The primary fermentation of sparkling wine begins like most other wines, though winemakers may choose to use specially cultivated sparkling wine yeasts. The wines may go through malolactic fermentation, though producers wishing to make fruitier, simpler wines will usually forgo this step. After fermentation the base wines are then blended to form a cuvée. While there are examples of varietal sparkling wines, such as blanc de blancs (white of whites) made from 100% Chardonnay, most sparkling wines are blends of several grape varieties, vineyards and vintages. Producers with wide access to grapes will use wines from several hundred base wines to create a blend that reflect the "house style" of their non-vintage wine. It is through the initiation of a secondary fermentation that distinguishes sparkling wine production and gives the wine its characteristic bubbles. One of the by-products of fermentation is the creation of carbon dioxide gas. While this is able to be released during the first fermentation, efforts are taken during the second fermentation to retain the gas and have it dissolve into the wine. This creates high pressure within the wine bottle (on average around 5 atmospheres) and wine producers take care to package the wine in strong glass bottles. When the wine is opened and poured into a glass, the gas is released and the wine becomes sparkling.
The primary fermentation of sparkling wine begins like most other wines though winemakers may choose to use specially cultivated sparkling wine yeasts The wines may go through malolactic fermentation though producers wishing to make fruitier simpler wines will usually forgo this step After fermentation the base wines are then blended to form a cuvée While there are examples of varietal sparkling wines such as blanc de blancs (white of whites) made from 100% Chardonnay most sparkling wines are blends of several grape varieties vineyards and vintages Producers with wide access to grapes will use wines from several hundred base wines to create a blend that reflect the "house style" of their non-vintage wine It is through the initiation of a secondary fermentation that distinguishes sparkling wine production and gives the wine its characteristic bubbles One of the by-products of fermentation is the creation of carbon dioxide gas While this is able to be released during the first fermentation efforts are taken during the second fermentation to retain the gas and have it dissolve into the wine This creates high pressure within the wine bottle (on average around 5 atmospheres) and wine producers take care to package the wine in strong glass bottles When the wine is opened and poured into a glass the gas is released and the wine becomes sparkling