Cracking

Term (also cellular cracking, cellular crash, cell cracking or cell crash) for the breaking (rupturing) of the cell membrane in the grapes during certain winemaking processes. See under carbonic maceration.

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.

Macération carbonique - Weinlese in klinen Kisten

The picture shows a grape harvest in the typically small, shallow harvest boxes in the Gaillac AOC region in south-west France.

Slow fermentation process

The grapes must be as undamaged as possible. For this reason, the grapes are generally harvested by hand in small, shallow boxes. A slow fermentation process only began after around two months. The mash was processed into wine that was lighter in colour, more fragrant, less tannic and milder than with conventional mash fermentation. If carbon dioxide is present in a...

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