So, glass of sparkly in hand, you’d now like to identify what you’re tasting ‘sans’ formality. This little number from our friends at Comité Champagne illustrates bubbly’s flavor developments over three stages of bottle-aging: Click top segments to advance timeline. (Relevant to non-French fizz using similar grapes, too.)
Speaking of non-French fizz… why the fuss over the French stuff? In a nutshell – aging makes all the difference and France requires the longest. It happens in two phases: with yeast and without. This side-x-side comparison highlights why the French have earned some of that Champers snobbery:
French Champagne VS California Sparkling Wine NON-VINTAGE Production Norms
| FR CHAMPAGNE | CA SPARKLING WINE | |
| Cuvée Blend:
avg # of wines |
30-60 wines | 20 wines |
| # of Vintages used in NV | 4-6 | 1-2 |
| Aging ON lees (yeast) minimum (vs Avg.) |
NV, 12 mos (but usu 2 yrs)
[V, 3 yrs., but usu 4-10] |
(None; all Optional) |
| Total Aging/pre-sale | NV, 15 mos (but Avg 2- 3 yrs)
[V, 3 yrs. but Avg 7-10] |
Average = 8 mos & up |
While most know only grapes from Champagne are allowed in champagne, few know those grapes are limited to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Meunier, period.
TÊTE DE CUVÉES: the crème de la crème:
The ‘best’ French houses produce ‘a’ prestigious Vintage bubbly each year. Only the best grapes need apply. These bottles are so exclusive, if a year’s fruit isn’t up-to-snuff, they won’t produce ‘It’ at all. Naturally, grab your diamond-encrusted clutches or money-clips to spring for one of these lovelies…
Prestige labels of major French Marques (Houses)
| Billecart-Salmon | Cuvée Columbus |
| Bollinger | Année Rare R.D. |
| Charles Heidsieck | La Royale |
| GH Mumm | Grand Cordon Rouge |
| Gosset | Cuvée Grand Millesième |
| Krug | Grande Cuvée, Clos de Mesnil, Bland de Blanc |
| Moët & Chandon | Dom Perignon |
| Piper Hiedseick | Cuvée Florens-Louis |
| Pol Roger | Cuvée Winston Churchill |
| Taittinger | Comte de Champagne |
| Veuve Clicquot | La Grande Dame |
Outside Champagne-proper, full-sparkling wines made in Champagne’s exact same method in strictly-controlled French regions (AOCs) but not in Champagne itself, are Crémants. (They may add a local grape or two…)
Any French bubbly outside an AOC (really, anywhere else) is ‘Mousseux’ (literally, “sparkling wine”) and produced using any method, but rarely “carbonation”.
Sparkling wines are made everywhere else on the globe, using native grapes and any of the production methods covered in Part One: bottle-fermented, tank-fermented, transfer method, or carbonation. Rules are strict, but not as ‘stuffy’.
Semi-sparklings are a Charmat (tank method) example of style manipulation: intentionally reducing bubbles so fizz isn’t as pronounced. Unfortunately, places like Germany may label a wine ‘semi-sparkling’ even though it technically qualifies as ‘full-sparkling’—to avoid paying an arbitrary luxury tax associated with producing the latter. These softer-bubbled wines are also labeled: frizzante (Italy), pétillant (France), spritzig (Germany) and vino de aguja (Spain).
Below: the culmination of years of tearsheets, index cards, tasting notes and countless scraps of paper, compiled for your cross-referencing pleasure by COUNTRY, STYLE, and sometimes, GRAPES.
*Note to husband: “Scrap-paper Tower of Terroir” came in handy after all… vindication for commandeering desk for 10 years!*
AUTHOR DISCLAIMER: While fairly comprehensive, it is still not complete.
| BUBBLES AROUND THE GLOBE | ||
| BUBBLES AROUND THE GLOBE | Table © LStevens 2016 | ||
| FRANCE | Champagne | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier |
| FRANCE | Crémant
…d’Alsace, de Bordeaux, de Bourgogne, de Die, du Jura, de Limoux, de Loire, de Savoie, de Saumur, de Vouvray, de Luxembourg |
Alsace: Pinots Blanc/ Gris/ Noir, Riesling, Auxerrois Chardonnay
Burgundy: Chardonnay, Pinots Noir/ Blanc/ Gris, Aligoté, Melon de Bourgogne, Sacy. Gamay Loire: Chard, Cab Franc, Pinot Noir & Chenin Blanc, NO Sauv Blanc! Clairette de die: Muscat Blanc, Clairette Blanche Limoux: Mauzac, Chenin Blanc, Chard, some Pinot Noir Also, Pinot Blanc Jura: Gamay, Poulsard, Saviginin, Poulsard |
| FRANCE | Mousseux: Anjou, Bourgogne, Seyssael (Savoie), Saumur, Touraine,
(*Start in tank but end in bottle: Blanquette de Limoux ‘méthode ancestral’ & Clairette de Die) |
Loire/ Saumur: Chenin Blanc, Chard, Sauv Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabs Franc & Sauv.
