Clairette de Die

AOC since 1942 · ancestral method

Clairette de Die is an appellation in the Drôme best known for Muscat-led sparkling wine made by the méthode ancestrale, a single fermentation finished in the bottle.¹ It has been an appellation d'origine since 1910 and an AOC since 1942; a Clairette-based second-fermentation version also exists.¹

Two methods

The cahier des charges describes two ways to make Clairette de Die.¹

Méthode ancestrale. Partially fermented must is bottled and finishes its single fermentation in the bottle. Liqueur de tirage is prohibited. The lees are removed by disgorgement or by isobaric filtration and transfer from bottle to bottle. See ancestral method.
Second fermentation. A fully fermented wine is bottled with a liqueur de tirage, as in the traditional method.

The old name "méthode dioise" now appears only in the historical section of the text, which refers to a decree of 25 May 1971; the current text uses "méthode ancestrale".¹

Grapes

For the méthode ancestrale, Muscat à Petits Grains (white and red) must make up at least 65% of plantings, with Clairette and Clairette Rose as accessory varieties. The text sets sugars of at least 25 g/L for these wines. The second-fermentation wines are made from Clairette, and from Clairette and Clairette Rose for brut wines of up to 15 g/L.¹

Rules compared

Rule	Méthode ancestrale	Second fermentation
Minimum on lees	4 months (9 for rosés with Syrah)	9 months
Earliest release	1 March after harvest	1 October after harvest
Pressure at 20 °C	min 3 atm	min 3.5 atm
Alcohol	7-9% vol acquired, max 12.5% total

Source for the table: the draft cahier des charges.¹ The yield is 60 hl/ha, with a ceiling (rendement butoir) of 70 hl/ha.¹

About the source

The rules on this page come from the draft amendment examined in June 2026; the version in force it amends was approved by the order of 9 December 2024.¹ The traditional-method wine of the same area is a separate appellation, Crémant de Die.