Ancestral method

The ancestral method is a sparkling wine production technique that is characterized by its simplicity and its aging in crickets. This method is based on production of sparkling wine without the addition of yeasts or sugars for the third fermentation, as is done with the traditional method. Instead, a second fermentation takes place directly in the bottle, using native yeasts found in the grapes or in the vineyard itself.

El mètode ancestral és molt similar al mètode tradicional, amb la diferència que no es fa una selecció dels vins més adequats per a la producció del vi escumós i no es dosifiquen amb sucres ni llevats per a la tercera fermentació. Això fa que el vi escumós obtingut amb aquest mètode sigui lighter and less fruity than sparkling wines produced using the traditional method.

A més, el mètode ancestral també es caracteritza per la criança a criquet, és a dir, per la rotació constant de les ampolles durant un període de temps que pot anar de sis mesos a diversos anys. Aquest procés és el que dóna al vi escumós la seva complexity and elegance.

The ancestral method is less known than the traditional method, as it is only used for the production of small quantities of sparkling wine in some regions of France and other countries. However, it has gained a lot of popularity in recent years, as it offers a more natural and ecological alternative to the production of sparkling wine with the traditional method, and at Mas Gomà we have adopted it as one of our techniques.