Limoux: Mauzac, Chenin Blanc, Chard, some Pinot Noir |
| FRANCE | Other Sparkling (all AOC)
… Gaillac, Saint-Péray, Vouvray, Montlouis |
(Large variety of unique local varietals based on terroir) |
| FRANCE | Semi-sparkling | (Large variety, unique local varietals based on terroir such as Vouvray’s ‘Petillant Brut’ and Alain Renardat-Fache’s Rosé) |
| USA | Champagne (pre-2006) &
Méthode traditionelle |
Numerous from CA, OR, WA
Also NY Finger Lakes |
| USA | Sparkling wine/Charmat | Numerous from CA, OR, WA
Also NY Finger Lakes, MI, NM, RI |
| ITALY | Méthode traditionelle
Franciacorta from Lombardy; Trento DOC (esp. ‘Cavit’) |
Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco & Gris, Pinot Nero, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir |
| ITALY | Charmat
‘Spumante‘ = fully sparkling Asti Spumante from Piedmont Prosecco & Mionetto Sergio Rosé from Veneto One-offs: Barbaresco from Bruno Giacosa; Alto Adige; Sicily: Tasca d’Almerita & Murgo |
Moscato,
Prosecco, Kerner Lagrein & Raboso (Sergio Rosé) Barbaresco Alto Adige (19 varietals allowed) |
| ITALY | ‘Frizzante’ = lightly sparkling
Moscato d’Asti & Brachetto d’Acqui from Piedmont Prosecco from Veneto Lambrusco from Emilia Vernaccia di Serrapetrona from the Marches Also labels with ‘v.f.q.p.r.d.‘ |
Moscato & Brachetto
Prosecco Lambrusca Vernaccia |
| SPAIN | Méthode traditionelle
Cava |
Macabeo (a.k.a. Viura), Xarel-lo, Parellada, Chard, Pinot Noir, Subirat. ‘Reds’ also: Monastrell, Garnacha, Pinot Noir |
| SPAIN | Frizzante
Chacoli/Txakoli from Basque Vino de Aguja: “Pearl” (i.e.Reynal & La Nansa) |
Hondarribi Zuria (“white Hondarribia”) Bordeleza Zuria (Folle Blanche), Izkiriota Ttipia (Petit Manseng), Izkiriota (Gros Manseng) Courbu. |
| SPAIN | espumosos:
el Xamprada from Bierzo el Rueda espumoso from Valladolid el Cueva Villanueva from Alcardete (Toledo) el Rías Baixas espumoso from Pontevedra (Galicia) |
Rías Baixas espumosos: albariño |
| BUBBLES AROUND THE GLOBE | Table©LStevens 2016 | ||
| AUSTRALIA | Méthode traditionelle
Yarra,Victoria; Tasmania *Famous Seppelt’s in Grampians/ Great Western is now being closed by Treasury Wine Estates, (a major corp.) A sad time indeed. |
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier |
| AUSTRALIA | Charmat
Pyrenees Victoria; South Australia, Tasmania |
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Riesling, Shiraz |
| GERMANY | Méthode traditionelle (5%) VS Charmat (95%):
Sekt in order of classification: 1) Premium- only 13 regions: Qb.A. or Winzersekt 2) Deutscher Sekt (German-only grapes allowed) |
Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris Pinot Noir, Spatburgunder (German Pinot Noir), Scheurebe |
| GERMANY | Other Sekt-style:
3) Perlwein 4) Schaumwein (Carbonated) 5) “Spritzig” (Semi-sparkling) |
3) Grapes may be from France, Italy or Spain |
| AUSTRIA | Méthode traditionelle
Sekt from Vienna/ Weinviertel Hauersekt is cheaper version |
Same as Germany …add Welschriesling, Blaufränkisch and Grüner Veltliner |
| AUSTRIA | Charmat
Sparkling Rosé |
Same as above …add Schloss Gobelsburg, Chardonnay + Pinots (Noir, Gris, Blanc), Zweigelt |
| BUBBLES AROUND THE GLOBE | Table©LStevens 2016 | ||
| HUNGARY | ‘pezsgő’ | Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Muscat Ottonel, Muscat Lunel, Olaszrizling, Kékfrankos, Furmint, Királyleányka, Hárslevelű, Kéknyelű & Juhfark |
| SOUTH AFRICA | Méthode traditionelle BUT here only it is called “Cap Classique”
Breede River Valley region Stellenbosch region Cape Agulhas region |
Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc |
| SOUTH AFRICA | Charmat | …Add Pinotage |
| PORTUGAL | Méthode traditionelle
VEQPRD stamp Espumante from DOC Bairrada or Távora-Varosa |
|
| PORTUGAL | Traditionelle, Charmat or Transfer
VFQPRD stamp from only these regions: Douro, Ribatejo, Minho, Alentejo or Estremadura …Then VQPRD for Traditionelle/ Charmat/or Transfer methods from anywhere else |
|
| PORTUGAL | Anything ‘Carbonation-method’
Called “Espumosos” |
|
| OTHER (RARER) FINDS:
RUSSIA ROMANIA ENGLAND CANADA ARGENTINA INDIA |
RUSSIA (Semi-sweet Chardonnay, Aligote, other) ENGLAND (Pinot Noir + Chard) ARGENTINA (Rio Negro) |
|
| BUBBLES AROUND THE GLOBE | Table ©LStevens 2016 | ||
General fan o’ the fizz?
Please slap some more Sparkling Knowledge on us in the COMMENTS — everyone wins!
A votre santé | Zum wohl | Na zdraví Sláinte | Gan bei | Kampai | Cherio | Topa |
Txin txin | Gezondheid | Salute | and… Oogy wawa, Friends!
Click Here for Part 1 of ‘Thee’ De Facto Bubbly Primer
Lori Stevens, former wine magazine food editor has worked for wineries and traveled extensively through most of the world’s wine, craft beer, cider, and scotch-producing regions. Author of Wine: A No Snob Guide: Drink Outside the Box, Berkeley: Rockridge Press, 2015; she currently lives in Seattle.