Champagne is a sparkling wine that has to be made in the Champagne region of France.
So every Champagne is a sparkling wine but not every sparkling wine is Champagne as there are other sparking wines made outside Champagne.
So what is sparkling wine? Basically, it’s any wine that has bubbles in it. But the bubbles can get into the sparkling wine in a number of different ways.
The first method used to create bubbles is méthode champenoise, named in honor of the region that developed it. Today we refer to that method as the traditional method (méthode traditionnelle) as it is used globally to produce sparkling wine.
The traditional method involves creating a still base (or table) wine in the same way as most of the wine you’re used to drinking. The still wine is then put in a bottle with some yeast and sugar before being sealed, usually with a crown seal i.e. metal bottle cap. The yeast and sugar start a secondary fermentation process where the yeast converts the sugar in alcohol and releases carbon dioxide. As the bottle is sealed, the carbon dioxide produced can not escape and, as the pressure builds, the carbon dioxide dissolves into the wine creating the bubbles. Generally, the longer the wine spends under pressure during carbon dioxide production, the better dissolved and the finer the bubbles become. In Champagne, bottles must be left for at least 15 months, although many producers leave it longer.
In Champagne the grape varieties normally used are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier in various percentages. Most sparkling wine created around the world uses the same grapes, but not necessarily all of them. Because of this, sparkling wine is usually categorised by:
- The region it is made;
- The method used to produce it;
- The grape varieties used.
For example, a French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region but using the traditional method can use the name Cremant. Cremants are made in the same way as Champagne, often with similar grapes. Although made in France, because they’re produced outside the Champagne region they use the name Cremant, and they offer excellent value for money compared to Champagne. For example, Simonnet-Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne from Burgundy is blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir aged in bottle for 24 months for around $25 a bottle – half the price of an equivalent Champagne.
For example, a French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region but using the traditional method can use the name Cremant. Cremants are made in the same way as Champagne, often with similar grapes. Although made in France, because they’re produced outside the Champagne region they use the name Cremant, and they offer excellent value for money compared to Champagne. For example, Simonnet-Febvre Cremant de Bourgogne from Burgundy is blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir aged in bottle for 24 months for around $25 a bottle – half the price of an equivalent Champagne.
Sparkling wines made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir using the traditional method are very common in the New World. The Yarra Valley’s Domain Chandon, owned by the French Company LVMH, produces some good examples.
Another country that makes sparkling wine using the traditional method is Spain with their Cava (not be confused with the drink Kava from the Pacific Islands). Cava is made using the traditional method, but with three local grape varieties: Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo. This gives Cava unique aromas and flavours, sometimes described as herbal and floral and occasionally like rubber (but don’t let that put you off!) My current favourite is the 2016 Freixenet Vintage Reserva Brut Cava, which you can buy for around $17 per bottle (or less on special), which is cheaper than many Australian sparkling wines.
Italy is also famous their sparkling wine Prosecco, which has taken the world by storm in recent years. Prosecco is produced in nine provinces in the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia regions of North Eastern Italy. It uses a process called the Charmat method (or Martinotti method in Italy), where the still base wine goes through secondary fermentation in a stainless steel tank, once yeast and sugar are added. The secondary fermentation ismuch shorter than the traditional method, usually taking only two to three months. Due to its fast pace, this method creates wines with courser bubbles than the traditional method, with less complexity. But it does produce a fresher, fruitier sparkling wine that’s much cheaper than the traditional method,due to its large volumes with less ageing. This has led to the popularity of cheaper Prosecco, and its market share has been able to grow much faster than Champagne over the last decade. Good examples of Prosecco include Maschio Superiore Prosecco Di Conegliano and Rebuli Prosecco Superiore DOCG Valdobbiadene NV.
Finally, the cheapest and quickest way to make sparkling wine is to take a still base wine and simply inject it with carbon dioxide gas. It’s called the soda method, and is similar to making soft drinks. But these wines have short lived bubbles that are quite aggressive on the tongue. And when you can get traditional method sparkling wines for as little as $17, why would you bother.
So the next time someone calls sparkling wine “Champagne”, feel free to correct them by telling them “all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne!”
Please let me know if you have any questions about the best value sparkling wines, as I’ll be happy to provide some free advice. I’ll also be running wine education events once we are able to, so join our mailing list or like our Facebook page to be notified as soon as tickets are released.
Cheers,
Antony.
