Tank fermentation

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Tank fermentation ( Méthode Charmat ) is a method of sparkling wine production in which the second fermentation of the sparkling wine base wines is carried out in pressure-resistant large fermentation tanks.

As early as the middle of the 19th century there were attempts to produce sparkling wine in large-capacity containers. In 1858 the French Maumené and Jaunay put several tanks with a capacity of 3200 liters each into operation in the Champagne region . However, since there were no pressure-resistant fittings and filters, the tests were soon discontinued. Tank fermentation is also called Méthode Charmat after one of its founders, the French oenologist Eugène Charmat . Charmat developed its technology from 1907 at the University of Montpellier ( Languedoc ). At the same time, oenologists in Italy were busy making Asti Spumante in large fermentation tanks. The process has only been technically possible since the 1930s , since with this process all manufacturing processes (filtration, filling) in the counter pressure process at max. 8 bar must drain. The process enabled more cost-effective sparkling wine production than the previously only known process of classic bottle fermentation (Champenoise method). The economic boom of the 1950s and the “democratization” of sparkling wine made the process interesting from an economic point of view and is the most widespread method of producing sparkling wine today. The advantages lie in a smaller space requirement for fermentation and storage, in the elimination of the labor-intensive and space-intensive jogging on the shaker and in the elimination of time-consuming dégorgation .

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