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Types of Sparkling Wine
The different types of sparkling wine are as numbered as the grapes and fruits that make them. Personally, I have only explored the grape type, so I won't go into types of sparkling fruit wine. Give me time though. It is wine and I simply must drink wine!
The most famous type of sparkling wine is Champagne and for this we have Dom Perignon to thank. This monk studied these wines for years trying to get rid of the bubbles until he realized what a treasure he had.
This wine is made a la methode champenoise or methode traditionelle. Champagne though is grown in champagne and no other wine can claim this to be a la methode champenoise.
If you are drinking a wine that has the word Champagne or champenoise on the bottle not from Champagne, they are cheap knockoffs that do not respect the rules of the AOC. Even if they are good, I say don't drink them. People work hard to make great Champagne and they have earned my respect.
There are four different methods of making sparkling wine. They are:
-Methode Champenoise or Traditionelle-the wine is allowed to bottle condition horizontally during the secondary fermentation and small bubbles are created due to the creation of CO2 by the yeast. Lees, or sediment, are removed by freezing the neck of the bottle. This was a technique perfected by the one and only Madame Clicquot of Veuve Clicquot. Another long overdue thanks! Without her, sparkling wine would not be nearly as pretty to look at.
-Method Charmat-Martinotti or Metodo Italiano-the wine goes through secondary fermentation in tanks and is then bottled. This produces larger bubbles and is suited to Italian sparklers.
-Methode Ancestrale-sparkling wine is bottle conditioned and lees are left in, creating cloudy wine.
-Injection Method-CO2 is injected into the wine as it is bottled.
The grapes used in Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir and these are strictly adherred to. Wines that earn the name Champagne work hard for this name and have a list of requirements.
For a vintage champagne, all of the grapes must be from the vintage year and remain in the secondary fermentation for 3 years instead of 1.5 years for a non-vintage year.
Most champagnes are not vintage and are instead cuvees. This means that the winegrower blends grapes from different years in order to maintain consistency in the taste of the champagne.
Sparkling wines are either blanc de blanc, made only from white grapes or blanc de noir, made with dark grapes without their skins.
Some typical smells and tastes are yeast (especially yeast), stone fruit like peaches and apricot, and roasted nuts.
The other types of sparkling wine by country are:
-France: Vins Mousseux, Cremante, or Frizzante. These contain chardonnay, in Vouvray Chenin Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
-Spain: Cava and they use Macabeo, Xarello, Parellada, and sometimes Chardonnay grapes.
-Italy: Asti uses Muscat grapes and Prosecco uses Prosecco grapes.
-Germany: Sekt uses Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir. With the Riesling this wine will age well.
-U.S.: Sparkling Wine using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, typically produced by one of the major Champagne houses, just in California.
Other countries produce their own types of sparkling wine, but these are the most likely to be found on the shelf. Some additional qualifications are how dry or sweet the type of sparkling wine is.
Additional Qualifications:
Brut Nature: Dry 0-0.5% residual sugars
Brut: 0.5-1.5% residual sugars
Sec: 1.5-3.5% residual sugars
Demi Sec: 3.5-5.0% residual sugars
Doux: above 5.0% residual sugars
In the U.S. wines are more likely to be considered Natural, Brut or Extra Dry. Natural is the dryest and Extra Dry is the sweetest. Don't ask me, I didn't create the system just thought I would help you figure it out.
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