out what went into it!
 How Sparkling Wine is Made

Learn the primary methods used for sparkling wine production including the
traditional Champagne method and the tank method (used for Prosecco).

Sparkling wine might just be the most technical of all wines in the world–even if it
is so easy to drink! The reason most sparkling wine is so complex is because of the
need for two fermentations; one to make wine and the other to make bubbles. Since
sparkling wines were first introduced (starting in the mid 1500’s), several processes
have been developed and each result in a unique sub-style of sparkling wine. Take a
look at the major sparkling wine production methods and which wines are made
with each technique.

How Sparkling Wine is Made

There are 6 major methods by which sparkling wines are produced, each resulting
in a different carbonation level and, ultimately, a different style of bubbly! We’ll
discuss all the styles, but the two worth paying attention to the most are Traditional
Method (used for Champagne, etc) and Tank Method (used for Prosecco, etc).
  Traditional Method
 Tank Method
 Transfer Method
 Ancestral Method
 Continuous Method
 Carbonation

Champagne crud a.k.a. “lees” source

Under Pressure

Sparkling wines have different pressure levels which affect our perception of their
taste. The higher the pressure, the more fine the bubbles. Here are some accepted
terms for sparkling wine in terms of bubble pressure:

 Beady: a wine bottled with <1 additional atmosphere of pressure (14.7 psi).
Bubbles appear on the sides of the bottle (or glass) when the wine is opened.
 Semi-Sparkling: (a.k.a. Frizzante, Spritzig, Pétillant, Pearl) a wine with 1–
2.5 atmospheres (14.7–37 psi) of pressure that is slightly sparkling.
  Sparkling: (a.k.a. Mousseux, Crémant, Espumoso, Sekt, Spumante) The EU
has deemed that bubbly wines with 3 or more atmospheres can be labeled as
sparkling.

Traditional Method

a.k.a. Méthode Champenoise, méthode traditionnelle, Methode Cap Classique,

Metodo Classico, klassische flaschengärung Examples: Cava,
Champagne, Crémant, some Sekt, Italian Metodo Classico wines (including
Franciacorta and Trento)
Bottle Pressure: 5–7 atmospheres or ~75–99 psi

The traditional method of sparkling winemaking was awarded a UNESCO heritage

in Champagne in 2015. It is–arguably–the most appreciated method for sparkling
wine production in terms of quality, and at the same time it is also the most costly
in terms of production. The most important facet of the traditional method is that
the transformation from a still to a sparkling wine occurs entirely inside the bottle.

1. Base Wine or “Cuvée”: grapes are picked (usually just a tinsy bit younger
to preserve acidity) and fermented into a dry wine. The winemaker then takes
the various base wines and blends them together into what the French call a
“cuvée”, which is the final sparkling wine blend.
2. Tirage: Yeast and sugars are added to the cuvée to start the second
fermentation and wines are bottled (and topped with crown caps).
3. 2nd Fermentation: (inside the bottle) The second fermentation adds about
1.3% more alcohol and the process creates CO2 which is trapped inside the
bottle thus carbonating the wine. The yeast dies in a process called autolysis
and remain in the bottle.
4. Aging: Wines are aged on their lees (the autolytic yeast particles) for a
period of time to develop texture in the wine. Champagne requires a
minimum of 15 months of aging (36 mos for vintage Champage). Cava
requires a minimum of 9 months of aging but requires up to 30 months for
Gran Reserva Cava. Most believe the longer the wine ages on its lees, the
better.
5. Riddling: Clarification occurs by settling the bottle upside down and the
dead yeast cells collect in the neck of the bottle.
6. Disgorging: Removing sediment from bottle. The bottles are placed upside
down into freezing liquid which causes the yeast bits to freeze in the neck of
the bottle. The crown cap is then popped off momentarily which allows the
frozen chunk of lees to shoot out of the pressurized bottle.
7. Dosage: A mixture of wine and sugar (called Exposition liqueur) is added to
fill bottles and then bottles are corked, wired and labeled.
Tank Method

a.k.a. Charmat Method, Metodo Italiano, Cuvée Close,

autoclave Examples: Prosecco, Lambrusco
Bottle Pressure: 2–4 atmospheres (ATM) 30–60 psi

