Sparkling wine

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Sparkling Wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle as with the méthode champenoise, or in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved, as in the charmat process or as a result of carbon dioxide injection. If there is any injected gas the wine must be labeled as "Aerated Sparkling wine made with the addition of carbon dioxide".^{[citation needed]}

The United States is a significant producer of Sparkling Wine: California in particular is famous for its rosé sparklers. Recently the United Kingdom has begun producing a wide variety of wines, including sparkling wines; global warming is cited as the main reason why southern England is becoming suitable for wine production and that is has similar soils and latitude to the Champagne region of France.^{[citation needed]} Prior to the reign of Henry VIII and his seizure of church property, England's monasteries included several vineyards. Sparkling wine is usually white or rosé but there are several examples of red Australian sparkling shiraz.

Some wines are made only lightly sparkling, such as vinho verde in Portugal — such wines are often called frizzante or pétillant, or simply semi-sparkling wines. Sparkling Wines as opposed to Semi-Sparkling wines must contain more than 2.5 atmospheres of Carbon Dioxide as at sea level and 20° C.^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Regional styles 1.1 Crémant 1.2 Cava 1.3 Cap Classique 1.3.1 The Cap Classique Producers Association 1.4 Asti 1.5 Sekt 1.6 Spumante 1.7 Sovetskoye Shampanskoye 2 Semi-Sparkling Wine 2.1 Frizzante 3 Further Reading 4 External links

[edit] Regional styles

The classic example of a Sparkling Wine is Champagne, but many other examples are produced in other countries and regions, such as Cava in Spain, Asti in Italy (the generic Italian term for sparkling wine being Spumante) and Cap Classique in South Africa. In some parts of the world, the word “champagne” is used as a synonym for sparkling wine, although laws in most countries reserve the word champagne for a specific type from the Champagne region of France.^{[citation needed]} The French term “Crémant” is used to refer to sparkling wine not made in the Champagne region. German Sparkling wines are called Sekt.

Current US regulations require that what is defined as a semi-generic name (such as champagne) shall be used on a wine label only if there appears next to that name the appellation of "the actual place of origin" in order to prevent any possible consumer confusion.^{[citation needed]} Many US producers of quality sparkling wine no longer find the term "champagne" useful in marketing and prefer to call their products "sparkling wine".^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Crémant

Crémant is the generic French name for sparkling wine made in that country outside the region of Champagne. Crémant du Jura, Crémant d’Alsace and Crémant de Bordeaux is each an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée for its respective region. Some crémant producers label their product in a manner apparently designed to mislead consumers into believing that they are purchasing expensive Champagne at a lower price.^{[citation needed]} All Champagne wines are Crémant, but not all Crémant wines are Champagne.

[edit] Cava

Cava is the name of a type of white or pink sparkling wine, produced mainly in the Penedès region in Catalonia, Spain, 40 km to the south west of Barcelona. Its name is derived from the Catalan word for cellar.^{[citation needed]} There are a small number of areas in Spain outside Catalonia that also produce Cava. These have benefited from the Spanish boycott of Catalan Cava as a result of moves by Catalonia for more autonomy.^{[citation needed]}

The region of Penedès is an area of predominantly rocky terrain, and has been home to vineyards since the Greeks settled there in antiquity.^{[citation needed]} It has a favourable climate for wine-making; the north and eastern winds of the levanter help to cool the region, while the chalky top soil over clay allows the vines to establish deep roots.

The sparkling wine of cava was created in 1872 by Josep Raventós.^{[citation needed]} The vineyards of Penedès were devastated by the phylloxera plague, and the predominantly red vines were being replaced by large numbers of vines producing white grapes. After seeing the success of the Champagne region, Raventós decided to create the dry sparkling wine that has become the reason for the region's continued success. In the past the wine was referred to as Spanish Champagne but this is no longer permitted under EU law, or colloquially as champaña or xampany.^{[citation needed]}

The annual production of cava is around 12 million cases, second only to Champagne in quantity of production for a sparkling wine.^{[citation needed]} The wine is made by the traditional method Méthode champenoise, and uses a selection of the grapes macabeo, parellada, xarel·lo, Chardonnay, (all white) and trepat, monastrell, garnatxa negra, (rosé). Pinot Noir is not currently permitted under the Cava name, but increasingly it is being used in sparkling wines sold under brand names.^{[citation needed]}

Cava is produced in varying levels of dryness of the wine which are: brut nature, brut (extra dry), seco (dry) and semiseco (medium). At some lively celebrations a porrón is used to enjoy Cava.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cap Classique

Cap Classique denotes a South African sparkling wine made by the traditional Champagne method.

