Making Crémant de Bourgogne wines: giving that extra sparkle

Almost all Bourgogne varietals are authorized to make Crémant de Bourgogne (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay, Aligoté, Melon, Sacy, etc.), but there is nothing left to chance when it comes to plot selection.

Making Crémant de Bourgogne wines

The grapes are carefully chosen and the production process differs to that of still wines. The grapes are harvested early to preserve the acidity required to give Crémant de Bourgogne wines all their freshness.

The sparkle is created by the addition of a liqueur de tirage (base wine mixed with sugar and yeast) when the wine is bottled. This causes a second fermentation to take place in the bottle, which creates carbon dioxide. This in turn produces the bubbles in the glass when the wine is poured.

The bottles are then held in racks pointing downwards so the yeast deposits collect in the neck. The bottles are then rotated or “riddled”, by hand or by machine, to encourage the deposits to fall.

These yeasts are then disgorged and a liqueur d’expédition is added which determines the sweetness of the finished wine, and whether it will be brut, sec, demi-sec or doux.
You can find out about each step in the process by watching our animation about the production of Crémant de Bourgogne wines.

 

Pressing / Vatting

Pressing / Vatting

Above all, the production of cremant requires the production of a base wine. For this base wine, vinification is carried out according to the white wine vinification system up until and including malolactic fermentation. The wine is then lightly sulphited.

This wine can be made from white or black grapes, and also from a blend of several grape varieties. The harvest must be carried out manually using aerated boxes. For whichever grape variety, pressing is carried out on the entire harvest, i.e. on clusters. Upon arrival at the cellar, whole grape clusters are weighed, so as to adjust pressing and extract the legal juice volume which is of 100 liters of must per 150 kg of grapes. Each weighing is recorded in the carnet de pressoir (pressing logbook).

Crémants de Bourgogne produced from white grapes are called “blancs de blancs” and those obtained from black grapes “blancs de noirs”.

The grapes are harvested earlier than those used for producing still wines, as the desired sugar/acidity balance is different.

Once the base wine has been completed, the specific Crémant de Bourgogne vinification can be started.

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Focus on making Crémant de Bourgogne wines

© CLEMENCET D. / MONAMY G.

 

The process for vinifying

Crémant de Bourgogne sparkling wine

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