Traditional method

Lore & Background

The phenomenon of bottle fermentation was known in Limoux, southwestern France, as early as 1531 for the production of Blanquette de Limoux, predating its association with Champagne. In the late 17th century, Dom Pierre Pérignon worked in Champagne, but effervescence was then considered a fault, and he tried to eliminate it. The process of secondary fermentation was first described by Christopher Merrett in a paper to the Royal Society, noting that adding sugar before bottling encouraged it. Concurrent improvements in English glass manufacture allowed stronger bottles to withstand the pressure.

After primary fermentation, the base wine—too acidic to be pleasant on its own—is blended into a cuvée. For the second fermentation, the wine is bottled with a liqueur de tirage (yeast and sugar) and sealed with a crown cap. The wine then ages on the lees; non-vintage Champagne must age at least 15 months, vintage at least three years, though top producers often age bottles for six to eight years. The lees are consolidated through riddling (remuage), where bottles are gradually turned and tilted until the sediment collects in the neck. Manual riddling, once daily, takes 10 to 14 days (8 to 10 weeks for Champagne), but mechanized gyropalettes are now common.

Disgorging (dégorgement) removes the lees; before Madame Clicquot's 1816 innovation, Champagne was cloudy. Modern disgorgement freezes a small amount of liquid in the neck to extract the lees as an ice plug. Immediately after, the bottle is topped with liqueur d'expédition (a mixture of base wine and sugar, plus sulfur dioxide), a step called dosage. The sugar level determines the final sweetness, ranging from brut nature (no added sugar) to doux (sweet).

Reader's Guide

The traditional method is both labour intensive and costly, making it viable only for high-end sparkling wines; cheaper wines often use the Charmat process. Its significance lies in its historical and legal status: Champagne producers successfully lobbied the European Union to restrict the term méthode champenoise within the EU to wines from Champagne, so other regions use terms like traditional method, método tradicional, or metodo classico. Outside the EU, some producers still use méthode champenoise or 'Champagne' on labels for non-export products, though this is decreasing. The method's legacy includes the requirement for vintage Champagnes to be 100% from the declared year, with a maximum of half the harvest used to ensure quality. Most Champagne produced is non-vintage, a blend of years that maintains a consistent house style. The process remains central to the identity of sparkling wines from Champagne, Cava, Franciacorta, Espumante, and South African Cap Classique.

Did You Know?

• Before Madame Clicquot's 1816 invention of disgorging, Champagne was cloudy.
• Non-vintage Champagne must age on lees for at least 15 months; vintage for at least three years.
• The amount of yeast used per bottle is regulated by the European Commission at 0.3 gram.