Special process in red wine production. Other names are carbonic fermentation, carbonic acid fermentation, carbon dioxide fermentation, carbon or whole cluster fermentation or maceration. It is also known as fermentation because it begins during the maceration process. The process was discovered more or less by chance in France in 1934. A team of researchers was investigating the possibilities of keeping table grapes as fresh as possible over a longer period of time. The grapes were stored under a carbon dioxide protective gas jacket at 0 °Celsius.
The picture shows a grape harvest in the typically small, shallow harvest boxes in the Gaillac AOC region in south-west France.
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