Fermentation is a process that converting the sugar in the grapes into alcohol and carbon dioxides gas by the natural yeasts which live alongside grapes on the skins, in the vineyard and winery.

Due to the differences of the appearance, smell & taste. There are 3 types of wine:

Light (Still) Wine;
Sparkling Wine;
Fortified Wine.

Light Wines

For light wines, you can have red, rose & white in color. They are usually between 8% - 15% alcohol.

Sparkling Wines

Sparkling wines are starting with a still base wine. They are wines where bubbles of carbon dioxide gas have been trapped in the bottle of the wine. There are several methods to make sparkling wines over the world :

Traditional method (Champagne method / Methode Champenoise)

First of all, a high quality, dry white wine is made with ordinary tank fermentation. Once the wine is completed, it is placed into special, heavyweight bottles and a fresh dose of yeast and sugar is added. The bottles are then capped and placed in the cool cellars for up to 2 years. During this time, a secondary fermentation takes place. The yeasts and sugars create CO2 that, because it is in a sealed container, CO2 cannot escape so dissolves into the liquid. In the past, Champagne production was a dangerous business - cellars were destroyed by exploding wines. Controlled production methods and stronger bottles have eliminated that risk.


The problem with this technique is the deposit of dead yeast cells that collects in the bottle. In still wines these would simply be filtered out, but since that would also remove the bubbles, another method had to be found. This process is known as Remuage: an action whereby each bottle is shaken lightly, revolved and its position adjusted, so that over the course of a few weeks the bottle ends up upside-down with the dead yeast cells captured in the neck of the bottle.


At this stage, the inverted bottles are carefully transported to a freezing tank. The necks are dipped in, just to the level of the gathered sediment, which freezes into a solid "plug" of dead yeast cells. The caps are removed and the gas pressure shoots the plug out. Depending on the style of wine being made (dry, medium or sweet) the bottles are topped up with a "dosage" of reserved wine and sugar.

Transfer method

This is a less common method for creating a sparkling wine. As secondary fermentation takes place in individual bottles like Champagne but instead of the expensive remuage process, the wine is cleared by filtration and is then pumped, under pressure, into clean bottles.

Tank Method (Cuve close / Charmat method)

For sweet sparkling, first fermentation of the base wine occurred. Fermentation then interrupted by filtering out the yeast and the second fermentation takes place in a sealed tank.


By this method, the second fermentation takes place by adding sugar and yeast into a pressurized tank after a full fermentation. The wine is then filtered to remove the yeasty sediment and bottled under pressure.


Asti & Prosecco of Italy and Sekt of Germany & Austria are usually using this method.

Carbonated Method

People simply carbonate the wine by pumping gas into it while bottling. This is the most basic method.

Fortified Wines

They are also known as 'liqueur' wines. This means the wines have had extra alcohol added and therefore have higher alcohol levels of 15% - 22%. Like Port and Sherry.