You may find yourself at a wine bar in the mood to order something bubbly and the first thing that comes to mind is champagne, sparkling wine or prosecco. But do you actually know the difference between the two? Add sparkling wine to the mix, and you may find yourself with an empty glass, finding it difficult to choose. We don’t want this. Here is a brief guide to Sparkling Wine vs Champagne so you can order like a champ.
Champagne | Classic Method or Champenoise
Champagne is a type of sparkling wine but here is the deal – it can only come from the region of Champagne in France. But there is more to this wine than where it comes from. The production method used to make champagne is called the classic method or sometimes referred to as the champenoise method. Wines made with this method go through a normal fermentation process, and then a second one that happens in the bottle itself, making each bottle completely unique to each other. The classic method is also used on wines such as Franciacorta, which is clearly not a champagne.
Prosecco | Martinotti or Charmat Method
Prosecco is a sparkling wine made from Glera grapes, and can also include grape varieties such as Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. Prosecco is produced in the Veneto region of Italy. One of the main differences between champagne and prosecco is that prosecco is made using the Martinotti method, which is a second fermentation in tanks, rather than individual bottles. Not to confuse things even more, but this is not fool-proof as there are some Prosecco made using the classic method as well.
Sparkling Wine | Classic Method or Martinotti Method
Now comes for the big question – what is a sparkling wine? Well we’ve established that actually both champagne and prosecco are sparkling wines but not all sparkling wines are champagne and prosecco. We also know that a sparkling wine can be made with either the classic method or the martinotti method which means that sparkling wine is a much broader type of wine than you may have thought of. So, next time you are at a wine bar, you can order a glass of sparkling wine such as a spumante brut or spumante rosé and you may be pleasantly surprised as to the whole new world of selection that you now have to choose from!
Champagne | Classic Method or Champenoise
Champagne is a type of sparkling wine but here is the deal – it can only come from the region of Champagne in France. But there is more to this wine than where it comes from. The production method used to make champagne is called the classic method or sometimes referred to as the champenoise method. Wines made with this method go through a normal fermentation process, and then a second one that happens in the bottle itself, making each bottle completely unique to each other. The classic method is also used on wines such as Franciacorta, which is clearly not a champagne.
Prosecco | Martinotti or Charmat Method
Prosecco is a sparkling wine made from Glera grapes, and can also include grape varieties such as Verdiso, Bianchetta Trevigiana, Perera, Glera lunga, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. Prosecco is produced in the Veneto region of Italy. One of the main differences between champagne and prosecco is that prosecco is made using the Martinotti method, which is a second fermentation in tanks, rather than individual bottles. Not to confuse things even more, but this is not fool-proof as there are some Prosecco made using the classic method as well.
Sparkling Wine | Classic Method or Martinotti Method
Now comes for the big question – what is a sparkling wine? Well we’ve established that actually both champagne and prosecco are sparkling wines but not all sparkling wines are champagne and prosecco. We also know that a sparkling wine can be made with either the classic method or the martinotti method which means that sparkling wine is a much broader type of wine than you may have thought of. So, next time you are at a wine bar, you can order a glass of sparkling wine such as a spumante brut or spumante rosé and you may be pleasantly surprised as to the whole new world of selection that you now have to choose from!
