Which term describes pumping fermenting wine over the cap?

Which term describes pumping fermenting wine over the cap?

• A. Pigeage
• B. Remontage
• C. Debourbage
• D. Vin de goutte

Answer: (B)

When red wine ferments, a cap of skins and solids forms on top. To keep color, tannins, and flavor compounds extracting from the cap and to maintain good temperature and fermentation vigor, winemakers may pump fermenting juice from the bottom and pour it over the cap. This method, which continuously wets and reintegrates the cap with the fermenting liquid, is called remontage. It’s different from punching down the cap by hand or with a tool, which would be pigeage because that action directly breaks up and pushes the cap back into the juice rather than circulating liquid over it. Debourbage is the cold settling of must before fermentation to clarify it, not a during-fermentation cap-management technique. Vin de goutte refers to the free-run juice obtained without pressing, not a method used to manage the cap.

When red wine ferments, a cap of skins and solids forms on top. To keep color, tannins, and flavor compounds extracting from the cap and to maintain good temperature and fermentation vigor, winemakers may pump fermenting juice from the bottom and pour it over the cap. This method, which continuously wets and reintegrates the cap with the fermenting liquid, is called remontage. It’s different from punching down the cap by hand or with a tool, which would be pigeage because that action directly breaks up and pushes the cap back into the juice rather than circulating liquid over it. Debourbage is the cold settling of must before fermentation to clarify it, not a during-fermentation cap-management technique. Vin de goutte refers to the free-run juice obtained without pressing, not a method used to manage the cap.