The name derived from the fact that the classic art of winemaking was introduced to the Cape by the French Huguenots, and the first bottle-fermented wine produced at the Cape was Simonsig Estate's Kaapse Vonkel (Cape Sparkle).^{[citation needed]}

Grapes are selected from a diversity of regions in the Cape, resulting in highly individual styles. Only specific white and red grape varieties are used to ensure delicate fruit and rich complexity. Grape selection in the vineyeards ensures that only perfectly healthy grapes are handpicked and brought to the cellar.^{[citation needed]}

Whole bunch pressing is at the heart of the winemaking process, with only the first pressing, or cuvée, used to make the various base wines destined to be called Cap Classique.^{[citation needed]} Individual base wines and blends are tasted annually by the Cap Classique Association's own members to ensure that the final wine is of high quality.^{[citation needed]}

Once bottled, the bottles ferment and mature horizontally in cool, dark cellars for a minimum of twelve months. There are individual producers who ensure much longer yeast contact time, depending on the style and vintage. After riddling and disgorging, Cap Classique wines are left to mature on the cork for some time, to ensure integration and balance.

[edit] The Cap Classique Producers Association

The Cap Classique Producers Association (CCPA) was established in 1992 by a group of like-minded producers who share a passion for bottle-fermented sparkling wines, made according to the traditional method (Méthode Champenoise).^{[citation needed]}

Their vision is to promote South Africa's premium Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) wines, as well as the common interests of the producers. They also intend to establish MCC as a generic term to describe these wines, ensuring that it is recognized both locally and in the international marketplace.

The Association is constantly striving to improve the quality standards of all the members' wines made according to this classic bottle-fermented method. Part of achieving this goal is the establishment of technical criteria and organoleptic approval of base wines.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Asti

Asti is a DOCG sparkling wine produced in the Asti region in Piedmont, Italy. Made from the Moscato grape, it is available as a sparkling wine (Asti, earlier known as Asti spumante) and a frizzante (Moscato d'Asti). Both are sweet and low in alcohol, and often enjoyed with dessert. Similar styled wines produced elsewhere are often called spumanti.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sekt

Sekt is the German term for sparkling wine. Germany is the largest per capita consumer of sparkling wine in the world.^{[citation needed]} Sekt may be made by the same method as Champagne or by most commonly the tank method. Historically much sekt was made at least partially from imported wines.^{[citation needed]} The proportion currently stands at about 85%.^{[citation needed]}

Sekt can only be labelled as Deutscher Sekt if it is made exclusively from German grapes.^{[citation needed]} Some very good examples are made, often using the Riesling grape, and the traditional (champagne) method of production, much of it is drunk locally rather than exported.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Spumante

Spumante is the Italian term for a sparkling wine. It is sometimes made with the traditional Méthode champenoise, but because there are no regulations on the term, winemakers including Martini & Rossi can make spumante not using the traditional method.^{[citation needed]} Though it should be noted that although the traditional method is more commonly used throughout the world, the Charmat method has been used in Italy since the ancient Roman Empire.^{[citation needed]}

Although the term is in principle a generic one for all types of sparkling wine, wines labeled as spumante are often semi-sweet or sweet. Asti, the most famous example of this type of wine, is itself no longer called a spumante.^{[citation needed]} These sweet wines are commonly served during Christmas, particularly with panettone.

More lightly sparkling wines are considered frizzante.

[edit] Sovetskoye Shampanskoye

Sovetskoye Shampanskoye (Советское Шампанское, 'Soviet Champagne') is a generic brand of sparkling wine produced in the Soviet Union and successor states. It was produced for many years as a state-run initiative .

After the USSR was dismantled, private corporations in Russia and Belarus purchased the rights to use "Soviet Champagne" as a brand name and began manufacture once again. "Soviet Champagne" is still being produced in Russia and Belarus today, by these private companies, using the original generic title as a brand name.

[edit] Semi-Sparkling Wine

Semi-Sparkling wines are sparkling wines that contain no more than 2.5 atmospheres of carbon dioxide. The Carbon dioxide may be endogenous through second fermentation or through gas injection.^{[citation needed]}

Some countries such as the UK apply an excise duty rate for semi-sparkling wines the same as for still wines and less than for sparkling wines.^{[citation needed]}

Origins of terms for describing similar wines produced in other countries vary. The Spanish name — vino de aguja literally translates as "needle wine". Similarly in Portgual, the Portuguese word for "needle" — agulha — is used to describe the semi-sparkling quality of locally-produced vinho verde. The French term pétillant (approximately meaning "sparkling") and German term Perlwein also refer to such wines.

[edit] Frizzante

Frizzante is an Italian wine term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to Spumante, which is generally used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial second fermentation in tank, a sort of interrupted Charmat process sparkling wine.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Further Reading

• Prial, F. J. Decantations. New York: St. Martin's, 2001.
• Guy, Lolleen. When Champagne became French: Wine and the Making of a National Identity. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
• Robinson, Jancis (Ed.) The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, second edition, 1999.

[edit] External links

• Photographs of Freixenet and Codorniu Cava wineries
• The wine region DO Cava
• The Cap Classique Producers Association
• Wines of Germany industry website
• Effervescents du Monde — website of an international Sparkling wines competition.
• Soviet champagne
• Trademark Battles Rage Over Top Soviet Brands