Trento DOC Sparkling wines

Cynthia Chaplin (sommelier, wine judge & WSET educator, host @italianwinepodcast) and I did a deep dive into fabulous Trento DOC sparkling wines and here's everything you need to know:

Trento DOC (Denominazione di origine controllata) is an appellation for white and rosé sparkling wine made in Trentino, Italy. Trentino developed this appellation, the second in the world after Champagne, to ensure quality and distinction. Only Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier with Pinot blanc are permitted, and they must be grown in a well-defined area within the Province of Trento.
Following are excerpts from Trento DOC that share everything you need to know about this exquisite Trento doc sparkling wine:
Chardonnay grapes were first brought to the region from France around 1900 by Giulio Ferrari (no relation to the carmaker) when Trento was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After graduating in Germany, Ferrari gained winemaking experience in the French Champagne producing town of Épernay. His eponymous company is now run by the third generation Ferrari's successor, Bruno Lunelli.

With 26 gold and 36 silver medals, Trentodoc is the most awarded in Italy at the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships 2023, the most selective and prestigious world competition dedicated to the world of sparkling wines, in which 19 countries participated with more than 1000 labels.

Non-vintage, millesimato or riserva

According to regulations, Trentodoc can be produced as white or rosé in the following versions:
▪ Non-Vintage: at least 15 months aging on its lees
▪ Millesimato: at least 24 months aging on its lees
▪ Riserva: at least 36 months aging on its lees
While regulations stipulate a minimum number of months aging, in reality Trentodoc producers age the wine on its lees for much longer. A long aging is synonymous with high quality for classic method production.

Trentodoc Characteristics

In the final phase of making Trentodoc classic method sparkling wines, winemakers decide on the dosage. This refers to the amount of sugar and wine (a secret mix made by the producer) that is added to the wine during disgorgement, and it depends on the calculated decision of the enologist and the winery.
From zero dosage to higher amounts, Trentodoc can be classified as:
▪ Pas Dosè (or zero dosage): containing up to 3 grams of residual sugar per liter, without any sugar added after secondary bottle fermentation
▪ Extra Brut: the final residual sugar is between 0 to 6 grams per liter
▪ Brut: containing up to 12 grams of residual sugar per liter
▪ Extra Dry: containing 12 to 17 grams of residual sugar per liter
▪ Dry, Sec: containing 17 to 32 grams of residual sugar per liter
▪ Demi Sec: containing 32 to 50 grams of residual sugar per liter

How Trento DOC is made

Trentodoc sparkling wine is produced using the Classic Method, or Metodo Classico, and made only with Trentino grapes. After harvesting by hand, the winemaking process begins. It takes time and daily work for months or years before a Trentodoc is ready. One of the key parts of making a Trentodoc classic method wine is the secondary fermentation of the base wine, which takes place in the bottle.
First, the base wine is obtained from Chardonnay, Pinot nero, Pinot bianco, or Meunier grapes. Once bottled, yeast and sugars are added, a solution called the liqueur de tirage.

The Prise de Mousse step

The “Prise de Mousse” is another important step in the Metodo Classico sparkling wine process. A syrup (called “liqueur de tirage”) is added to the base wine, a mixture composed of yeasts and sugars that start the second fermentation in the bottle.
This process leads the wine to develop alcohol and carbon dioxide, and the perlage when Trentodoc is poured into a wine glass. During this period the bottles are stacked horizontally in dark and cool wine cellars.

