Liquor and Wine

The assay is a step in the winemaking process of champagne which is to add a liquor which aims to soften the champagne.

Sequence of Operation

The staining that is left in a vacuum bottle is now filled. Moreover, the natural acidity of wine and carbon dioxide is high, it is necessary to dilute the content, depending on whether one wishes to obtain a wine extra brut, brut nature, brut, extra dry, dry semi-dry or sweet. It is the role that will play expedition liqueur (or “liquor mix”) which is nothing but a mixture of sugar cane and pure old wine Champagne adapted to each batch.

This liquor was prepared several months ago with wine Reserve at least two years old, carefully filtered through sterilizing plates to avoid any yeast or bacteria that could cause an unwanted fermentation. The quantity of sugar added can produce different levels of taste, more or less measured, that is to say, more or less sweet, as stated in the European Union:

crude nature: no dosage
Extra-brut: between 0 and 6 g / l sugar
gross less than 15 g / l
Extra-dry: 12 to 20 g / l
Dry: 17 to 35 g / l
semi-dry: 33 to 50 g / l
Sweet: more than 50 g / l

Among the wines that are not subject to any further determination (the “raw nature”) the void due to staining is then supplemented by the addition of a wine similar to that contained in the bottle. These wines are also called “totally gross” and have several names: Gross 100%, Gross 0, raw text, raw wild, ultra raw, etc. (e.g. Ultra Brut Laurent-Perrier).

The assay itself, that is to say the addition of 0 to 5 or 6 cl of expedition liqueur in the bottle is disgorged, done with an automatic or semi-automatic dosing. Depending on farm size, the metering is more or less sophisticated, knowing they can handle up to 18,000 bottles / h. This machine works in three stages:

First it extracts some cl wine bottles to make room for the liquor shipment. Then the liquor shipment is introduced. It is finally complete with the wine bottle previously taken. The surplus is left in the tank of the dosing. Immediately after the bottles are directed to a machine butcher, the metering is sealed with a cork of the highest quality, maintained by a wire cage.

Habits and tastes

Consumer choice has followed the evolution of tastes which are now a preference towards drier wines, probably depending on the richness of the modern diet requiring a reduced amount of sugar.

The Scandinavian countries where it is cold are the only order of sweet wines and semi-dry wines. The Russians, the largest wine lovers of sparkling champagne until the Revolution of 1917, did not drink sweet Champagne, while Americans prefer the dry.

The mix of exported wines is varied depending on the country of destination. This is no longer the case today, where the level of dosage is specifically directed on the label.