What is Méthode Champenoise? How traditional method sparkling wine gets its bubbles

That stream of tiny bubbles in your glass began as still wine.

In Méthode Champenoise, the bottle itself becomes a working part of the cellar. Inside it, yeast, pressure and time slowly transform the wine before the cork is ever secured beneath its wire cage. Some bottles remain there for years.

This centuries-old method has shaped many of the world’s most celebrated sparkling wines. It has also shaped MAWBY. We made our first traditional-method sparkling wines in Northern Michigan in 1984 and have spent the decades since learning what time inside the bottle can do.

Let’s take a closer look at the process and how each decision eventually shows up in your glass.

What does Méthode Champenoise mean?

Méthode Champenoise is a sparkling winemaking process in which the second fermentation takes place inside the individual bottle.

During fermentation, yeast consumes sugar and produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. In the first fermentation, that carbon dioxide escapes, leaving behind a still base wine. During the second fermentation, the bottle is sealed. The carbon dioxide has nowhere to go, so it dissolves into the wine and creates the bubbles released when the bottle is opened.

The method is closely associated with Champagne, where it is required for the production of Champagne. Winemakers around the world use the same bottle-fermentation process to make traditional-method sparkling wines shaped by their own grapes, climate and growing region.

How traditional method sparkling wine is made

1. It begins as still wine

Before there are bubbles, there is a base wine.

The grapes are pressed and the juice goes through its first fermentation, converting the grapes’ natural sugar into alcohol. The carbon dioxide produced during this stage is allowed to escape, leaving a dry, still wine.

Sparkling wine grapes are often harvested with plenty of acidity and moderate sugar. The base wine can taste lean or sharp at this stage, but its high acidity gives it the structure needed to carry it through the rest of the sparkling winemaking process.

At MAWBY, grapes for our traditional-method wines come from the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsulas. We pick them by hand, gently whole-cluster press them and carry out the first fermentation in stainless steel tanks.

2. The blend takes shape

Winemakers taste the base wines and decide how the final cuvée, or blend, should come together.

A wine may feature one grape variety, several varieties or wines from different vineyard lots. Some blends also include reserve wines held back from earlier vintages.

Our 100% estate-grown wine, Talismøn, is one example of reserve-wine blending. Its blend includes Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Vignoles, along with a solera of reserve wines dating back to 1993. A solera preserves a continuous thread of older wine, allowing several years of the vineyard’s history to become part of the next bottle.

Blending requires a particular kind of imagination. Every component brings something to the bottle, from fruit and acidity to texture and depth. The winemaker tastes a still wine and considers what it may become after another fermentation and years of aging.

3. A second fermentation creates the bubbles

The finished blend is bottled with a measured mixture of wine, yeast and sugar called the liqueur de tirage.

The bottle is sealed with a temporary crown cap, similar to the cap on a beer bottle. The yeast consumes the added sugar, producing a little more alcohol and carbon dioxide.

With nowhere else to go, the carbon dioxide dissolves into the wine.

The bubbles begin inside the bottle. They stay there through every step that follows.

4. The wine ages on its lees

When the second fermentation is complete, the spent yeast cells settle inside the bottle. This sediment is called the lees.

The bottles rest horizontally while the wine ages in contact with the lees. As the yeast cells slowly break down through a process called autolysis, they contribute texture and new aromas to the wine.

A cellar may look quiet during this stage, but there is plenty happening inside the bottles.

5. Riddling gathers the sediment

The lees have done their job. Now they need to leave.

During riddling, each bottle is gradually turned and tilted until it rests neck-down. These movements encourage the sediment to slide toward the neck and collect beneath the temporary cap.

Traditionally, riddling was done by hand on angled wooden racks called pupitres. A cellar worker would give each bottle a small turn and gradually change its angle over several weeks.

At MAWBY, we use a riddling machine. Bottles are loaded into large metal cages, and the machine moves them through a precise series of turns and angles.

Mechanical riddling also gives us consistency across hundreds of bottles without changing the defining feature of the traditional method. Every wine still completes its second fermentation and ages inside its individual bottle.

6. Disgorgement removes the lees

Once the sediment has collected in the neck, that portion of the bottle is frozen. The crown cap is removed, and the pressure inside the bottle pushes out the frozen plug of yeast.

This step is called disgorgement.

