Levurage

French · inoculation with yeasts

Levurage (inoculation with yeasts) is, in the OIV definition, the inoculation of the cuvée, with tirage liqueur added, by a selected yeast culture.1

Levurage is part of tirage. In Champagne the tirage yeasts (levures) must be strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.2

These yeasts carry out the prise de mousse. Afterwards they die and decompose, which is autolysis, and the molecules they release interact with the wine.3 The yeast culture contains 40-80 million live cells per ml.2 The tirage liqueur brings about 24 g of sugar per litre for them to ferment, which gives roughly 6 kg/cm² of pressure.2 See liqueur de tirage and tirage.

See also

LevuresGlossaryTirageGlossaryLiqueur de tirageGlossaryTirageMethods

Sources

  1. OIV International Code of Oenological Practices, II.4.1 Definitions common to all sparkling wines (II.4.1.1-II.4.1.10)
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne. Tirage or bottling the blended wine
  3. Comité Champagne (champagne.fr). Maturation

Facts checked on 2026-10-19