DESCRIPTION Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to the field of the production of sparkling wines and more specifically refers to a method for the production of sparkling wine and to equipment necessary to carry it out. Background art

As is known, the characteristic effervescence of sparkling wines is obtained by causing carbon dioxide to develop, after vinification, through a secondary alcoholic fermentation, known as champagnization and herebelow called fizzing, in a controlled environment and with the addition of sugars.

Currently essentially two methods are known for the production of sparkling wine by secondary fermentation of sugars carried out by yeasts (Saccaromyces cerevisiae), i.e the so called Classic Method and Charmat Method.

The Classic or Traditional Method (e.g. Champenoise method) is based on a very slow secondary fermentation in low capacity vessels, such as bottles, followed by prolonged ageing of the product in contact with the yeasts. The starting product is a fermented wine having certain characteristics, in order to be able to manage the subsequent treatments. In order to carry out a secondary fermentation process, it is necessary to add a fermentation syrup, known as liqueur de tirage, to the initial wine, said syrup containing wine, refined sugar, selected yeasts and substances used to subsequently remove production lees. The liquid that is lost in the disgorgement step to remove lees is made-up by the addition of liqueur d'expedition obtained from fermented wine, fresh must, candied distilled wine and sugar cane or saccharose. With this method complex wines are obtained thanks to the possibility of carrying out long periods of refinement through the relative use of the preservation facilities.

The main advantages of this method can be summarised as follows:

- Possibility of obtaining high quality through prolonged refinement. - Relatively simple technology.

- Relative simplicity of logistic management and possibility of transporting the product to other treatment locations.

- The product is not submitted to stressful filtering treatments in the final treatment step.

The drawbacks, on the other hand, are as follows: - Lack of perfect homogeneity of the result; every bottle represents a single treatment path with possible cases of non-uniform quality.

- Limit to the size of the treatment vessel: operatively it is possible to work with bottles having a maximum capacity of 1.5 litres when in reality it has been demonstrated that higher quantity treatment masses offer better quality results (it is presumed that the ideal volume is between 30 and 50 litres, due to the populations dynamics of yeasts and to the ratio with the trophic mass represented by the wine to be fizzed).

- The product must be preserved in the dark.

- A great deal of specialised manpower is required that has been specially trained to remove deposit and perform the disgorging operation (about 10 man-hours per 1000 bottles).

- The transportation of the semi-treated product, if even possible, is difficult and can carry the risk of the product being lost due to the vessels breaking.

The Charmat Method is characterised by the speed of the production process, due to the fact that the fizzing takes place in a single high-capacity autoclave (from 10 to 1000 hectolitres and more) and that all of the other steps of the treatment up to bottling take place in isobaric conditions. Indeed, it starts out with the preparation of the base wine, followed by refrigeration and by filtration. Then the yeasts are added in an autoclave. Still in the autoclave, with centrifuging/filtration, the lees are removed; the liquid is then decanted into a second autoclave and from this step, after the wine filtration and clarification steps, bottling is then carried out.

The sparkling wines thus obtained are generally fresh, but not very complex due to the fact that it is impossible to carry out long periods of refinement due to the expensive nature of technological structures linked to the method and thus to the fact that it is impossible to carry out parallel treatments again due to the difficulty of using the same structures. The advantages of the method concern the speed of the production cycle with the consequent possibility of using the technological structure up to four times in one year with a substantial reduction in production costs, substantial operational flexibility that allows intervention on the product at any moment of the treatment and substantial homogeneity of the result.

The main drawbacks are connected to the high technological investment required, the logistic requirements for the system that also cannot be transported while in use, the need to condition the vessels, the need to exploit the production potential of the system to the greatest possible extent in order to offset its costs, and therefore with low flexibility of choice in terms of the period of refinement of the product, the need to also have the bottling equipment for the product on site and the fact that it is not possible to clarify the product with methods that do not alter its quality since filtration or centrifuging systems suitable for the purpose have to be used.

Taking off from the analysis of the advantages and drawbacks relative to the two methods currently in use, the method according to the invention has the purpose of combining the possible optimisations of every single critical point detected in known methods in a single process.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the production of sparkling wines that has a lower production costs than that of the classic method also allowing a similar quality level to what can be obtained with the classic method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide equipment that allows the fizzing method according to the invention to be put into practice.

Summary of the Invention The essential features of the fizzing method according to the present invention and of the equipment necessary for carrying it out are given in independent claims 1 and 5. Further important characteristics are set forth in the dependent claims.

According to an aspect of the invention the fizzing still takes place through secondary fermentation of the wine by yeasts that metabolise the added sugars in a contained environment holding in the carbon dioxide produced by their metabolism.

