Traditional vs tank method

Second fermentation in the bottle or in a closed tank

In the traditional method the second fermentation takes place in the bottle and the lees are removed by disgorging; in the tank method it takes place in a closed pressure tank, and the wine is filtered and bottled under pressure.^1,2 Champagne, Cava and Franciacorta use the first; Prosecco spumante uses the second.^3,4,5,6

Side by side

	Traditional method	Tank method
Second fermentation	In the closed bottle¹	In a closed pressure tank²
Other names	Classical method, metodo classico, método tradicional¹	Charmat, Martinotti, autoclave⁶
Tirage into single bottles	Yes⁷	No
Lees removed by	Riddling and disgorgement⁷	Filtration in the tank before bottling²
EU minimum, PDO quality wine	9 months process from the start of fermentation²	6 months process; 90 days on lees, or 30 with stirrers²
EU label term	"Traditional method": at least 9 months on lees without interruption, disgorged¹	Cannot use "traditional method" or "bottle-fermented"¹
Pressure	About 6 bar at 20 °C in Champagne⁷	Set by the EU category: at least 3 bar, 3.5 for quality sparkling wine⁸
Sugar terms	EU scale for both¹	EU scale for both¹
Examples	Champagne, Cava, Franciacorta, Crémant^3,4,5,9	Prosecco DOC spumante, basic Sekt Austria^6,10
Volume examples, 2025	Champagne 266 million bottles, Cava 190 million^11,12	Prosecco DOC 667 million bottles, all types¹³

What happens in each

In the traditional method the cuvée is bottled with liqueur de tirage and closed; the yeast ferments that sugar in the bottle, the wine ages on its lees, and the deposit is moved into the neck by riddling and expelled by disgorgement.⁷ The wine never leaves its bottle. In the tank method the base wine ferments a second time in the tank, stays on its lees for the required time, and is filtered and bottled under pressure.² Both keep CO2 from fermentation; neither adds gas, which would make the wine an aerated sparkling wine.⁸

Time

EU law asks less time of tank wines: 6 months of process against 9 in the bottle for PDO quality sparkling wine.² Appellations add their own minimums. Champagne requires 15 months from tirage, Cava de Guarda 9 months on the lees.^3,4 Sekt Austria allows 9 months in the bottle or 6 in the tank.¹⁰ See minimum ageing by appellation.

Between the two

The transfer method ferments in the bottle but filters the wine in a tank instead of disgorging each bottle. It may say "bottle-fermented" but not "traditional method".¹

Questions and answers

Is the tank method the same as the Charmat method?

Yes. Charmat and Martinotti are names for second fermentation in a pressure tank (autoclave), the process required for Prosecco spumante.⁶

Can a tank-method wine say "traditional method"?

No. In the EU that term requires second fermentation in the bottle, at least 9 months on the lees and disgorging.¹

Which appellations require the traditional method?

Among them Champagne, the Crémants, Cava, Franciacorta, Trento and English quality sparkling wine.^{3,9,4,5,14,15}

Is carbonated sparkling wine made by the tank method?

No. In the tank method the CO2 comes from fermentation. If the gas is wholly or partly added, EU law classes the wine as aerated sparkling wine.⁸

Sources

Facts checked on 2026-10-20