Sparkling wine from grapes.

[Duxuk]

After 126 all grain brews, I brew with confidence. Perhaps it was drunken bravado but when asked if I could make a wine from this years bountiful crop of grapes in my mates Lancashire back garden, I claimed that I could.
My thoughts so far are to make a sparkling wine in the hope that the fizz will cover any inadequacies in flavour. I thought I'd crush and squeeze the grapes, which are slightly red in colour, to release as much juice as possible. I don't want to steep or pulp ferment to get the red colour out. I'll be happy with Champagne!
Should I then use campden tablets to kill the wild yeast? I'll than acquire a champagne yeast, unless there is a better alternative. I'll take a hydrometer reading and adjust upwards with white sugar if needed. What would be a good target OG?
I'll ferment until done and then use finings to get it as clear as I can.
How much sugar will I need in a bottle? I haven't acquired the bottles yet so don't know what volume they'll be.
Does this sound like a plan or am I hopelessly lost?

 

[pomme homme]

It's a brave amateur wine maker who attempts to produce a sparkling méthode traditionelle wine. Take a look at https://vinepair.com/articles/sparkling-wine-champagne-methods/.

 

[The Baron]

Stick in a corny and then carbonate with CO2 trying to make champagne method is not easy. You will need proper champagne bottle to start with and then removing the sediment is a art. I have used a corny and CO2 with reasonable success

 

[Duxuk]

Stick in a corny and then carbonate with CO2 trying to make champagne method is not easy. You will need proper champagne bottle to start with and then removing the sediment is a art. I have used a corny and CO2 with reasonable success

Yes, I did a bit of reading. The champagne method is way too complex. I think it will just have to be wine!

 

[pomme homme]

Sensible man!

 

[tonyhibbett]

Champagne is basically a mixture of chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier grown in a climate similar to southern England so the sugar content is low and the acidity high, making a rather poor white wine. The fizz was a natural accident because fermentation did not complete when the weather turned cold but restarted in the bottles in the spring, bursting them. So they made stronger bottles with better closures, extracted the yeast sediment and turned it into a premium product. The ever-growing popular prosecco is based on the same principal: tarted up poor white wine!
I have successfully used the champagne method and carbonation to produce sparkling wines, but the traditional elderflower champagne produces excellent results. The trick is to prime with the right amount of sugar and store the bottles upright. In time the sediment shrinks down a a very small quantity and is only disturbed when the last glass is poured carelessly.
What makes bottle fermented better is the bubbles are much smaller and released more slowly, while maturing with the yeast adds a special dimension to the flavour.

 

[Duxuk]

Thanks tonyhibbett. After being put off by the champagne method I still think it would be better to go fizzy due to the unknown quality of the grapes. If I could do it without decoction that would be fine. Hopefully I can get some plastic tops for recycled fizz bottles and wire them on.

 

[tonyhibbett]

There are 2 types of sparkling wine stoppers - open ended and closed. The former are used for the bottle fermentation. The bottles are progressively inverted and the yeast settles in the cavity. The necks are frozen and the stopper is removed with the yeast. The bottle is then sealed with a closed ended stopper. In both cases a new wire cage is fitted. You can also get fancy foils to cover the neck, although manually fitting them without unsightly wrinkles is tricky. The foils conceal the large air space which acts as a buffer.