Does Anyone Here Make Their Own Sparkling Wine with Added Carbonation?

WINE TALK
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Hi Guys,

Some of you may know from very early posts that I have been a foodie long before I was a Berserker and have no problem playing or experimenting with wines in the name of molecular gastronomy (though I will NEVER mix red and white wine, as per Charlie Fu’s Pepsi and wine mixing video, THAT’S JUST INSANE!!! [snort.gif] ). My last experiment was adding homemade pure vanilla extract and liquid smoke to an icewine to successfully simulate the effects of oak aging.

I was reading how Magnotta in Canada created the first sparkling icewine by simply forcing carbonation into an icewine batch instead of the tried and true Charmat second fermentation method inside the bottle. Unable to resist, I used my Sodastream carbonator (Which I highly recommend, BTW) and forced carbonation into samples of both a Vidal icewine and a Riesling Spatlese. A couple of interesting observations:

  1. The carbonation does more than tickle the tongue and give that pleasant carbonation burn going down – it will actually cut down the sweetness quite a lot. So much so, in fact, that the Spatlese tasted quite like a nice off-dry champagne.

  2. It is not possible to produce the fizziness of a true Champagne level because I am forcing carbonation into the finished product as opposed to developing it naturally inside the bottle. I’d say it gets to the level of a light sparkling water.

The samples are sitting in recycled screwtop 375 ml bottles which I filled up to the top to displace all the oxygen. It will be interesting to see what effects this will have over the week.

So has anyone else here ever added carbonation to their wines to turn it into a sparkling wine?

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[shock.gif]

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A buddy of mine also has the Sodastream. We have been making our own wine for about 12 years now. Last year we made a Riesling. So, he goes and carbonates it and it is very much like an inexpensive Sekt from Germany. It is better than a lot of cheap regularly made sparkling wines. He has been doing this routinely now for the past 6 months. It makes a good aperitif.

Byron

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Picking a nit, in the Charmat process the secondary fermentation takes place in bulk - in a pressurized tank - with the resulting sparkling wine bottled afterward. It does not happen in the bottle, which is Methode Champenoise.

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Thanks Bob. I was going to point that out as well. And I wouldn’t exactly call that “picking a nit”.

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I know, but I’m trying to be mindful of the reputation I’ve developed. I’ve tried to stop saying, "Look, you moron . . . "

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Every day, in every way, you are getting better and better.

Just keep repeating that to yourself. [wow.gif]

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On a similar note, does anyone here make their own Pinotage by mixing compost with two buck chuck?

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[rofl.gif] [rofl.gif]

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I sometimes fart in the bathtub.

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I have a SodaStream and thought briefly about trying something like this, but I did a few Google searches and heard that it either (a) destroys the machine, or (b) makes a huge mess. So, what’s the trick?

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Hey Scott,

From my experience, I have to say that SodaStream disasters happen because people don’t use the SodaStream machine properly. Unlike water, other liquids such as wine contain components whose molecules are also taking up space in the liquid (the biggest culprit being sugar but also flavor components, alcohol, etc.) and this has to be accounted for which most users don’t do.

The biggest mistake they make is that they carbonate other liquids full blast like they do with water and then it all fizzes up out of the bottle when they remove it. Here are some tips that will help avoid such messes.

FYI, I use the Sodastream Eco with the clear plastic carbonating bottles so I can see what’s happening. I don’t recommend doing this with their high-end Penguin model with the glass carafes because you can’t actually see what’s going on with that model. Okay here goes with the technique:

  1. GO SLOWLY. Do one small squirt of carbonation at a time, not a long blast like you might with clear water. Watch the liquid bubble up and then watch as it recedes. You may even want to help it along by pulling the bottle slightly towards you as if you were about to unscrew it which will release a little gas pressure.

  2. DON’T OVERCARBONATE. As I said, there’s other molecules taking up space. With water, you’re supposed to keep going until you get the “honk” 3 times so that you know it’s fully carbonated. With wine and other sweet liquids, I will only do 1 or 2 short squirts past ONE honk.

  3. THE PRESSURE RELEASE. You may have to release the pressure in the bottle a bit by pulling it towards you a bit during carbonation. As soon as you hear pressure escaping, return the bottle back to vertical position. The pressure is relieved, the CO2 is dissolved in the wine, and you can give it another spurt.

