Fine sparkling wines such as the Cuvée Aurora Roséthe Cuvée Aurorathe Cuvéè Aurora Blancthe Cuvéè Aurora Riserva 100 Mes or the Banfi Brut Metodo Classico are characterised not only by an intense, enveloping aroma and fine, persistent perlage, but also by exceptional clarity, considered one of the hallmarks of the classic method sparkling wines. This characteristic is the result of an elaborate process called remuage which, in its manual form, allows sediment to be collected in the neck of the bottle and then removed later by disgorging.
What is remuage?
The word "remuage"is of French origin and literally means '.shaking". In the case of the remuage of the sparkling wine bottle, this shaking is controlled and calculated to the millimetre with the utmost precision, by means of decisive, time-studied movements.
The French origin of the technical term for the process of 'controlled shaking' testifies to the French origins of the process itself. During the 19th century in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, well known for its bubbles, wine producers devised this practice to make classic method sparkling wines limpid, so as to remove lees and fermentation residues and give the sparkling wine its classic perlage.
Historical background on remuage
The first to adopt an effective method for sediment to accumulate in the neck of the bottle was, according to tradition, Jean Godinot, canon of Reims Cathedral and renowned winemaker. He suggested placing the bottles, partially inverted, in a bed of sand so that the sediment could settle. However, such sand beds took up a fair amount of space in cellars and, at a time when champagne production and consumption had increased in France and Europe, it was necessary to find a different solution.
It is due to Mrs Clicquotowner of a famous winery in Champagne and one of its employees, Antoine Mullerthe invention of the remuage boarda kind of three- or four-tier shelf, the shelves of which were made of tables with slanted holes in which to place the bottles at an angle.
The first pupitres as it is known today dates back to 1864 and was patented by Michelot. The structure consisted of an inclined table with the right angle into which 120 bottles could be inserted and comfortably picked up to perform the manual remuage.
Over the years, pupitres evolved to allow greater automation in the remuage process: the crank-operated pupitre and the pupitre de Mereaux were not very successful, as they were easily prone to breakage, while the pupimatic of 1966, a pupitre composed of vertical panels with 240 bottle slots, driven by electric motors, was adopted in many cellars.
The slow transition from manual to automatic remuage began between 1972 and 1973, with the invention of the champarexa machine that acted not on individual bottles but on the entire crate containing them, and the so-called giro-pallet, a cubic container that can hold 504 bottles and rotates thanks to the action of an electric motor. Today, modern and sophisticated gyro-pallets are widely used by companies performing automatic remuage. However, for sparkling wines of excellence, manual remuage is always preferred.
How is manual remuage done?
But how does the manual remuage and at what point in the production of sparkling wine does this controlled bottle rotation take place?
Bottles ready for manual remuage are inserted neck-down on special wooden frames, triangular or inverted V-shaped, filled with holes for vertically inserting the bottles. These structures are called pupitres (French for 'lectern' or 'table') and allow the bottles to be tilted gradually, increasing their inclination to 60 degrees within 25-30 days, so as to collect yeast sediment in the neck of the bottle used for the bottle fermentation typical of classic method sparkling wines.
A small plastic cylinder is inserted under the crown cap to facilitate the accumulation of lees at the end of the manual remuage: the bidule.
Daily then the remuerthe manual remuage expert, rotates the bottle with a firm flick of the wrist, so as to shake out the residue at the bottom of the bottle, with a rotation of about 1/4 or 1/8, clockwise or anticlockwise.
When is manual remuage done?
As mentioned above, manual remuage is necessary for the removal of sediments and impurities. This delicate phase is after the second fermentation in the bottle and the so-called frothingthat is, the process that allows carbon dioxide to remain in the wine in the form of the typical froth from which the sparkling wine derives its name.
The sparkling wine production process begins with the preparation of the cuvée, the base wine obtained from the skilful blending of wines from carefully selected grape varieties. It is then bottled in the final destination bottle and left to mature on the lees at a controlled temperature for several months (in the case of the Cuvée Aurora bottled by Banfi, maturation on the lees is about 30 months).
At this stage, a mixture of sugar, minerals and yeast is introduced, which is called liquer de tirage ('draught liquid') and which enables the second fermentation in the bottle.
Only after refinement, manual remuage is carried outfor the removal of the spent yeast and lees. Finally, disgorgement or dégorgement is carried out, i.e. the removal of the cork with the bidule where the lees have concentrated, and the replacement with the new cork. This process, once done by hand by an experienced technician, is now carried out in most wineries by an ad hoc machine.
For remuage, however, the manual process is still preferred: an experienced remuer can rotate up to 40,000 bottles per day. However, for large productions, the 'gyro-pallet', also called 'gyro-palette', can be used.
How long does the manual remuage last?
Given the importance of this process in the production of sparkling wine using the classic method, it is natural to wonder how long the manual remuage lasts. The treatment time varies depending on the type of sparkling wine and on how many days it takes to reach the clarity that characterises, for example, a Brut Metodo Classico. In general, the remuage lasts about 1/2 months and a bottle can be handled even more than 25 times before it is considered ready.
Specialised remuers have the habit of draw a mark with chalk at the bottom of the bottle to indicate the starting point for that day's remuage, so that it can be used as a placeholder for the next day's manual remuage: this is a trick of the trade that proves very useful, as the manual remuage process takes several weeks.