Sparkling Winemaking: Carbonation

Also known as the injection, or simply the ‘bicycle pump’, method, carbonation of wine is achieved in much the same way as carbonation of fizzy soft drinks: carbon dioxide gas is pumped from cylinders into a tank of wine which is then bottled under pressure, or very occasionally it is pumped into bottles. The result is a wine which has many, and large, bubbles when the bottle is first opened, but whose mousse rapidly fades. It must have a pressure of at least 3 atmospheres and in EU parlance is referred to as aerated sparkling wine. This is the cheapest, least critical, and least durable way of making wine sparkle and is used for perhaps the cheapest 10% of all sparkling wines.