  4. WATCH FOR THE UPWARDS BUBBLE “WAVE”. If you’re not sure if the wine is carbonated enough, here’s how you know. When you do the pressure release above and return the bottle back to vertical position, you will see a “wave” of CO2 bubbles rise from the bottom of the liquid all the way to the top and the liquid will become clear. It’s done.

This does take practice with your machine. If you want to practice but don’t want to waste valuable wine (or any other liquid product that cost you good money for that matter), here’s a practice tip: Dissolve 1/2 cup of sugar in one liter of plain old water. Try practicing with that. It’ll give you an idea of how differently sweet liquids react to carbonation.

When I first tried a liquid other than water, I unfortunately lost 1 litre of fresh pineapple juice and did indeed make a mess before I used my noggin and figured out how to do it properly.

  1. CLEAR THE NOZZLE WHEN FINISHED. The reason people ruin their machines is that the nozzle always sucks up a little bit of liquid after every carbonation blast due to vacuum effect. Sucking up water is harmless, but suck up enough liquid with sugars and other stuff in it and it will eventually gum up the interior of the SodaStream. Solution: clear the nozzle by giving it a very quick short 1 second blast after you remove the bottle.

Yes, this does waste a bit of valuable CO2 but it sure beats having to spend another $200 to buy another SodaStream because you ruined yours.

  1. CLEAN THE MACHINE. Even if you did a perfect carbonation, when fizzing a liquid other than water, always wipe the machine clean with a damp sponge, cloth or paper towel and then dry it off with a dish towel or paper towels. This includes the nozzle itself.

Hope this helps. I don’t recommend trying this with wine until you have it down pat with other liquids such as juice or homemade iced tea. If you must try with wine, please try first with some cheap plonk and not your one bottle of '82 Lafite Rothschild please. [tease.gif]

Once I did get the technique down, I was able to perfect the trick with iced teas, juices, wine and even milk. However, be careful with opaque liquids like milk because it makes it harder to judge how carbonated it is because you can’t see the bubble “wave” going upwards that I was referring to. Good luck!

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I’m thinking of doing SQN Sangria for July 4th but might change my mind to Kistler Sparkling wine if I can get my hand on a carbonation machine.

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Thanks! Will try to work up the nerve to try this.

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maybe sparkling La Tache would go better w/chili . . .
alan

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My last experiment was adding homemade pure vanilla extract and liquid smoke to an icewine to successfully simulate the effects of oak aging.

Tran - it’s simulating SOME of the effects of oak FLAVORS, but not oak aging, which is about a lot more than simply adding some oak flavors.

That said, congrats for being so willing to experiment! Even though some of the ideas seem perfectly dreadful, it’s pretty cool that you’re not hung up on the “integrity” of the wine. Carbonating the wine is a little bit brilliant actually and I can see a market for carbonated Port as children reach their drinking years. [cheers.gif] [cheers.gif] It’s got what Americans like - sugar and carbonation, only missing the fat but with some fries, could be an excellent beverage to accompany a Big Mac.

By the way, I assume you were joking about mixing red and white? Winemakers do it often, why not the customer? I mean, if you’re going to add smoke flavoring. . .

I wonder if you could do that thing that Jose Andres does where he forms a little bubble around some liquified food like olives or yogurt? Please keep us updated on your experiments! Cheers!

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And don’t forget DRC with Sprite – an unforgettable combination!

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only with the Montrachet

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Hey Greg,

The mixing red and white wine joke was referring to Charlie’s posted video where he and some friends mixed coke with red wine and then he declared to the camera with a straight face he would never mix red and white wine together because that was just insane even as he was committing the sacrilege of mixing red wine with Coke. :smiley:

In fairness, I do have respect for the integrity of wine depending on the experiment and the price point. I have no problem carbonating a $20 wine or using a $50 - 100 red wine instead of plonk to make Sangria, say, but would balk at doing either with say a pristine bottle of Yquem. I think there’s a certain price point at which even hardcore mad scientist foodies like myself do back away from.

Also, you are correct in that simulating oak flavors was my result, not simulating oak aging. Sorry for the discrepancy.

Finally, as for carbonating port for children to go with their McHappy meals… $100 says its actually HEALTHIER for them than the chemical swill they already get that is passed off as “soda.”

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for those who have never seen it :smiley: