Topic summary
Charmat method
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Sparkling wine production.
Charmat method
The Charmat process (Italian: Metodo Martinotti) was first patented in 1895 by the Italian winemaker Federico Martinotti (1860–1924). The method was further improved with a later patent by the French inventor Eugène Charmat in 1907. The method is now named after the latter, but is also called cuve close, metodo Italiano or "the tank method". The wine is mixed in a stainless steel pressure tank, together with sugar and yeast. Fermentation occurs in a closed system, so CO2 cannot directly escape to the atmosphere and dissolves in wine. When the sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide, the yeast is filtered and removed, and the wine containing the dissolved CO2 is transferred from the closed reactor vessel into bottles. The duration of fermentation affects the quality; longer fermentation preserves the wine's aromas better and gives finer and more durable bubbles.