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.
Facts
-
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 wild mushrooms Cream of potato soup
with wild mushrooms
- 300 Gramm geschälte Kartoffeln
- 100 Gramm Wurzelgemüse
- 100 Gramm Waldpilze
- 1 ganze Zwiebel
- 1 ganze Knoblauchzehe
- 30 Gramm Speckwürfel
- 40 Gramm Margarine
- 750 ml Brühe
- 200 ml Sahne
- 1 Zweig Thymian
- nach Belieben Petersilie, Butter, Salz, Pfeffer, Muskat
Clean, wash and finely dice the root vegetables. Finely dice the onion and garlic clove and finely chop the thyme. Sauté the diced bacon with the margarine in a pan until lightly browned, add the diced onion, garlic, root vegetables and thyme. Sauté, add the stock and cook for 2 minutes.
Finely grate the potatoes, add to the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, add the cream, season and flavour. Clean, wash and chop the mushrooms and sauté in a pan with butter. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped parsley and pour over the soup when serving.
- Riesling (trocken)
- Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)
with strong red wine Wild boar ragout
with strong red wine
- 800 Gramm Fleisch vom Wildschwein (Keule o. Schulter)
- 80 Gramm Bauchspeck
- 100 Gramm Zwiebeln
- 60 Gramm Karotten
- 60 Gramm Staudensellerie
- 1 TL Tomatenmark
- 200 ml kräftigen Rotwein
- 100 ml Portwein
- 1 Liter braune Wildbrühe
- 1 TL Preiselbeeren
- 1 EL geschlagene Sahne o. Sauerrahm
- 20 Gramm Mehl
- 1 Stück Lorbeerblatt
- je 1 Zweig Rosmarin und Thymian
- 4 zerdrückte Wacholderbeeren
- 1/2 TL Senf
- nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer
Clean and wash the vegetables and cut into evenly sized cubes.
Remove the fat, skin and tendons from the wild boar meat and cut into 3 cm cubes. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour. Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the meat on all sides. Add the vegetables and diced bacon and fry. Add the tomato purée and stir fry. Deglaze with the red wine and port, reduce and pour in the brown game stock. Add the spices to the meat in a small spice bag and leave the ragout to simmer in the oven at 160°C for approx. 1½ hours.
Then remove the pieces of meat, remove the spices, strain the sauce, add the cranberries and mustard and leave to reduce for about 15 minutes. If necessary, thicken with a little cornflour. Serve with the whipped cream.
- Spätburgunder / Pinot Noir (trocken)
(artificial potted meat) in the style of the house "Kunschthäwwelfläsch"
(artificial potted meat) in the style of the house
- 1 kg Schweinekamm
- 2-3 ganze Zwiebeln
- nach Belieben Lorbeerblätter, ganze Nelken, gemahlener Kümmel, Pfefferkörner
- 500 ml Rivaner oder Silvaner
- nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer
A few days before preparation, have a piece of pork neck picked up from the butcher. Alternatively, salt and pepper the pork neck yourself before preparation. The day before, cut into the pork neck with a sharp knife at a distance of approx. 1.5 cm, but do not cut all the way through.
Peel 2-3 onions, halve and cut into rings. Prepare the bay leaves, cloves, caraway seeds and pepper. Place a few slices of onion, a clove, some ground cloves and pepper in the incisions and a bay leaf in every other incision. Place the remaining onions, one or two cloves and a bay leaf in a large roasting tube, place the meat on top and pour in the white wine. Close the roasting tube tightly and leave the meat to marinate overnight in the fridge.
Then place the roasting tube on the cold oven rack and cook for approx. 1½ to 2 hours at 200 °C (gas mark 4, fan oven 180 °C).
- Müller-Thurgau (halbtrocken & feinherb)
- Silvaner (halbtrocken & feinherb)
with herb crust Roast turkey
with herb crust
- 600 Gramm Putenbrust am Stücke
- 0,25 Liter Weißwein
- 0,25 Liter Gemüsebrühe
- 4 ganze Tomaten
- 4 Scheiben Toastbrot
- 2 ganze Eier
- 2 Stück Zwiebeln
- 75 Gramm geriebener Emmentaler
- 1 Stange Porree
- 1 Bund Schnittlauch
- 1 EL Olivenöl
- nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer
Wash the meat, pat dry and cut a deep pocket lengthways. Crumble the toast. Wash and chop the herbs, peel and dice the onions.
<p
<p>Preheat the oven to 200°C (top and bottom heat). Place the bread, herbs, onions, cheese and eggs in a bowl, mix thoroughly and season. Stuff 2/3 of this mixture into the turkey breast. Pin the opening with wooden skewers and tie up crosswise with kitchen twine. Place the roast in a roasting tin and brush with oil.
Roast in the preheated oven for approx. 1 hour. Gradually pour in the white wine and vegetable stock.
<p
<p>Clean and wash the vegetables. Cut the leek into pieces and add to the roast with the whole tomatoes after 30 minutes.
About 20 minutes before the end of the cooking time, spread the remaining third of the herb mixture over the roast and finish cooking.
Arrange on plates with the vegetables and serve. Serve with rice.
- Pinot Gris (trocken)
- Chardonnay (trocken)
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