Perfecting the Bubble Traditional Method

Mark Wenzel Illinois Sparkling Co. August Hill Winery Utica, IL Why Traditional Method

• Great Bubbles! • Alt. Methods of Creating Bubbles • Small Batch • Charmat Process/Cuvée Close • Lower cost at higher production volume • Yeasty Character • It is “Sparkling” (TTB Label law) • Achieve a Style • Achieve a style • Carbonated • Lowest cost at higher production volume • NOT “Sparkling” (TTB Label law) Safety First

• Dealing with high pressure Sanitation and Sterilization • @90 psi • Production Facility Safety • Wear safety glasses • Long sleeve shirts, pants, and • Winery needs to be clean and gloves when capping, disgorging, you need to sanitize! and corking • Tasting Room Safety • Educate staff on safely opening bubbly • Use and sell opener The Bubble (Mousse)

• Anti-Bubble • Pro Bubble

• Alcohol • Pressure (CO2) • Lipids • Proteins (beer) • Glasses with soap & rinse aid • Mannoproteins residue • Polysaccharides • Tirage aging +12 months • Temperature • Glassware Factors for Traditional Method Style

• : Geography & climate • • Variety: Blend proportion • Blending/Assemblage • : Canopy • Base Wine Stabilization management & crop yield • Secondary Fermentation • : Maturity and method • Bottle Aging/En tirage • Juice Handling • Dosage • Primary Fermentation • Closure • Bulk Storage & Aging Illinois

• Not Champagne • Zones 4b – 6a • Our • Zone 5a • Clay loam soils *ISC • Gris • La Crescent • Frontenac • Frontenac Blanc • Varieties

• (Ombré) • (future) • Frontenac (Demi Sec) • Frontenac Gris (Brut) • Frontenac Blanc (future) • La Crescent (past Sec) • La Crosse (Brut) • Maréchal Foch (Saignée) • St. Pepin (past) Yield & Harvest

• Chambourcin (6 tons/acre) • Others (2-4 tons/acre) • 18 – 20 brix • No greater than 11.5% alcohol • pH: Less than 3.20 • TA: ? • Hand harvest • Sulfite in the vineyard • Chill grapes overnight & Juice Handling

• Whole Berry Press (per ton or 150 gal) • Free Run (1st 5 gal., high lipids) • Premier Cuvée (100-125 gal) • Premier Taille (15 -45 gallons) • Rebeche (5 – 10 gallons) Premier Cuvée Juice Fraction

• Premium juice and best for aging • ISC Traditional Method (except Saignée) • Press Pan • Sulfite to minimize oxidation • Cold settling tank • 1/3 full add Pectic Enzyme to break colloids for better settling • 1 hour after tank is full add bentonite • Settle overnight Premier Taille Juice Fraction

• Higher potassium (difficult to stabilize) • Higher tannins • Higher aromatics (shorter aging) • Used in Champagne for non • Additions • Enzymes at press pan • Sulfite & bentonite 1 hour after cold settle tank is full • Can add PVPP, casein, carbon at same time as bentonite de Saignée

• Many concepts on saignée process, but it is the “bleeding of the grapes” • ISC Rosé de Saignée • Destem and crush • Let juice run through press without pressing • Treat saignée juice like the whole berry press cuvée juice Primary Fermentation

• Yeast: DV10 or Perlage • Nutrients • Temperature: 14 – 17C • 2nd addition of bentonite (if needed) • Rack off gross (& bentonite) • Start biweekly lees • We don’t do MLF Aging & Blending(Assemblage)

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• Lees Aging

• Blending (Assemblage) Heat Stability • Proteins are good for bubbles! • Work to stabilize proteins • Do not overfine • Lees Stirring: Mannoproteins • Fining stages • Cold settling • Primary Fermentation • Wine after Assemblage Heat Stability Test Method • Equipment • Bench Top Filter • Turbidity Meter • Dry Hot Bath • Test Procedure • Filter sample to below 1.5 NTU, increase alcohol 1.5% and record reading • Put sample in dry bath and heat to 80C and hold for 2 hours • Let sample cool, mix sample, and record reading • Acceptable results for sparkling • En Tirage <12 months: ΔNTU < 2.0 • En Tirage >12 months: ΔNTU < 5.0 Cold Stability

