Franciacorta | Spumante

Franciacorta is a still young Italian wine-growing region in Lombardy. It was not until the 1960s that the first professionally produced sparkling wines were produced. Since then, demand for this spumante, produced in the style of bottle fermentation, grew rapidly and brought a boom to the region. Since 1995, registered trademark of the Consortium for the Protection of Franciacorta and reserved for those winemakers who are members of the Consortium and comply with the strict production rules.

The production method of Franciacorta involves the use of noble grape varieties (white grapes: Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco and red grapes: Pinot Nero) and a slow second fermentation in the bottle. The grapes are immediately extracted under gentle pressure. The base wines are then fermented in the spring and are used to compose the cuvèe. This is a blend of different Franciacorta base wines (even from different vintages), selected after careful tasting to bring out very precise characteristics. The following addition of sugar and yeast (tirage) initiates the second fermentation in the bottle, which slowly leads to the transformation of sugar into carbonic acid (foaming) and to a rise in pressure of up to 5-6 atmospheres.

The bottles, closed with crown caps, are properly stored horizontally in the cellar, and in this position they remain for at least 18 months - as provided by the wine production regulations. During this time, the wine can fully develop due to its long maturation on the lees. However, it is often extended to 36-48 months. During this phase, the yeast settles as a deposit in the bottle and is removed at the end of the second fermentation, without releasing the built-up pressure. For this purpose, the bottles are stored in inclined riddling trays (pupitres), with the neck inserted into pointed openings; thus, the angle of inclination of the bottles gradually becomes steeper, almost vertical, during transfer. This process, shaking and turning (remuage), lasts about a month and causes the yeast deposit to slide more and more from the bottle walls to the cork.

The next phase is disgorgement (dègorgement), a fascinating process and unique in method. The bottles are placed in a vertical position and the neck is immersed in a cold bath. This causes an ice plug to form from the yeast deposit. Now comes the removal of the crown cork: the pressure inside the bottle becomes so strong during uncorking that the iced yeast shoots out violently, although little of the pressure and the wine itself are lost. The bottle is either refilled with wine only (Pas Opèrè, Nature, Dosage Zèro), or the so-called liqueur d'expedition is added (wine with added sugar, cognac or other wine distillate). The amount of sugar in the dosage also determines the taste tuning of Franciacorta (Extra Brut, Extra Dry, Sec or Dry, Demisec). - Gerardo