Grab the bubbly, it’s time to talk sparkling wine! A wine made from carbonation, we’re sure you’ve all heard of Champagne in France, Prosecco in Italy, and Cava in Spain.
Generally speaking, the production of sparkling wine involves a secondary fermentation process that creates carbonation. This is typically achieved through the traditional method where the second fermentation occurs in the bottle, trapping carbon dioxide and forming bubbles. But there are a few different ways of making sparkling wine.
The Méthode Traditionnelle (Traditional Method or Méthode Champenoise) is made this way, conducting the secondary fermentation in individual bottles. The wine is then aged in contact with the yeast cells (lees) for added complexity before riddling, disgorging, and dosage.
In the Charmat Method (Tank Method or Metodo Martinotti), secondary fermentation occurs in large, pressurised tanks before the wine is filtered, carbonated, and bottled under pressure. There’s also the Transfer Method, a combo of the traditional and Charmat method, with secondary fermentation in the bottle followed by ageing. The wine is then transferred to a pressurised tank for disgorgement and dosage before being rebottled.
Finally, there’s the Carbonation Method, a simple process typically used for inexpensive wines that entails injecting carbon dioxide into still wine to create bubbles, rather than relying on fermentation. The wines created this way are not typically well-regarded.
The use of different grape varieties influences the style and flavour profile of the sparkling wines produced, with several grape varieties commonly used including Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Glera, Chenin Blanc, and Riesling. The first three are most common in Champagne, the most famous sparkling wine-producing region. Its labour-intensive processes, careful grape selection, and centuries of heritage have helped it reign supreme in the sparkling wine world, with famous names like Bollinger and Veuve Clicquot.
There’s also the crisp Prosecco of Veneto and Spanish Cava. But while sparkling wine production was historically centred in Europe, it’s now made all over the world, from Australia to California and South Africa. There was a belief that French monk Dom Perignon invented sparkling wine in 1668. However, records show sparkling wine was first made in Winchcombe, England in 1662 and England has become a rising star of the category in the 21st century. With an increasingly appropriate climate, chalky soils, and the ability to blend traditional and modern methods, regions such as Sussex and our home of Kent have thrived.