Second Step - Bottle Fermentation

The bubbles form because of secondary bottle fermentation. It is another important step of making sparkling classic method wine. The base wine develops carbon dioxide, which is where the perlage comes from; the bubbles form when Trentodoc is poured into the glass.
While the wine is resting, the yeasts and sugars (liqueur de tirage) initiate the secondary fermentation with the production of carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. Classic method sparkling wines can be described as “wines that undergo re-fermentation in the bottle.”
The bubbles are formed, a process called the “presa di spuma,” over a period of about 60 days.
The regulations clearly state the minimum time a Trentodoc must rest on its lees: 15 months for a non-vintage, 24 months for a millesimato, and up to 36 months for a riserva.
The term has its origin in the word “millesimo” that refers to the vintage year of the grapes, which is shown on the bottle label. It distinguishes Metodo Classico sparkling wines made from wines of a single vintage. Millesimato is made when there are special and important vintages.
The long rest, which winemakers often prolong for months beyond minimum requirements, is what gives the final product its qualities. The wines are able to age so well because the daily temperature variations of the Trentino territory give the grapes a high acidity, guaranteeing the wines’ capacity for evolving over long rest periods on their lees.
Lees are responsible for the essential secondary fermentation of the base wine, developing carbon dioxide (the bubbles!) and extending the range of aromas during the “prise de mousse”. Once their action is over, they settle in the bottle to be subsequently removed.
The third phase, called riddling, is what characterizes the classic winemaking method. Riddling collects the sediments, which are the dead yeasts or lees, in the neck of the bottle, to eliminate them during the disgorgement.

Traditional Riddling versus Modern method

Originally, riddling was done manually, and sometimes it still is today. The bottles are positioned angled down on wooden A- frames called pupitres, which allow producers to correctly turn and gently shake the bottles—right and left—so that the sediments (mainly dead yeasts) are collected in the neck of the bottle.
An expert producer is able to rotate thousands of bottles a day using precise, efficient gestures, a practice that has been passed down generation to generation. With riddling, all sediments and small, residual particles are collected in the neck of the bottle, waiting to be removed: in this way, a clean, clear Trentodoc is produced.
THE MODERN METHOD FOR RIDDLING
Today, many producers use mechanical means for riddling. The automated machines can simultaneously turn hundreds of bottles in metal crates 24 hours a day. Here, too, the bottles are positioned angled down before disgorgement.
After resting angled down in pupitres, where the bottles are periodically rotated and in order to allow the dead yeasts to gather at the neck of the bottles, it is necessary to eliminate the sediment during a process called disgorgement (degorgement).
Disgorgement can happen in two ways:
▪ manual: à la volèe
▪ mechanical: à la glace (freezing)
The wine that is disgorged is substituted with a mix of wine and sugar: this is a personal touch of the enologist, a secret mix called the liqueur d’éxpedition that makes every label unique, defining the personality of each Trentodoc wine.

Disgorgement

DISGORGEMENT “À LA VOLÈE”
The bottles are opened one by one by this traditional method, manually. After releasing the cap, the pressure that the wine has developed pushes out the dead yeasts that were collected in the plastic cap (bidule) just under the outer cap.
DISGORGEMENT À LA GLACE
This method mechanically freezes the wine in the neck of multiple bottles simultaneously. The pressure in the bottle causes the frozen portion to pop out, taking with it the residual dead yeasts.

The Trento DOC Institute

Since its foundation in 1984, the Trento DOC Institute, or Istituto Trento DOC, has protected and promoted Trentino classic method sparkling wines. The production regulations guarantee the origins and method of winemaking, which must follow classic method production, with secondary fermentation in the bottle and long contact with the lees if it is to become a Trentodoc.
The Institute’s other important mission is to promote the collective territorial brand of Trentodoc in Italy and the world. This has been a recent milestone of the Trentodoc appellation, which has come about from the initiative of producers and institutions, and allows that any Trentino winery who follows the DOC regulations can adhere to the Institute. The brand was created in order to strengthen the collective identity of the product, its ties to the territory, and the hard work and efforts of the producers. It is a signature that guarantees real quality.

The Institute & its Regulations

The Regulations, followed by all Trentodoc producers, is an important document that outlines the fundamental rules for producing a Trento D.O.C.
The Regulations and Institute guarantee the following:
Professionalism in cultivating the grapevines and attentive selection of the grapes
Grapes that are exclusively from Trentino
Varieties that may be used are: Chardonnay and/or Pinot bianco and/or Pinot nero and/or Meunier Production using secondary fermentation in the bottle
Long aging on the lees
The individual Trentino producers set even higher standards for themselves. From the grape yield to the time they rest their wines on the lees, which is often for much longer than required by the Regulations, they follow a stricter set of guidelines for high quality wine with every bottle, certified D.O.C.

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