Definition: Sulphiting and settling (in Champagne)

Settling: after passing through the belons, the must is transferred to other vats known as "settling vats". There, it is left to rest for between 12 and 24 hours so that all the foreign matter in suspension can settle. This decanting process takes place in two stages: a coagulation phase, during which the cellulosic (or mucilaginous) matter coagulates and increases in weight; and a sedimentation phase, during which this matter, which is becoming increasingly concentrated, naturally settles into a muddy deposit (the lees) at the bottom of the vats. It is this deposit that is removed by "racking". The settling tanks are equipped with drain valves fitted with decanter elbows, set to exceed the level of the lees deposited at the bottom. These tanks allow the juice, freed of most of the solid matter, to be transferred to compartmentalised tanks that transport the must to the fermentation vats. Upon arrival at the fermentation room, a sample is taken from each compartment of the tanker for an initial analytical check. The musts are then placed in fermentation vats of various types: enamelled steel, stainless steel, vitrified cement or wooden casks ("or pieces"). At each of these stages, the type of fractionation, grape variety and grouping of arrivals according to their vintage of origin are scrupulously respected for each must. From the press onwards, each operation is recorded and the traceability of the musts is perfect.