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Sparkling wine can be a very complicated process if you
decide to do it by the traditional "Methode Champenoise".
I will outline here an alternative method, (Country Champagne)
that gives wonderful results with a bare minimum of hassle.
Although sparkling wine can be made from a variety of materials,
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Riesling are the preferred grape
varieties. It is essential that the starting gravity be
between 1.070 and 1.080 no higher. In addition to your normal
winemaking equipment, you will need: 6 champagne bottles
per gallon, a bottle capper and enough caps for the job.
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1) First, make your base wine, using a champagne yeast strain.
Follow the standard procedures for making white wine up through
the end of fermentation.
Note: DO NOT ADD ANY FININGS, BENTONITE
OR POTASSIUM SORBATE
2) Immediately, at the end of fermentation siphon the wine into
an open bucket.
The wine should be a little cloudy, if not suck up a couple tablespoons
of yeast sediment with your racking tube.
3) Make a simple sugar syrup using 2.25 oz of cane sugar per gallon
of wine. To make this syrup, heat a mixture of one part water
and two parts sugar (by volume) to boiling. The mixture will become
syrup by the time the boiling point is reached.
4) Stir the sugar syrup, gently but thoroughly, into the wine.
5) Siphon the wine immediately into champagne bottles and cap
them with crown caps.
6) Stand the bottles upright in a cool place for 3 months. The
wine should be clear now with some sediment on the bottom, if
not let stand for another month or until crystal clear. After
this period, refrigerate the bottles at 0 degrees C. to precipitate
tartrate crystals over the yeast. This will help hold it down
when pouring.
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