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Sparkling wine

Sprudelnder Sekt

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.

with fresh chanterelles Autumn bruschetta

with fresh chanterelles

  • 4 Ciabatta-Brötchen
  • 200 Gramm kleine Pfifferlinge
  • 4 EL kleingehackte Petersilie
  • 4 Zehen Knoblauch
  • 80 Gramm Pecorino (Hartkäse)
  • 8 EL kaltgepresstes Olivenöl
  • Eine Prise Salz & Pfeffer

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

 

Clean the chanterelles. Sauté the parsley in a pan with half of the oil, then add the mushrooms and cook over a low heat for approx. 5 minutes.

 

Slice the rolls and bake for approx. 5 minutes until crispy.

 

Chop the garlic into small pieces, spread on the warm bread rolls and drizzle with the other half of the oil. Coarsely grate the pecorino.

 

Stir the chanterelle and parsley mixture into the pecorino and spread over the halves of the rolls.

  • Pinot Gris (trocken)
  • Federweißer (brut nature)

with semi-dry wines Flädlesuppe

with semi-dry wines

  • 1 Bund Schnittlauch
  • 1 Liter Fleischbrühe
  • 150 Gramm Weizenmehl
  • 300 ml Milch
  • nach Belieben Speckschwarte zum ausreiben der Pflanne
  • Etwas Salz

Make a smooth, not too thick batter from the flour, milk, eggs and a pinch of salt. Heat a heavy frying pan on a high heat, rub with bacon fat, pour in a small dollop of batter, allow to spread and fry thin pancakes (flädle).

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<p>Leave the pancakes to cool, halve and cut into thin strips.

 

Place in clear, very hot meat stock and serve immediately.

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  • Trollinger (halbtrocken & feinherb)

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)

in a bacon coating Lamb

in a bacon coating

  • 4 Stück Lammlachse à 150 g
  • 4 Scheiben Bacon
  • 0,1 Liter Wein
  • 0,3 Liter Gemüsebrühe
  • 1 kleine Schalotte
  • 20 Gramm Butter
  • 4 EL Olivenöl
  • je 2 Zweige Thymian, Rosmarin, Salbei
  • nach Geschmack Salz & Pfeffer

Season the lamb salmon with pepper and massage 2 tbsp of olive oil into the meat. Finely chop the thyme, rosemary and sage and season the meat in the herbs. Marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

<p

 

<p>Wrap the meat with the bacon slices and sear on all sides in the remaining olive oil. Continue to cook for approx. 4 minutes on each side over a low heat (the cooking time depends on the thickness of the lamb loin - it is best to do a pressure test). Then wrap in aluminium foil and leave to rest in the oven at 80 °C – so they remain juicy and slightly pink on the inside.

 

This goes well with Bärlauch risotto.

  • Dornfelder (trocken)
  • Sabrieren von deutschem Winzersekt
  • deutscher Winzersekt und Männer
  • Sektflaschen mit Agraffen
  • Sektgenuss, Sekt Stillleben

  • Wine knowledge Non-alcoholic wines and sparkling wines Plenty of potential even without!

  • Wine knowledge Punch A glass full of wine, bubbles and sunshine

  • Wine knowledge New Wine ("Federweißer") When grape juice starts to ferment

    If you hold the glass to your ear, Federweißer (new wine) sounds like murmuring waves. When the time of the grape harvest has come, you can get 'Rauscher', 'Sauser' or 'Brauser', these local terms are used for Federweißer in Germany, on every street corner.