Champagne vs Sparkling Wines - What's The Difference?
If there is one time of year you might be thinking of having a sparkling wine it is on New Year’s Eve. But you might be confused when going to your local wine shop to make your purchase. Champagne…Cava…Prosecco…what are the differences? Well, let me help.
All Champagne is Sparkling Wine, but not all Sparkling Wine is Champagne.
Let’s start with the most basic distinction. There is Champagne, and there is everything else. Champagne, by definition (and by law) can only come from a specific region in France - Champagne - and must be made using a specific method of production - Methode Traditionelle (or sometimes Méthode Champenoise). A producer in another location can use the same grapes and the same method of production but can not call the product Champagne.
The Traditional Method
Making sparkling wine using the traditional Champagne method is very labor intensive. It is a two-step fermentation process, with the second fermentation taking place in the bottle. The basic steps in this method are:
Press – This is the first step, grapes are pressed quickly in order to avoid any oxidation or skin color from the grapes.
Primary Fermentation – Next the fermentation process begins in stainless steel or old oak barrels. It goes through malolactic conversion and the base wines will high in acid and low in alcohol.
Blend or Assemblage – This step allows for the blending of grape varieties from different vineyards and vintages.
2nd Fermentation in the bottle or “Prise de Mousse” – Is the heart and soul of the traditional method. The bottles are closed with a crown cap (plastic capsule). This process can last up to 12 weeks.
Sur Lie Aging and Elevage – This step is done in the bottle, allowing for autolysis which is the breakdown of dead yeast cells which forms sediment.
Riddling – Remuage – This is the moving of the sediment to the neck of the bottle. Today this is done by machines called Gyropalete. They turn and move the bottles allowing the sediment to move into the neck.
Degorgement – Dosage – Once the sediment is in the neck of the bottle the crown cap can be removed and the sediment expelled. The bottles are then topped off with a mixture of wine and sugar syrup.
Cork and Bottle Age – This last step is corking the bottle, adding the wire cage enclosures and foil.
In addition to the specific production process outlined above, Champagne can only be made from specific grapes which must be picked by hand from the vine and they can only be pressed twice, once to make the ultra concentrated cuvée (which is high in sugar and acid) and the second time to make the taille (sugary, lower in acid, and higher in minerals and pigment).
As you can imagine, this level of effort comes at a price. But there are other fine examples of sparkling wines, many of which are quite good, which can be had with less of an investment.
Cava
Spain’s traditional sparkling wine, called Cava, derives its name from the caves in which the wine is aged. It is a traditional method wine, meaning it is produced using the same process employed to produce Champagne, which leads to high-quality bottlings. This is an excellent example of sparkling wine which usually sells for less than the cost of a good Champagne.
While Cava uses the traditional Champagne production method, it is produced using Spanish grapes. Using native grapes give Cava a distinct flavor profile and cost advantage when compared with Champagne. A good Cava will taste similar to a good Champagne at a big discount in price. What’s not to like?
Prosecco
Prosecco is a popular sparkling wine from Italy. It is made using a different production process, known as the Charmat method. The major difference is that the fermentation does not take place in the bottle, but rather in large stainless steel vats. The resulting wine has larger bubbles than Champagne and a distinctly lighter flavor profile that leans heavily into citrus, apples, pears, and melon.
Prosecco is usually priced at a fraction of a Tradtional Method wine and is a great choice for any festive occasion and is particularly good as a base for a Mimosa or a Bellini.
Sekt
This is a sparkling wine from Germany. It is not widely available in the US, but it is a production that dates back almost as far as Champagne.
French Sparkling Wines
Yes, you can buy French sparkling wines made in regions other than Champagne (they just can’t be called Champagne).
American Sparkling Wines
For American winemakers, there are fewer restrictions on what they are able to do than there would be in France, allowing for more creativity and stylistic variety in the sparkling wine category. There are producers using the Charmat Method, as well as the Traditional Method. Some of the higher end producers have been gaining ground on Champagne over the years and, in particular, there are some California sparkling wines that are deemed worthy rivals to the Old World products.
American Sparkling wines, is with other types of wines, are produced in many regions of the US, not just California. For example, New York is noted for it’s white wines, which can produce a lovely sparkling wine as well.
Other Geographic Areas
There are great wine making regions all over the globe these days, and most of these produce sparkling wines of note. Wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, to name a few, can be found at reasonable prices in most wine stores these days. You should feel free to try sparkling wines from these regions with confidence. It can be fun to break out of the box and experiment a little.
A note on the sweetness/dryness scale for sparkling wines
Sparkling wines are generally classified on a scale from very dry to sweet. The classic French designations are:
Extra Brut: is "extra" dry
Brut: dry (most popular style and very food-friendly)
Extra Dry: middle of the road dry, not as dry as Brut (great as an aperitif)
Demi-sec: pretty sweet (pair with fruit and dessert)
Have fun!
Sparkling wines bring a festive feeling to any gathering. Don’t fret too much on the choices. I hope this little review empowers you a bit, but you should also not be shy about asking your wine merchant for help in making a selection. And remember - it is fine to start with price, as in “I don’t want to spend more than $X”. There are fine sparkling wine choices for almost any budget.