Sparkling wine

Be it New Year’s Eve, a party or brunch, a Formula One or a horse race – whenever people are bubbling over with joy, it’s hard to imagine them without a glass of bubbly, the sparkling crown jewel of winemaking.

8 - 10°

are ideal drinking temperatures
3,5

bar minimum
9 Monate

Fermentation in the bottle
0-3g

residual sugar content correspond to "brut nature".

German gourmets are the world champions of Sekt consumption. And that’s why many wine estates have established Winzersekt as a fixed component on their list of offers.

Extra Effort brings Extra Flavor

Classic fermentation in the bottle: At the beginning of the production of Sekt, sugar and a special kind of yeast, able to withstand great pressure, are added to the base wine. This initiates the second fermentation, producing the CO2 that will later make the Sekt sparkle so pleasantly in the glass. The pressure exerted by the carbonic acid needs to amount to at least 3.5 bar – up to 6 bar can be achieved. In the original method of Sekt manufacturing, the so-called Méthode champenoise, and in classic bottle fermentation, the second fermentation takes place in the individual bottle.

In a dark and cool cellar, Winzersekt lies and matures on its yeast for a minimum of 9 months, sometimes for years. After this, the bottles are placed upside down into so-called riddling racks. For a period of four weeks, they get turned daily and set ever more steeply upright at the same time. At the end of this laborious process, all the yeast has collected in the bottle’s neck. The bottle necks are then immersed in a brine (a freezing cold solution) to make the yeast freeze. If the bottles are opened now, the pressure from the carbonic acid ejects the yeast clot. The technical term for this process is “disgorging”.

Since the term “Méthode champenoise” has been exclusively reserved to the products of the French Champagne region for many years, Sekt manufactured by this method in Germany uses the term traditional or classic bottle fermentation.

Designations of styles

The designations for the styles of Sekt as defined by German Wine Law are different from those of wine, because the natural carbonic acid content of Sekt reduces the perception of sweetness. Accordingly, the permissible residual sugar levels of a dry Sekt are markedly higher than those of a dry wine.

brut nature: 0-3 g/l
extra brut: 0-6 g/l
brut: 0-12 g/l
extra dry: 12-17 g/l
dry: 17-32 g/l
semi-dry: 32-50 g/l
mild: over 50 g/l

Not everything that foams is sparkling wine:

Schaumwein is the generic term for moussing, i.e. foaming wines with perlage, with a minimum pressure of 3 bar.

Sparkling wine is sparkling wine whose carbonic acid is produced during fermentation and generates at least 3.5 bar of internal pressure.

Perlwein has less pressure, the carbonic acid may also be added. Good sparkling wines are fresh, light, summery-fruity and at the same time relatively inexpensive, as they are not subject to sparkling wine tax.

Secco is the modern term for trendy sparkling wines.

Crémant can be called German sparkling wines that meet certain specifications for grape varieties, harvest and fermentation.

Which wine-growing region was the first to introduce sparkling wines to the market?

Rheinhessen launched the first vintner sparkling wines in Germany more than 25 years ago.

Varietals

with white wine Cauliflower soup

with white wine

3 Stück Schalotten
500 Gramm Blumenkohl
20 Gramm Butter
1 TL Fenchelsaat
50 ml Weißwein
800 ml Gemüsebrühe
100 ml Schlagsahne
1 Prise Zucker
nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer

Peel the shallots and cut into slices.

Clean and chop the cauliflower.

Melt the butter in a pan, sauté the shallots with the fennel seeds over a medium heat for 3 minutes until colourless. Add the cauliflower, sauté for 2 minutes, season with salt and sugar.

<p>Deglaze with white wine, bring to the boil and top up with vegetable stock and whipping cream. Simmer over a low heat for 20 minutes.

Blend with a hand blender, adding stock if necessary to reach the desired consistency.

Serve drizzled with a few drops of olive oil.

Silvaner (trocken)

with shrimps Pumpkin soup

with shrimps

1 kleiner Hokkaido-Kürbis
1 Zwiebel
5 cm Ingwer
2 EL Butter
750 ml Gemüsebrühe
300 ml Kokosmilch
12 mittelgroße Shrimps
2 EL Olivenöl
Eine Prise Salz & Pfeffer

Peel and dice the pumpkin, onion and ginger and sauté in the butter.

Deglaze with the vegetable stock and sauté for about 15 to 20 minutes until soft.

Sauté the shrimps in a little olive oil and leave to cook over a low heat for a few minutes. Place on wooden skewers and keep warm in aluminium foil.

When the vegetables have been steamed until soft, blend finely with a hand blender. Stir in the coconut milk and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the soup in large cups and garnish with the shrimp skewers.

Freshly baked white bread goes well with this.

Muskateller (halbtrocken & feinherb)
Federweißer (brut nature)

the "Frankfurt Green Sauce" Quiche with herbs

the "Frankfurt Green Sauce"

200 Gramm Mehl
100 Gramm Butter
je 1 Bund Kräuter für Frankfurter Grüne Sauce (Petersilie, Kresse, Kerbel, Borretsch, Sauerampfer, Schnittlauch, Pimpernelle)
100 - 125 Gramm Schwarzwälder Schinken
7 ganze Eier
125 ml Sahne
100 Gramm Frischkäse
1 EL Zitronensaft
nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer

Knead the flour and butter with 4 tbsp water and a teaspoon of salt to form a smooth dough. Line a mould with it and leave to cool for 30 minutes.</p

<p>Hard boil 4 eggs. Wash, drain and finely chop the herbs from the Frankfurt green sauce. Cut the ham into wafer-thin slices and spread on the pastry base. Chop the hard-boiled eggs into small

and spread over the top. Mix the 3 eggs, cream and fresh cheese and season with 1 tbsp lemon juice, salt and pepper, then fold in the herbs. Spread the mixture over the pastry base.

Bake at 180 °C (gas mark 4) on the middle shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes.

Riesling (trocken)

with cinnamon and sugar Odenwald apple soufflé

with cinnamon and sugar

1 kg Äpfel
250 Gramm Semmelbrösel
125 Gramm Zucker
2 EL Butter
1/2 TL Zimt
1 Msp. gemahlene Nelken
50 Gramm Rosinen
100 ml trockener Weißwein
1 EL Rum
zum Bestreuen Zimt & Zucker

Sauté the breadcrumbs, butter, spices and 2 tbsp sugar in a pan. Peel the apples and cut into slices. Sauté in white wine with rum and sugar until the liquid has almost evaporated.

<p>Fill the greased springform tin alternately with the breadcrumb mixture and apples (bottom and top layer of breadcrumb mixture).

Bake for one ½ hour at 140 °C. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.