“Sparkling wine” is the term used to combine all types of Champagne like wines into one category. In general, people looking for a sparkling wine will automatically refer to this as Champagne. They will ask, “Where is the Champagne section?” Then freak out on the price when you take them to the French Champagne section. In order to legally be called Champagne, it has to come from the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wines outside of this region have various names. So, let’s look at some of the main options in the Sparkling wine category:
Champagne: As mentioned earlier, Champagne must come from the Champagne region of France. It is made in the traditional, or classic method for producing Champagne, also called the mèthode traditionelle. You might also see it on wine labels as Champagne Method, or mèthode Champenoise. This method makes and bottles a high acid, still white wine, bottles the wine, then adds yeast and sugar to the wine, which starts a second fermentation in the bottle. The bottle is then capped and aged for a time. There are a couple other steps to get rid of the sediment in the bottle, where they place the bottle in a rack angling it with the neck of the bottle down. This will eventually get the yeast and sediment in the neck of the bottle. Then they freeze that section, pop the crown cap to remove the frozen sediment, add back a little yeast and sugar to start a second fermentation inside the bottle. Then it’s corked in preparation to be sold.
The primary grape varieties used in the production of Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier.
Crèmant – This term is used for French Sparkling wine made outside of the Champagne region. These sparkling wines might use the same types of grapes as in Champagne, or other grapes more suited for the region. These wines use the same traditional method of production as Champagne. On wine labels, you will see the term Crèmant followed by the region it comes from. For example, Crèmant de Bourgogne, Crèmant de Bordeaux, Crèmant d’Alsace etc.
Prosecco: Prosecco has become a very popular type of sparkling wine option in recent years, and is usually found at a reasonable price. This is Italy’s version of sparkling wine. The grape variety used in prosecco is Glera, and must account for at least 85% of the total makeup of the wine. Other grapes allowed to be blended in with Glera to make Prosecco are: verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera Lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco and Pinot Grigio. The wine tends to be a dry style sparkling wine, but can be made with various sweetness levels. Prosecco is produced in a different method than that of Champagne. It referments the wine in stainless steel tanks. This method is called the Charmat method, or also known as simply the tank method.
Cava – This is Spain’s version of sparkling wine. The primary grapes used in producing this sparkling wine are the white grapes: Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada. It can be made using one of these grapes, but is usually a blend. Since cava is made using white grapes, they tend to be blanc de blancs, however, there are some rose Cava’s in production. The authorized red grapes used in the production of Rose Cava are: Pinot noir, Garnacha, and Monastrell. Some terms you might see on the label are Brut, Extra Dry, sweet or rose. These terms define the sweetness level. Brut is actually the driest level, not extra dry. This tends to confuse many people. Cava is produced like that of Champagne using the Traditional method. It can be qualified by the time it spends aging – joven is aged for 9-15 months, reserva 15-30 months, and gran reserva for more than 30 months. The longer it ages, the more toasty and nutty aromas are created. Cava is differentiated also by the amount of sugar they contain. The driest is brut nature, followed by (in ascending sugar order) extra brut, brut, extra seco, seco, semi-seco, and dulce.
Asti Spumante or just Asti – This is a sweeter style sparkling wine for the most part made from Moscato grapes. The word spumante is the Italian word for “sparkling. The true asti wines come from the Piedmonte region of Italy, however, you might see cheaper California sparkling wines having the word spumante on the label in order to suggest the wine is similar in style as the Asti spumante from Italy.
Moscato d’asti and Brachetto d’ Acqui – Moscato d’ asti is made from the Muscat or Moscato grape. It is a sweet wine with very subtle bubbles. Not all Moscato will have bubbles. If the wine label just indicates moscato, then that wine is a still wine. Only if it is followed by the D’asti will it be sparkling. This is a very popular type of sweet white wine in the market today.
Brachetto d’ Auqui is a sweet red wine made using the brachetto grape and has a slight effervescence. Good example of this wine is Stella Rosa Rosso. These are good wines for people who want a sweet red wine. The bubble is very subtle, not like that of Champagne or cava.
What makes sparkling wine have bubbles?
When Grape juice ferments and becomes wine, carbon dioxide gas is created as part of the chemical process. If the fermentation takes place in a sealed container, such as a bottle or tank, and the gas is not allowed to fully escape, pressure will build up and the wine will absorb the carbon dioxide. The gas will stay dissolved in the wine until the bottle is opened and the wine is poured, producing bubbles in the glass.
Many Cheap sparkling wines will inject carbon dioxide directly into a still wine to create larger, but short lived bubbles in the wine.
What are some other terms you might see on a Sparkling wine label?
Vintage or Non-vintage: A Champagne House only declares vintages in years with the best harvest. This means all of the grapes made to produce the wine came from one specific year and will display that year on the label. Vintage Champagne must be aged for three years in the bottle. These are usually more expensive than Non-vintage wines where the wine is from more than one year’s harvest. Non-vintage is used in order to produce a more consistent flavor profile. Non-Vintage Champagne must be aged only 15 months in the bottle.
Blanc de blancs: This means “white wine from white grapes.” So in Champagne for instance, this would be a wine made of 100 % Chardonnay.
Blanc de noir: This translates to “white wine from black grapes, so using Champagne as the example again, this means the wine was made using the Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier red grapes.
Sweetness Levels you might see on a label of Sparkling wine.
Extra Brut, Brut Nature, Brut savage or Brut zero – These wines will be totally dry and have no sweet taste.
Brut – Dry
Extra Dry – Medium dry. This sometimes confuses people since it is not as dry as the Brut.
Sec – slightly sweet.
Demi-sec – fairly sweet
Doux: sweet
How to open a sparkling wine:
First, remove the foil around the cork. The wire cage around the cork is there for extra security to keep the cork from popping out due to the pressure inside the bottle. Keep your hand on top of the wire cap while removing the wire. Then slowly twist the cork, while continuing to press down slightly on the cork. Eventually the pressure inside the bottle will help push the cork out.
Sparkling wine is enjoyed while celebrating all sorts of occasions throughout the year. Now, helping someone choose which sparkling wine they want to celebrate with will hopefully be a bit easier.