Charmat process

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The Charmat process, also known as the bulk process, is an inexpensive way to create carbonation in sparkling wine. The wine undergoes secondary fermentation in stainless steel tanks rather than individual bottles, and is bottled under pressure in a continuous process. This natural carbonation differs from that used for soft drinks and other inexpensive sparkling wines, in that the carbon dioxide is produced by fermentation rather than being injected from an external source, such as a carbonator. The result of a carbonator is coarser, larger bubbles that fail to last as long as those produced by the traditional method. In addition, because the wine spends less time on its lees, it will often lack the complexity created by the sur lie aging that takes place in bottle fermentation. However, bulk process sparkling wines can be sold at lower prices than méthode champenoise wines. Popular examples include U.S. brands such as Cooks and Andre.

The process was invented in 1895 by the Italian enologist Federico Martinotti but copyrighted in 1907 by French winemaker Eugène Charmat.^{[citation needed]}. In the late 1930s the process was further refined and completely renovated by Antonio Carpenè, Jr, to adapt it to the italian Prosecco grapes. The secondary fermentation in tanks under this renovated method proved to be ideal for the Prosecco grapes and surpassing in many aspects the quality of secondary fermentation in individual bottles. For Prosecco and Asti grapes, the so called Charmat Method is often referred as "Metodo Italiano" (being the major contributors to the actual method used today Antonio Carpenè Jr. and Federico Martinotti).