From Beaujolais to Barossa, carbonic maceration is used to make easy-going red wines that are bright, fruity and super-chillable.
Wine is a 50:50 ratio of magic and science. Amazing flavour and pure enjoyment can be conjured out of thin air regardless of what’s in the glass if you’re, say, sharing a bottle with old friends or watching the sun set over a glowing vineyard. On the other hand, winemakers lose sleep over soil pH and they tinker with strains of saccharomyces cerevisiae to get their flavours just right. The magic is sometimes out of our control (which is part of its elusive charm), but the science – the winemaking tricks that say you’re going to like this – well, we can do something about that.
Carbonic maceration is one of those wine-science terms that might make you glaze over and stare into the middle distance, but if someone offered you a light, fruity, crisp red that can handle a little chill in the fridge, you’d know what’s up. That’s what carbonic maceration does to wine and, frankly, we’re all about it. So, next time you catch the term on the back of a label, or you’re on the receiving end of a natty bro’s rant at your local, here’s a quick guide to what carbonic maceration actually means.
To put it simply, carbonic maceration gives grapes a gentle nudge towards becoming wine. Most of the colour and tannin in wine – the chemical compounds responsible for the dry or bitter sensation you’ll often find in red wine – comes from skins and seeds and stems which, in carbonic maceration, don’t get a lot of time to mingle. Remember, the grape remains whole for the carbonic process, so the juice stays inside and absorbs a lot less of the tannin and colour that it would otherwise. For you and me, that means the end result is typically a light-coloured wine with low tannin (but still plenty of acidity), making it soft and easy-drinking.
Carbonic maceration also has a big say in the final flavours and aromas of a wine, extracting characteristics that traditional winemaking wouldn’t get. Expect your carbonic wine to be big on fun, fruity flavours like strawberry, musk, almond, kirsch, cherry, banana and more. Carbonic wines are generally prized for being light, fruity, soft and easygoing which, honestly, is a real go-to for us.
One wine gets the headlines when carbonic maceration is mentioned: Beaujolais. The often light-and-bright French wine is made with gamay grapes (already prized for their low tannins and light body) and carbonic maceration heightens everything that’s great about the style. Beaujolais nouveau – a quick-fermented wine that’s ready just a few weeks after the grape harvest – is super light and crisp and commonly associated with carbonic maceration (or semi-carbonic, which appropriates some of the same techniques).
Really, though, carbonic maceration is just a technique and it’s regularly applied outside of Beaujolais and gamay. Pinot noir (which is no stranger to old-school whole-bunch techniques) is a common candidate, with all its natural cherry flavours and crunchy brightness happy to get dialled up even further. You’ll also see carbonic shiraz and syrah, the cabernets (sauvignon and franc), grenache, zinfandel and, particularly when it comes to those artsy natural winemakers, even white wine grapes can take to carbonic. Really, any grape can get the carbonic treatment.
For us, carbonic maceration is more of a subtle indicator of style and flavour than a good/bad qualifier. So ask yourself: am I feeling like a soft and fruity red wine that I might want to chill? Yes? Well, carbonic is on the menu.
