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2018
PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

There are several methods for obtaining sparkling
wine. Each procedure will, subsequently, mark its
designation and, above all, its quality and style, as
we will examine later.

THE TRADITIONAL METHOD OR CHAMPENOISE

he most extended method and the one which gives best re-
sults is undoubtedly the Traditional or Champenoise system.
T Grand producer zones such as Champagne or Cava restrict
themselves exclusively to this production method for all the wines they
CAVAS & OTRAS BURBUJAS bottle. These are the higher quality sparkling wines on the market in-
market, with personalised technical specifications for each zone.The
method formerly called “champenoise”, owing to its French origin re-
fers to those sparkling wines whose second fermentation occurs in the
sofar as their production systems and their subsequent ageing, which
are fully legislated and controlled, make it possible for the wine to gain
complexity and identity.

The traditional system is so relevant that the quality of
the outcoming sparkling wines is largely due to the second
fermentation and ensuing aging. In this case, production takes
place as follows:
BASE WINE: the base is a pale, clean and fruity wine
which does not exceed 11 degrees, produced in steel or
concrete tanks. These wines normally have a high level
of acidity and consecuently, their grapes are harvested
before those intended for the production of still wines.
THE FIRST FERMENTATION AND ASSEM-
BLAGE: The must together with the yeasts, regardless
of whether these are natural or selected, will carry out
the fermentation as for any other wine, transforming
the sugars into alcohol. Once the base wine is obtained,
many companies make a mixture of several base wines
in order to standardise the product, which in oenological
jargon is termed “coupage” or “assemblage”. This is
a highly important phase as the different base wines
obtained are grouped depending on their styles: aro-
matic, structured, fresh and are then mixed in different
proportions depending on the type of sparkling wine
intended to be produced: fresh and easy to drink, with © Gramona
lengthy ageing, etc.

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