Riddling (Remuage)
The process in traditional method sparkling wine production of gradually tilting and rotating bottles so that yeast sediment collects in the neck, ready for removal by disgorgement.
In depth
After the second fermentation in bottle (which creates the bubbles in traditional method sparkling wines), dead yeast cells form a sediment inside the bottle. This sediment must be removed before the wine is sold, but must first be consolidated in the neck of the bottle.
Riddling (remuage in French) achieves this by placing bottles on a riddling rack (pupitre) at an angle and gradually tilting them, neck downward, over several weeks. Each day the bottles are given a slight quarter-turn and incrementally tilted further. The vibration and gravity combine to move the sediment towards the bottle neck.
Traditionally this was done entirely by hand — a skilled riddler in Champagne could riddle 40,000–50,000 bottles per day. Today most large houses use gyropalettes — large metal crates that hold hundreds of bottles and are rotated and tilted by a computer programme. A gyropalette completes riddling in 3–7 days versus 6–8 weeks by hand.
Once the sediment has collected in the neck, the bottle undergoes disgorgement — the neck is frozen and the plug of frozen wine containing the sediment is expelled.
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Frequently asked questions
- Why do sparkling wines need riddling?
- After the second fermentation in bottle, dead yeast cells settle as sediment inside the bottle. If left, this sediment would make the wine cloudy and unpleasant. Riddling gradually moves the sediment into the bottle neck so it can be removed by disgorgement, leaving the wine clear. Gyropalettes have replaced hand riddling in most large Champagne houses.
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