At MAWBY, we use specialized equipment to disgorge the bottles. It removes the sediment quickly and consistently while preserving as much wine and pressure as possible.

The process has all the manners of a very small, carefully controlled explosion.

The wine left behind is clear, sparkling and nearly finished.

7. Dosage sets the final balance

Disgorgement leaves a small amount of space inside the bottle. The winemaker fills it with a finishing mixture known as the dosage, or liqueur d’expédition.

Dosage usually contains wine and a measured amount of sugar. It helps balance the wine’s acidity and establishes its final sweetness level. A dosage can soften a particularly bright wine without making it taste noticeably sweet.

Dosage is small, but its influence is not. This final step gives our winemakers room to get creative, as seen in Honey, which is finished with a honey-infused dosage, and Panther Cuvée, which receives one infused with coffee from Panther Coffee.

We use equipment to add the dosage with precision and consistency. The recipe still begins with tasting. The winemaking team decides what the wine needs and how much is enough.

The bottle is then sealed with its familiar mushroom-shaped cork and secured with a wire cage. After a final period of rest, it is ready to leave the cellar.

Is traditional method sparkling wine the same as Champagne?

Champagne is both a place and a protected wine name. It can only come from the Champagne region of France and must follow the region’s production rules, including a second fermentation in the bottle.

Traditional-method sparkling wines are made in many other places. Crémant in France, Cava in Spain, Franciacorta in Italy and Cap Classique in South Africa are familiar examples.

Here in Northern Michigan, we make sparkling wine. The process carries centuries of knowledge. Our grapes and growing region make the finished wine ours.

You can read more about the distinction in our guide to Champagne and sparkling wine.

Méthode Champenoise at MAWBY

Larry Mawby made our first Méthode Champenoise wines in 1984 after recognizing the Leelanau Peninsula’s potential for high-quality sparkling wine.

By the late 1990s, MAWBY had stopped making still wine and committed fully to sparkling wine. We have made nothing else since.

That focus has helped make MAWBY one of the Midwest’s leading sparkling wine producers and a pioneer of the style in Michigan. Traditional-method sparkling wine has been part of our cellar for more than four decades. Our experience lives in the details: when we pick, how we blend, how long a bottle rests and what we add at dosage.

We now make sparkling wine through several production methods, each chosen for the style we want in the glass. Tradition gives us a foundation. Experience gives us room to play.

Traditional method vs Cuve Close

Traditional method and Cuve Close both create natural carbonation through a second fermentation. The location of that fermentation changes how the wine develops.

In the traditional method, fermentation takes place inside each bottle. This allows the wine to spend extended time aging on its lees, often creating a more layered texture and flavors associated with bread, toast and pastry.

With the Cuve Close method, the second fermentation takes place in a sealed pressure tank. This approach helps preserve bright fruit and floral aromas. It is especially well suited to fresh, lively styles of sparkling wine.

MAWBY uses both methods. We choose the process based on the wine we want to make.

Frequently asked questions

What are lees?

Lees are the spent yeast cells left behind after fermentation. Traditional-method sparkling wine ages in contact with them before they are removed through riddling and disgorgement.

Is all traditional-method sparkling wine Champagne?

No. Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France and follow its production rules. Winemakers in many other regions use the same bottle-fermentation process to make sparkling wine.

Does dosage make sparkling wine sweet?

Dosage helps establish the wine’s final balance and sweetness level. Even a dry Brut sparkling wine may receive a small dosage to soften its acidity. Some wines receive little or no added sugar.

Does using a riddling machine change the production method?

No. Traditional method is defined by the second fermentation taking place inside the bottle. Riddling can be completed by hand or with a machine.

Is Prosecco made with the traditional method?

Most Prosecco is made using the Cuve Close or Charmat method, with the second fermentation taking place in a pressurized tank. This helps preserve the wine’s fresh fruit and floral character.

How long does traditional-method sparkling wine take to make?

The timeline varies by wine and producer. At MAWBY, our Méthode Champenoise wines spend between two and seven years aging in the bottle before release.

How can I tell whether a sparkling wine is bottle-fermented?

Look for terms such as traditional method, méthode traditionnelle, méthode classique or bottle fermented on the label or product description. Regional names such as Champagne, Cava and Franciacorta also indicate traditional-method production.

Taste what time can do

Ready to meet the finished bottles? Explore our Méthode Champenoise wines or visit us at our tasting room in Suttons Bay for a pour.