🍷 Disgorgement
Removing the sediment from the bottle neck: it is frozen and the pressure pushes it out.
Disgorgement is the removal of yeast sediment from a bottle of sparkling wine. It is needed in the traditional method, where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle and dead yeast stays inside.
First comes riddling: the bottles are gradually tilted neck down and turned, so the sediment collects by the cork. Then the neck is dipped into a very cold solution and the sediment freezes into a small plug of ice. When the bottle is opened, the gas pressure shoots out the ice with the sediment, and the wine stays clear.
In the past disgorgement was done by hand without freezing, and the worker judged the moment by eye and ear. This is still sometimes done with large bottles.
Right after disgorgement comes dosage, a top-up of wine with or without sugar, followed by the cork and wire cage. Some producers print the disgorgement date on the label. The method comes from French wine, from Champagne.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Disgorgement → → → 🗺️ French wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Previous step
- 🍷 Riddling
- Next step
- 🍷 Dosage
- Part of
- 🍷 Traditional method
- Related to
- 🗺️ French wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Traditional method, 🍷 Riddling, 🍷 Dosage
Frequently asked questions
Why is disgorgement needed?
To remove the yeast sediment left by fermentation in the bottle. Without it the wine would be cloudy.
How is the sediment frozen?
The bottle neck is dipped into an icy solution and the sediment freezes into a small ice plug.
What does the disgorgement date on a label mean?
It is the day the sediment was removed. It shows how long the wine aged on the lees and in the bottle afterwards.
Similar
🍷 Tirage · 🍷 Riddling · 🍷 Liqueur de tirage · 🍷 Transfer method · 🍷 Dosage · 🍷 Pupitre
Sources
- Wikidata Q3043248
- Wikipedia (en)
- Wikipedia (fr): Dégorgement
- OIV, International Code of Oenological Practices
- Comité Champagne
- Wikipedia (en): Disgorging