disgorging

Disgorging broadly denotes the act of expelling or ejecting contents. The term is applied in several fields, most commonly in law, winemaking, biology and medicine, where it describes the removal or forced return of material that was previously contained or acquired.

In law and finance, disgorgement is an equitable remedy that requires a party to surrender profits obtained through wrongful conduct, such as securities fraud, insider trading or antitrust violations. Its aims are to deprive defendants of unjust enrichment and to deter misconduct. Courts and regulators calculate disgorgement based on ill-gotten gains and may reduce awards for legitimate costs; legal debates focus on scope, fairness, and distribution to harmed parties.

In winemaking, especially traditional sparkling wine production, disgorgement is the process of removing lees (spent yeast) from bottles after secondary fermentation. Methods include freezing the bottle neck to eject the plug of sediment, followed by the addition of dosage to adjust sweetness. Proper disgorgement clarifies the wine and influences its flavor profile and shelf stability.

In biology and medicine, disgorging can refer to regurgitation or vomiting—animals or humans expelling stomach contents—or to deliberate feeding behaviors, such as birds or social insects that return food to conspecifics. The term is also used figuratively to describe forceful release of accumulated material in other contexts.