Charmat method

What is the Charmat method?

The Charmat method is a sparkling-wine process in which a base wine undergoes secondary fermentation in a sealed, pressure-resistant tank. Carbon dioxide produced by fermentation stays dissolved in the wine. The wine is then clarified or filtered under pressure and bottled under isobaric conditions so the gas remains in solution.

Tank method, Charmat process, Metodo Charmat, Martinotti method, bulk method, and cuve close are common names for this broad route. They do not describe separate bubble-making fermentations. Prosecco DOC’s official material uses the Martinotti name for natural secondary fermentation in large containers or autoclaves, but Prosecco is a protected geographic name rather than a synonym for every tank-fermented wine.

The method name does not establish sweetness, pressure, price, lees time, or sensory quality. Producer choices and the applicable product specification control those details. Compare this route with bottle, transfer, ancestral, and carbonation processes in the sparkling wine methods guide.