Sparkling Wine Question

Gabriel, I do not know how much sugar you used per bottle, I use around 20 grams/750 ml. (I don't recall whether its 18 or 24, I always look it up...) I see no mention of a second addition of yeast here either, I never rely on the initial yeast, I always add a different strain of yeast too. You should have a streak, not a dusting.

It could be too cold, you could try moving them to a warmer area for a few weeks. Remember a big difference between beer and wine is the extra alcohol already in there, you usually want to start with a base wine of 10 -11.5%. I don't use the corks until the end, I ferment under crown caps.

In short, it could be several things, give us a little more detail on how you made it. I think I have Garey's book but never used it, I'll take a look later. Regards, Joe

Gabriel - I made a reasonably successful batch of "champagne" using a Chardonnay kit last winter, but I followed steps on Lum Eisenman's site for making sparkling wine (Chapter 20). See

The base wine apparently should be just a little thin, and slightly acidic, for best results, so I diluted mine a bit with water, and added some extra acid blend to bump up the acidity a notch.

While your symptoms could be related to temperature, it is possible that the lack of yeast action relates to other factors. That is why I think it's a better idea to get the second fermentation going, before bottling in the champagne-type bottles. Making another batch of "champagne" this summer, it took several tries of yeast "starters", warm temperatures, yeast nutrient, etc. to get the fermentation re-started. I managed it (finally) and now have about 5 cases of champagne which I am "riddling" (letting the sediment settle into the neck) and disgorging.

I also use crown caps - e.g., "bottle caps" rather than champagne stoppers for this phase - much easier during the disgorgement process. After riddling, I put 6 bottles at a time in the freezer in a little wooden rack, upside down. In about 3 to 4 hours, the liquid in the neck starts to freeze. At this point, you can turn the bottle right-side up (over the sink!), pop off the cap, and get virtually all of the yeast sediment out with minimal loss of wine or carbonation. You don't want to let the whole thing freeze - the bottle may break, or the cap may pop off (happened to me). Besides, maximum carbonation retention should be obtained by keeping as much of the contents liquid as possible (since CO2 dissolves in the wine, but not in ice, I think).

Anyway, that's been my experience. Best of luck.

Doug

My son gave me an old book on winemaking last Christmas. The author's method of getting rid of the sediment in his sparkling wines was to set the bottles upright, so that the yeast would settle to the bottom. Then he put the full bottles, an equal number of empty bottles, some top-off wine and his siphon hose into the freezer. When everything was quite cold, he'd pop the top of the full bottles and siphon the liquid off the lees into the empty bottles. After topping off, he'd then put the official champagne corks and wire on.

Has anyone heard of or tried this method? It seems like it might be easier than the traditional upside-down-freeze-plug method most people use.

Paul