Ever describe a wine as a "Champagne", only to be quickly corrected with something like "No, it's a SPARKLING wine!"
If so, you have the IP lawyers who represent the Champagne region to thank. They established the wine law that identified the designated area within which any beverage bearing the name "Champagne" must be grown. And for decades they were so effective at suing not from the region who used that word on their products, the world has pretty well succumbed.
Although the best sparkling wines from around the globe are made using the same method as Champagne, the difference is more than simple semantics. So we've highlighted the unique characteristics behind the most popular types of Sparkling wine:
To see our selection of sparkling wines, click here.
Champagne: For a sparkling wine to be called champagne (the word is lower case when referring to the wine, upper case when referring to the region) it must come from the demarcated region due East of Paris. Other distinctive features of note - though seven grapes are allowed, there are three primary - Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier (moon yay), a mutation of Pinot Noir. In addition, these wines must undergo their secondary fermentation in the bottle, as described in the steps, below.
This process used to be called "Method Champenoise" around the globe, but champagne producers lobbied the EU to require the term "Method Traditionelle" be used unless the wine is from the Champagne region. But the process is the same:
- Harvest: Occurs early while acids are still high and sugars are low
- Primary Fermentation: Dozens of lots of still wine are produced. Not intended for consumption, these wines are quite astringent and searingly crisp.
- Blending: Master blenders then use a little from many of these lots, blending to create the house style, consistent year after year. (Note: Grower-Producer wines tend to reflect more vintage variation in their blends, but that's another story)
- Secondary Fermentation: The blended wine is bottled with some yeast and a small dose of sugar and then the bottle is capped so the CO2 from the fermentation can't escape, creating the joy of the bubbles!
- Autolysis (Aging): The spent yeast cells are left in the bottle to age for years, adding dough/bread notes and softness that offsets the astringency of the base wine. The labyrinth of aging caves sprawls for many hundreds of miles beneath the Champagne region.
- Remuage: When the Cellar Master decides it is time to bottle the final product, the spent yeast cells are moved to the neck of the bottle using a process called "Riddling" or remuage, which takes place over weeks.
- Disgorgement: Once collected in the neck of the bottle, the plug of yeast is frozen, the cap is popped off, and the carbonation expels the ice plug, leaving the remaining wine crystal clear.
- Tirage de Expedition: Finally, the bottle is topped off to exactly 750 ml, and a final dose of sweetness may be added (aka dosage) before the bottle is corked, cleaned, labelled and sent out for celebrations everywhere!
Cremant de __________: The term applied to French sparkling wines that originate outside Champagne but use the "Methode Tradionelle" process described above. You may also find a Cremant that is made with additional grape varieties beyond Champagne's traditional threesome. The wines are generally of excellent quality and value. The most common include Cremant de Bourgogne (Burgundy, using Chard and/or Pinot), Cremant de Loire (Chenin Blanc and a smattering of red grapes), Cremant de Alsace, Cremant de Savoie...
Prosseco: One of the most popular sparkling wines of late, due to its affordable price and light fresh taste of apples and pears. But Prosecco is the one sparkling wine on the global stage that does not ferment in the bottle. Fermentation takes place in large tanks after the initial fermentation. Because this process can occur on an industrial scale, Prosecco is far less expensive the hand-crafted wines using Methode Traditionelle. There are two styles, Spumante (sparkling) and Frizzante (lighlty fizzy). The highest expression comes from the small region of Conegliano Valdobbiadenne. The grape, formerly called "Prosecco", was changed to Glera in 2009. Same grape, different name. Because Italy. The region recently added Pinot Noir to this short list of allowed grape varieties, and some producers use it to produce a sparkling rose.
Franciacorta: This is one of Italy's highest expressions of sparkling wine and is limited to the Province of Brescia in the beautiful Lombardy region, granted DOCG status in 1995. Though hand-crafted using the traditional process, Franciacorta differs in that its laws allow almost 20 different grape varieties that can be used. One other difference is the Non Vintage wine can't be released until at least 18 months in bottle, and Vintage Franciacorta for 30 months.
Cava: The majority (95%) of the cava is produced in Spain's Penedes region in Catalonia. But there are also cava cellars in the regions of Aragón, Castilla y León, Extremadura, La Rioja, the Basque Country, Navarre and Valencia. This allowance was made long ago, and is now seen as diluting the reputation of the 95%! Cava producers grow a very different grape trio than those in Champagne - Macabeo (white), Parellada (white) and Xarel-lo (also white!). Rose Cavas are made by blending in the juice or the allowable red wines (Garnacha, Pinot noir, Trepat or Monastrell). Cavas must undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle, or else be designated as Sparkling Wine.
Pet-Nat: Hipster wine bars are over-flowing with Pet-Nat wines, until recently the world's trendiest sparkling wine. The term is short for Petillant Naturel a sparkling wine that is fizzy, easy-drinking and intended for near-term consumption. This wine is divisive among many wine lovers.
Unlike sparkling wines finished with a cork secured in place with a wire cage, you'll find bottles of Pet-Nat are closed with a crown cap (like you'll find on a Coke bottle). The wine is simply sealed this way before the fermentation is complete, capturing a certain, irregular amount of effervescence without any disgorgement. Pet Nats can be identified by the dead yeast cells lurking in the bottom of the bottle, leaving the wines hazy, textural and flavorful. Because the wine is a natural product undergoing changes from week to week, Pet-nats seldom taste the same from bottle to bottle or month to month, and can often be a bit, um, 'enthusiastic' upon opening - be sure to have a towel handy and open over a sink!
