{"id":8707,"date":"2023-10-25T11:39:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T15:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/divinonyc.com\/?p=8707"},"modified":"2023-10-25T11:40:17","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T15:40:17","slug":"the-ultimate-guide-to-champagne-and-sparkling-wine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/divino.wine\/the-ultimate-guide-to-champagne-and-sparkling-wine\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Champagne and Sparkling Wine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DiVino may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

*As an affiliate marketer, DiVino may earn commission on qualifying purchases.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all been there. You find yourself at an art opening, an office holiday party, and or even wedding reception. Someone offers you a glass and asks if you\u2019d like some Champagne. You say yes <\/em>of course, and it\u2019s delightful. Festive, fresh and bright. It\u2019s a sparkling wine after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You like it so much, you glimpse the bottle on your way out or ask the host to show it to you.  Lo and behold, the word Champagne <\/em>is nowhere in sight.  Instead, it\u2019s Cava<\/em>, Cremant<\/em>, or Prosecco<\/em>. Possibly a Vin<\/em>o Spumante<\/em> or a Sekt<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did you just drink?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is Prosecco Champagne? Is Cava Champagne?  The world of wine is overwhelming as it is, and now we\u2019re adding bubbles to the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is sparkling wine? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sparkling wine is just what it sounds like. It begins as normal still wine, and in one of several techniques ends up effervescent, with bubbles. These bubbles are made of Carbon Dioxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch our video on wine sparkling wine! <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is Sparkling wine made?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are number ways to make sparkling wine and all of them start with still wine, or at least grape juice on its way to becoming wine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During fermentation, the byproducts are two: alcohol and carbon dioxide. During fermentation for still wine the tanks or barrels are open on top or have a release system in place so that carbon dioxide can escape without allowing too much oxygen to enter the wine and oxidize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you keep things tightly sealed the carbon dioxide has nowhere to go but back into the wine.<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Four Ways to Make Sparkling Wine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1) The Soda Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In this instance, the winemaker add Carbon Dioxide directly to the wine until it reaches the desired levels of fizziness and pressure levels.  If you\u2019ve ever had a soda stream machine it\u2019s pretty much the same. It\u2019s also the least expensive way to produce sparkling wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 2) Tank Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Tank Method is also known as the Charmat Method<\/strong>, Metodo Martinott<\/strong>i or Cuve Clos\u00e9<\/strong>. This is an extremely popular and relatively inexpensive way to produce sparkling wines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosecco<\/strong> and Spumante d\u2019Asti<\/strong> are almost exclusively produced in this method, as is Lambusco<\/strong>, one of the rarer red sparkling wine. It involves putting still wine into a large steel tank and adding sugar and yeast to restart a second fermentation under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Winemakers can control levels of sweetness and the size and longevity of the bubbles by increasing sugar levels to begin with, and leaving the fermentation in sealed tanks longer to reduce sweetness and increase effervescence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3) Champagne Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

M\u00e9thode Classique, Metodo Classico,<\/strong> or the Champenoise Method<\/strong> eponymously named for the infamous Champagne.  An adorable, if inaccurate legend attributes the discovery of the process to a Benedictine Monk named Dom P\u00e9rignon, who, alongside Dom Thierry Ruinart, worked to improve the quality and storage of the monastery\u2019s wine cellar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he may not have invented the process, he did find ways to make it easier and produce a finer finished product. He studied the impact of grape health and ripeness prior to being crushed and fermented, as well as the use of different grape varieties (though he favored Pinot Noir), and when to blend them.  Dom P\u00e9rignon may not have invented Champagne, but his work ultimately influenced the style of Champagne for years to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Champagne, Cava<\/strong>, Franciacorta<\/strong>, and Cr\u00e9mant, <\/strong>some German and Austrian Sekt  wines, and less famous sparkling wines from all over the world<\/strong><\/a> are made in this method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the modern classic method, still wine is bottled with a combination of yeast and sugar (for it to feed on), called tirage<\/em>. The wine is bottled in crown caps, racked, turned, and aged. At the end of the process (a minimum of 30 months) the dead yeast (lees) are removed in a process called d\u00e9gorgement<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One common way to do this is keep the bottled upside down and dip the neck into liquid nitrogen. When the crown is removed, the frozen bit flies out carrying with it the sediment. Afterward, the bottles are refilled with a blend of wine or wine and sugar called liqueur d’exp\u00e9dition<\/em>, in order to reach the desired sweetness levels. They are then corked and caged, to keep those corks from blowing off from the pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4) Ancestral Method<\/h3>\n\n\n\n


<\/strong>Also known as the p\u00e9tillant-naturel, or p\u00e9t-nat for short, and artisanale<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ancestral method is important to note as it predates the Champagne method and is being actively implemented lately with the trend for natural wines, that is to say, wines with minimal intervention by the winemaker. You might also see them labeled as \u201cnaturally sparkling wines.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the ancestral method the still wines undergo a secondary fermentation in the bottle, or more frequently it completes its first fermentation, but in a tightly sealed bottle.  Just like Champagne, Cava, and Cr\u00e9mant or other wines made in the Champagne method, pressure builds and bubbles form.  The difference is in the finishing and final stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the classic method, dosage is added to the bottles to restart fermentation, and in the end, the wine is fined and the yeasts are removed during d\u00e9gorgement process. Lastly, if needed, liqueur d’exp\u00e9dition (dosage) <\/em>a mixture of wine and sugar is added to achieve the desired level of sweetness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ancestral method sparkling wines are often low in alcohol, as there is no way to determine alcohol levels if the wine is still fermenting when you bottle it, It\u2019s often highly aromatic, and not necessarily very fizzy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like all wines in the \u201cnatural\u201d category, they can be immensely satisfying and interesting, but there is very little consistency in their production, as quality is hard to control with so little intervention. These wines are best enjoyed onsite at a winery or consumed as soon as possible after purchasing them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\"Wine.com\"<\/a>\n\n\n\n

Sparkling and Champagne Sweetness Scale <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For Champagne and sparkling wines coming from Europe, there is a standard sweetness scale to label the wines based on a measurement of residual sugar per liter. Residual sugar refers to the quantity of sugar remaining in the wine after alcoholic fermentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n