Carbonic maceration

Carbon dioxide (carbonesca) maceration – a technique of winemaking, known mostly for wines of the Beaujolais region.

The grapes are fermented as whole clusters in airtight containers filled with carbon dioxide, i.e. under anaerobic conditions (without oxygen).

Fermentation begins in whole berries under the action of yeast and enzymes own berries and accompanied by the formation of such phenols (aromatic compounds) that are formed in a typical fermentation. These compounds responsible for the flavors of “bananas”, “lollipops” and “gum”, typical of wines obtained by carbonic maceration.

These wines have a pronounced fruity tone and contain significantly less tannins compared to wines made from crushed berries.

“Clean” carbonic maceration to produce quite difficult, because the berries on the bottom of the vats is usually crumple under the weight of the upper layers. In order to minimize the number of damaged berries grapes for these wines are harvested by hand. To achieve acceptable strongholds such maceration is complemented by traditional yeast fermentation.