The Charmat Method: How do they make Prosecco? (Also, Prosecco vs Champagne)

[@ScalpyMadBadger]

This is great! im a wine educator and was looking to brush up on the Charmat method and this is so clear, so good. Excellent job

[@NatalliaNemes]

Great video! Super easy to follow and understand.

[@OlyaSummers]

Thank you for easy explanation!

[@commonwealpanther]

Very clear and informative. Thanks!

[@visforvino]

Of course!!! Glad you enjoyed!

[@understandingwines9181]

I love how you made this video! And it was really informative too.

[@visforvino]

Thanks so much!! 😃

[@chicken_dinher]

Great video, you quenched my curiosity! I love me some prosecco !

[@visforvino]

Thank you!! Yes, Prosecco is delish! You should watch our full Prosecco episode (filmed in Italy) when you have time, it’s a good detail of the region!!

[@ARCSTREAMS]

my question is after they disgorge the yeast from the bottle after secondary fermentation and they add more wine and sugar how do they keep that from fermenting any further in the bottle? despite removing most of the yeast i am sure there is residual yeast that will keep eating the added sugar unless that sugar is non fermenting or they also add sulfates and sorbates that they do not talk about,,so do you know if champagne contains sulfate and sorbate?

[@visforvino]

Good question! We're getting a bit out of my justification in the winemaking process, but I'll answer best I can! First, I would guess the yeast that is leftover is very minuscule, and wouldn't be enough to cause enough noticeable fermentation after it is strained. THOUGH, spontaneous fermentation definitely can happen, not just in sparklers, but regular wines as well; it all depends how well the wine is clarified and/or stabilized. Second, there definitely are sulfites. The wine and spirit industry is incredibly opaque about whats in the product, and it's because almost all of them are adding some sort of additives during the process. Even the most high end producers. Wine made in large quantities is more likely to have more additives, as they don't want to take a chance that 1000's of bottle distributed all over the world will have quality issues. The better the winemaking process, the less additives needed.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

@@visforvino thank you for your prompt reply,,yes i do think they def add sorbate or some kind of ferment inhibitor during the dosage but its very hard to find anything about it for champagne online as there is not much literature that will talk of this trade secret or get into such detail for obvious reasons and it makes sense that there wont be any info out there from a company that makes this rare product ,of course that is a diffrent story when it comes to wines as we all know they use the stuff despite them not talking about it ,,but im still curious if the process in the riddling and disgorging is enough to get rid of enough yeast for the bottle to remain stable ,i assume the very little yeast left is not strong enough to multiply anymore even with added sugar and will die off in due time,,i wonder

[@pilsplease7561]

If you use a sterile filter it will filter all the yeast out of the wine, thats how tight the filter is. All wines have sulfites which are perfectly normal and used to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Wine yeast produces sulfites so its physically impossible to have a 100% sulfite free wine.

[@ARCSTREAMS]

@@pilsplease7561 ty

[@annes5864]

Thanks for the information, very interesting. I make both white and red wine at home for personal use and am interested in trying prosecco. Are there any online courses you can recommend or suggest that isn't for commercial production? Thanks

[@marikodolidze2922]

😘😘😘😘😘

[@virucarvalho06]

This guy he's wine

[@shawnj8765]

wow lot of MISINFORMATION here... Second fermentation in Charmat method only lasts 1 to 6 weeks, even traditional method at 11 degrees Celsius only lasts 6-8 weeks. AND, they don't cool the wine to stop the second fermentation, it stops by itself when all sugar and nutrient is consumed by the yeast. The wine is at bone dry before dosage. Good illustration, but inaccurate information.

[@visforvino]

Thanks for you comment. I believe I wasn’t clear; literal secondary fermentation can be quick, but a lot of producers (including Valdo who we featured) will leave the wine on the lees in the tank a long time, even though it’s prosecco. And while cooling the tank is not the only way to stop fermentation, it is 1000% a method used, though I agree with you that it’s not the only way to stop a fermentation. Hope you can understand that sometimes it’s not that we’re trying to misinform, but rather that it can be hard to generalize because each producer does things differently.