• Very critical step! • Tartrate crystals are a major cause of gushing • Rosés and reds are more difficult to cold stabilize • Methods • Chilling and seeding with bitartrates • CMC • Test Methods • Check Stab (conductivity test) after increasing sample alcohol 1.5% • Sparkling: Δ < 30µS or 2% • Still Wines: Δ < 3% Yeast Starter (Pied de Cuve)

• Yeast Selection • DV10 • Perlage • Encapsulated Yeast: ProElif • Follow manufacturer protocol for yeast buildup! • Follow manufacturer yeast nutrient protocol • Do yeast count and viability! • Why? Because it helps me sleep at night. • Equipment: Microscope and counting chamber • Yeast Count Cuvée additions: Sugar, nutrients, and riddling aid • 24 g/L sugar will yield 6 atm of pressure • Add recommended yeast nutrients from manufacturer yeast protocol • Riddling aid • Highly recommend • Follow protocol • Store away from light • Add right before tirage bottling Bottling Checklist

• Prior to Yeast Starter • Make sure you have all supplies: bottles, bidules, caps, yeast, nutrients, sugar • Sterile filter wine • 2 days before tirage bottling • Hydrate riddling aid • Make sugar addition to cuvée • 1 Day before tirage bottling • Set up equipment • Get cages ready • Check yeast count and viability Bottling Checklist (cont.)

• Morning of Tirage Bottling • Check yeast count and viability again • Sterilize all equipment • Add nutrients to base wine • Measure SG of cuvée • Measure SG of yeast starter • Add yeast starter to base wine • Measure SG of cuvée with yeast added • Add Riddling Aid (Make sure tank is mixing throughout tirage bottling!) • Tirage bottle Secondary Fermentation (Prise de Mousse) and Bottle Aging (En tirage) • Ferment around 15C • Monitor pressure with aphrometer • Keep wine in cages until fermentation is complete • Store bottles on side • Yeast Autolysis Riddling (Remuage) Dosage (Liqueur de expedition)

• Final place to perfect the wine. • Perform dosage trials • Sulfite • Maximum allowable dosage is 10% of final volume • Make sure dosage does not make final wine unstable • Filter dosage before adding to wine Disgorging, Corking, Wire Hood, and Labeling

• Have all supplies • One size does NOT fit all • Equipment: Neck freezer, disgorge/dosage, corker/cage, washer, pleater/crimper, labeler, printer • Don’t have to freeze neck of bottle, you can disgorge “à la volée” • TTB Notes • Labeling: Can not use term Champagne on label. Can use “Sparkling Wine” as long as the bubbles are created through natural fermentation (not carbonation) • Excise Tax: Sparkling wine is $3.50/gallon and now you can receive $1.00 credit Presentation Matters

• Semi-automatic pleater/crimper Gushing Issues

• Two extreme cases • Consumer: Particles (ie. ) in • Bubble formation is low and stable, bottle, mishandling shocks, high bubbles will be pushed out due to temperature bubble formation but at a very slow rate. • Disgorging: Tartrates, riddling • Opposite: bubble stability low, but problems, MLF in bottle, bubble formation is intense causing contaminants on bottle wall, warm liquid to directly eject out. BAD! bottle temperature • Dosage: Particles in liquor, liquor temperature, sanitation levels of equipment • Top-off: Particles, temperature management Resolutions to Gushing

• Have dosage and top-off wine colder than disgorged bottles • Chill bottles before disgorging • Reduce sugar level of base wine (possibly 20g/L) • Cold Stability • Resolve before tirage bottling • Add CMC in dosage Let’s Taste!

• Premier Cuvée:(ISC White Chambourcin base wine) • Premier Taille: (AHW Chambourcin Rosé base wine) • En Tirage (100% Frontenac Gris barrel aged oak) • Vintage 2013, Tirage bottled: April 2014, Hand Disgorged 3/13/18 • Brut • 60% Frontenac Gris • 38% La Crosse • 2% • Vintage: 2015 • Tirage Bottle: July 2016 • Disgorge: 01/10/18 • Alcohol: 12.5% Thank You!

Mark Wenzel Email: [email protected]

iscbubbly.com augusthillwinery.com

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