However, the fizzing takes place in medium capacity vessels made from pressure tested stainless steel, for example, of the order of 35 litres with an overall weight when full equal to about 50 kg.

According to another aspect of the invention such vessels are stored laid flat submitted to a periodic axial rotation to improve the homogeneity of the fermentation and, once it has been completed, they are arranged in vertical position for lees removal and final corking.

According to a further aspect of the invention each fermentation vessel comprises a lees removal device comprising a lees collecting pot and first and second liquid blocking means arranged upstream and downstream, respectively, of the pot and able to be actuated in succession so that when the first ones are closed the second ones are open and vice-versa.

Brief description of the drawings

Further characteristics and advantages of the method for the production of sparkling wine according to the present invention and of the equipment for carrying out this method will appear from the following description of an embodiment thereof given as an example and not for limiting purposes with reference to the attached drawings in which: figure 1 is a plan view of an equipment for the production of sparkling wine according to the method of the invention; figure 2 is a side view of the equipment of figure 1 ; figure 3 is another side view of the equipment of figure 1 in a first operative position; figure 4 is another side view of the equipment of figure 1 in a second operative position; figure 5 is an elevational side view of a fermentation barrel; figure 6 is an elevational side view of a lees removal device; figure 7a, b is a schematic sectional view of the way to open and close the lees removal device; figure 8 is an elevational side view of a fermentation barrel with a different lees removal device.

Detailed description of the Invention The method according to the present invention foresees that the wine fizzing, i.e. the secondary alcoholic fermentation, takes place in relatively small vessels made from pressure-tested stainless steel, or other equivalent material, with a medium size capacity of about 35 litres with an overall weight when full equal to at least about 50 Kg. The preselected wine is poured into these vessels or barrels for transformation into sparkling wine, and then the fermentation syrup containing the yeasts is added, after which the barrel is hermetically closed. The method also foresees for the fermentation to be carried out while the barrels are arranged in a laid down position on platforms with motorised rollers that are periodically rotated in one direction or the other to promote homogeneous fermentation. When the time necessary to complete fermentation has passed, the production lees are removed through a lees removal device. After this, the product can be prepared for sale following isobaric bottling in bottles adapted for pressure sealing ("champagnotte"), or alternatively by direct "tapping" of the product with known equipment. With reference to figure 1 , the equipment for carrying out the method for the production of sparkling wine according to the present invention comprises a roller platform generically indicated with 1 and shown in figures 1 to 4. The platform 1 comprises an array of cylindrical rollers 2, parallel to one another and equally spaced, pivotally supported by a frame generally indicated at 3 in the figures. The rollers 2 are connected to a motor 4 through conventional transmission means, for example a transmission belt 5 and relative pulleys 6, or else a chain and respective pinions, fixedly connected to the rollers 2. The equipment also comprises vessels, or barrels, 7 suitable for containing the wine under fermentation, which in the operative step of the method according to the invention, are orderly laid down on the platform 1. In particular, each cylindrical barrel 7 is sized so as to rest on two adjacent rollers: for this purpose its diameter is substantially equal to the distance between the axes of two adjacent rollers. In the present embodiment of the invention, moreover, the overall length of each barrel is such that the platform 1 can support two aligned barrels for each pair of rollers, or rather the platform can support two rows of barrels 7. As shown in figure 4, the platform 1 is equipped with an actuator 28 that allows it to be lifted, in particular allowing it to be taken from the horizontal position, shown in figures 1 , 2 and 3, to an inclined position. In this position the barrels are rotated for a variable period of 10 - 15 days with movements of a quarter turn each day to encourage the deposits to fall into the removal body under the valve, similarly to what happens in remuage for the traditional fizzing method. Moreover, the platform that can be lifted up to a substantially vertical position makes it easier to pick up the barrels and move them by the operators at the end of the treatment cycle.

With reference to figure 5, each barrel 7 comprises a cylindrical body 7a with a dome 7b and a conical bottom 7c enclosed in a skirt 8 on which an opening 8a is formed. On the dome 7b there is a standard attachment for tapping with a spring- loaded check valve, indicated with 9, and a valve for compensation gas indicated with 10. A tubular jacket 11 extends from the dome 7b and the attachment 9 and the valve 10 are arranged therein. The jacket 11 is provided with handles 12 for gripping and manipulating the barrel.

