Your Guide to European Sparkling Wine

Heyy Winers! There is nothing more refreshing than a nice cold drink. But, sometimes you want some fizz to take it to the next level. While a nice still wine is always great, sometimes a little bubble will make it that much better. Join me as I give you the cheat sheet to European sparkling wines.

Introduction:

There are hundreds, if not thousands of sparkling wines in the world. However, for the sake of this post, I am going to give you the rundown on the three most popular: Champagne, Cava & Prosecco.

Champagne:

Hailing from the coolest wine region in France at the northernmost latitude line of the wine production temperate zone, Champagne is famous for beautifully crafted sparkling wines. Most champagne is some blend of three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  A champagne labeled Blanc de Blanc means it is made with only Chardonnay. 

Champagne is made in a very specific way that has been legally recognized by the E.U. The champagne method also known as the traditional method of methode champenoise involves a second fermentation that takes place in the bottle and this is where the carbon dioxide is trapped to create the bubbles that you see in the wine.

The most important thing to note about Champagne is that only wine that is made using this method in the Champagne region of France can be labelled as Champagne. Other wines made in the same style are labelled as 'crémant' in France and often showcase ‘traditional method’ on the label everywhere else.

Cava:

Located on the northern Mediterranean coast of Spain near Catalina, Cava is known for producing internationally recognized quality sparkling white and rose wines. While there are quite a few grapes permitted for use in the production of Cava, there are three grapes that make up the bulk of the blend for white cava: Xerelo, Macabao and Paradella. All three of these grapes are indigenous to Spain. Sometimes smaller quantities of chardonnay will also be added to the blend.

Cava Rose is often based on Garnacha, although there are other red varieties allowed including Sumoll, Pinot Noir, Terpat and Monastrell (Mouverdre). 

Cava is made using the same method as champagne and like champagne, wines can only be labelled cava if they are made in this method in the Cava region of Spain. 

Prosecco:

Tucked into the larger northern Italian wine region of Veneto near the city of Verona, Prosecco is home to the easy drinking sparkling wine that is often called upon for special occasions. Based on a white grape variety called Glera, Prosecco is made in a method different from champagne and cava. The 'Charmat' method also known as the tank method involves trapping the carbon dioxide in a large stainless steel tank as opposed to in the bottle. This is the reason the mousse (mouth feel of bubbles) of Prosecco is much less pronounced than Cava or Champagne. Like both champagne and cava, Wine labelled Prosecco must be produced in the Prosecco region of Italy. 

There you have it! Although there are many different sparkling wines produced around the world, the old world European wines have been setting the stage for a very long time.