The tank method came about during the industrial advancements made in the early
20th century and is the main process used for Prosecco and Lambrusco wines. The
major difference between the tank method and the traditional method is the
removal of the individual bottle as the vessel used to turn a still wine into a
sparkling one. Instead, base wines are added together with the sugar and yeast
mixture (Tirage) into a large tank. As the wine has a second fermentation, the CO2
released from the fermentation causes the tank to pressurize, whereafter wines are
then filtered, dosed (with Expedition liqueur) and bottled without aging.

Tank method sparkling wines have a much more freshly made character with
stronger secondary (yeasty) flavors. Some may argue that the tank method is not as
high-quality of a production method as the traditional method of sparkling wine.
While the process is more affordable (and thus is popular with lower quality wines),
it is still used for fine sparkling winemaking.

Transfer Method

a.k.a. Transversage Examples: Small format (187 ml) and large format (3L+)

Traditional Method sparkling wines
Bottle Pressure: 5–7 atmospheres (ATM) or ~75–99 psi

This method is identical to the Traditional method except that wines need not be
riddled and disgorged in the same manner. Instead, the bottles are emptied into a
pressurized tank and sent through pressurized filters to remove the dead yeast bits
(lees). Then, the wines are bottled using pressurized fillers. You’ll find this method
used most commonly for non-standard sized bottles (splits or jerobaum and above).
TIP: Transversage method is slightly different than transfer method in that wines
are riddled and disgorged into tanks and do not require the filtration step.

Ancestral Method

a.k.a. Méthode Ancestrale, Méthode Rurale, Pétillant Naturel (a.k.a. “Pet-

nat”) Examples: Loire, Jura,
Bottle Pressure: 2–4 atmospheres (ATM) or 30–60 psi

This method of sparkling wine production uses icy temperatures (and filteration) to
pause the fermentation mid-way for a period of months and then wines are bottled
and the fermentation finishes, trapping the CO2 in the bottle. When the desired
level of CO2 is reached, wines are chilled again, riddled and disgorged just like the
traditional method, but no expedition liqueur (sugar) is added. The technique is
referred to as the Ancestral Method because it’s assumed that this is one of the
earliest forms of sparkling winemaking.
Méthode Diose Ancestrale: This variant of the Ancestral Method empties the
wines into a pressurized tank and filters instead of riddling and disgorging.

TIP: Several producers of Pétillant Naturel wines opt to close their wines with a
crown cap.
Carbonation

a.k.a. Gas Injection, Industrial Method Examples: NewAge

Bottle Pressure: 3 atmospheres (ATM) 45 psi

The carbonation method simply takes a still wine and carbonates in a pressurized
tank. While it’s possible that this method has benefits, at the moment the only
carbonated wines are lower quality bulk wines. Still, if you’ve ever drank New Age
on the rocks, while sitting outside in the sun, you might feel it was quite alright
after all (BTW, New Age is a carbonated sweet white wine blend of Torrontés and
Sauvignon Blanc).

Continuous Method

a.k.a. Russian Method Examples: Lancers
Bottle Pressure: 4–5 atmospheres (ATM) or 60–75 psi

The Russians may have it with the strangest sparkling wine production method yet!
The process gets the name from a continual addition of yeast into pressurized tanks
thereby making it possible to increase the total pressure to 5 atmospheres (or as
much as most Champagne). Wines are then moved into another tank with yeast
enrichments (sometimes wood shavings) which the dead yeast bits attach to and
float around in the wine. This gives the wines a similar-tasting autolytic character
to the traditional method. Finally, the wines move into the last set of pressurized
tanks where the yeasts and enrichments are settled out, leaving the wine relatively
clear.

All in all, the process takes about a month. At the moment, there aren’t many
producers who use the continual method save for a couple of large companies in
Germany and Portugal (and Russia).