A lees removal device, generically indicated at 13, extends from the conical bottom 7c. As shown in greater detail in figure 6, the lees removal device comprises a cylindrical vessel 14 closed at the ends and partially extending in the conical bottom 7c of the barrel 7. A pair of tubular members 15 and 16, called upper and lower tubular member, are housed in the vessel 14 coaxially one over the other. The tubular members 15 and 16 are coaxial to the vessel 14 and are independently rotatable relative thereto around the common axis. On the portion of the vessel 14 that is arranged in the conical bottom 7c two diametrically opposed openings 17 are formed, only one of which can be seen in the figures. At the same level as the openings 17 on the upper tubular member 15 two further diametrically opposing openings 18 with substantially the same section as that of the openings 17 are formed. An opening 19 is formed on the side wall of the part of the vessel 14 projecting from the conical bottom 7c and a corresponding opening 20 is formed on the lower tubular member 16. On the vessel 14 two parallel slots 21 and 22 are also formed at the upper tubular member 15 and the lower tubular member 16. Levers 23 and 24 fixedly connected, respectively, to the upper tubular member 15 and to the lower tubular member 16, project outwardly from relevant slots 21 and 22.

In the configuration in which the lees removal device 13 is closed, the two pairs of openings 17 and 18, just like the two openings 19 and 20, are arranged at 90° to one another, whereby any communication between the bottom of the barrel 7 and the chamber defined by the vessel 14, on one side, and the same chamber and the outside, on the other, is prevented. The angular width of slots 21 and 22 is equal to 90°, whereby moving the two levers 23 and 24 in succession from one end to the other of the slots 21 and 22 causes the two pairs of openings 17 and 18 and, respectively, the openings 19 and 20 to come into alignment. The above is schematically shown in figures 7a and 7b.

In use, the lees removal device according to the present invention operates in the following way. First the lever 23 is moved from one end of the groove 21 to the other, thus aligning the openings 17 of the vessel 14 to the openings 18 of the upper tubular member 15, thus placing the bottom of the barrel 7 in communication with the inner chamber of the vessel 14. Once the vessel 14 has been filled up to a predetermined volume, the lever 23 is brought back into its initial position. In this way the communication between the bottom of the barrel 7 and the chamber of the vessel 14 is closed. Then the lever 24 is moved from one end of the slot 22 to the other to align the opening 19 of the vessel 14 and the opening 20 of the lower tubular member 16 to each other and bring the chamber inside the vessel 14 in communication with the outside so that it can be emptied. By operating in this way lees removal occurs without creating turbulence in the barrel and hence without loss of sparkling wine. Otherwise, since the vessel is under pressure at the time of the lees discharge, turbulence would be created in the barrel.

In a different embodiment of the lees removal device, still totally equivalent to that described above from the functional point of view, it is foreseen to use two ball valves 25 and 26 arranged upstream and downstream of a collecting pot 27, as shown in figure 8. Also in this case the two valves 25 and 26 are actuated one after the other, first to fill the pot 27 with the lees and then to empty it after having closed the ball valve 25 that places the bottom of the barrel 7 in communication with the pot 27. The method according to the invention has the following advantages: • Use of relatively simple and low-cost technology (with the Charmat method initial investments equal to about 1500 Euros per hectolitre are necessary, whereas with the method according to the invention it is foreseen that there will be a reduction of about 40% on this figure).

• Modularity of the system.

• Optimisation of the quality/quantity ratio thanks to the use of 35 litre barrels. • Almost unlimited reuse of the barrels.

• Possibility to choose even long refinement periods, with clear improvements in quality.

• Ease of storage and transportation, also allowing bottling facilities of the product to be used at other locations. • The clarification of the product does not occur through filtration or centrifuging, but through a simple operation that is even less stressful for the product than that of the traditional method.

• The barrels do not suffer from exposure to light.

• The method does not require the use of particularly specialised workers. • The end product can be sent off for direct consumption even without being bottled.

The method of the invention is featured by an high operative flexibility. A particularly important feature is the possibility to obtain high quality products by submitting the wine to a prolonged refinement time at competitive costs with respect to both known methods. On the other hand, it is possible to obtain fresh products with short cycles and low use of manpower, which in any case need not be specialised. The possibility of transporting the barrels makes it easier for companies to choose to fizz their product even if they are not equipped with specific structures like those necessary to carry out the Charmat method and even like the minimal ones that are still necessary for the Classic method, like the stands for the "mise sur pointes" of the bottles, which is an operation that, in any case, must be carried out by particularly trained workers.

The product ready for bottling can easily be transported to the premises of a bottler equipped with the suitable equipment. This method therefore offers an incentive to produce sparkling wines in areas where there is no tradition to do so, but where there is a need to give the market the result of a more easily reached production address especially with regard to white wines.

Variations and/or modifications can be brought to the method for the production of sparkling wines and to the relative equipment according to the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.