🍷 Continuous method
A method where wine with yeast flows non-stop through a chain of tanks and absorbs gas.
The continuous method is a way of making sparkling wine in which wine with yeast flows continuously through a chain of closed tanks and becomes charged with gas. Unlike the traditional method, where every bottle ferments separately, production here runs without a pause, like a conveyor belt.
Wine with sugar and yeast is fed into the first tank. Under pressure it moves slowly onward, the second fermentation continues, and the carbon dioxide stays dissolved. At the end the wine is cooled, clarified and bottled. This yields large volumes in a short time.
The continuous method is related to the Charmat method, where wine ferments in one large tank, and belongs to production techniques of large wineries. It is used for inexpensive sparkling wines in some countries, including Portugal and Germany. Such wine is usually fruity, light and fresh and meant to be drunk soon. It is simpler than Champagne in technology and costs less.
How it connects to Wine
🍷 Continuous method → → → 🗺️ Portuguese wine → kind of → 🗺️ Wines of Europe → kind of → 🍷 Wine
Links
- Part of
- 🍾 How sparkling wine is made
- Related to
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine, 🗺️ German wine
- Similar and different
- 🍷 Charmat method
Frequently asked questions
What is the continuous method?
A way of making sparkling wine in which it flows through a chain of tanks and becomes charged with gas.
How does it differ from the traditional method?
In the traditional method each bottle ferments separately, while here production is continuous.
Which wines is it used for?
Inexpensive sparkling wines meant to be drunk soon.
What to read next
- 🗺️ German wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes and appellations.
- 🗺️ Portuguese wine — The country's wine and winemaking: regions, grapes, appellations.
Similar
🍷 Secondary fermentation · 🍷 Carbonation · 🍷 Ancestral method · 🍷 Cuvée · 🍷 Traditional method · 🍷 Charmat method