Extended Tirage

Blended wine is bottled with a mixture of yeast and sugar, capped with a crown cap and held in tirage.

The bottles are stored on their side, horizontally, for second fermentation to take place, and held at 50-54 degrees Fahrenheit for a minimum of 1.5 years and up to 8 years for extended tirage.

Most of the second fermentation occurs in the first 6 weeks.

At 8 months the yeast begins to break down which enriches the wine’s flavor and complexity. This tirage period is also called aging on the lees (or the sediment that is inside the bottle consisting of mostly of dead yeast cells).