The (Brief) Burum Guide to Sparkling Wine
There is a magic to sparkling wines; they contain worlds of science and wonder trapped, dissolved and fizzing through them. I’ve yet to drink one and not, in some way or another, feel special, the way I would when my friends laugh loudly at my jokes or when someone else’s eyes reach for mine across a room.
Sparkling wines are also, as with every other wine, clouded with confusion and elitism. So I’ve put together a little guide to some of the styles you may come across this festive period. It’s not a complete guide in any way shape or form, but I hope it may help you in drinking something that makes you feel special too. It’s the least we all deserve this year.
Champagne
Let’s start with the OG: Champagne. Falsely rumoured to be invented by Dom Pérignon, Champagne’s origins actually have far more to do with English wine merchants and cider makers than the French care to admit to, but that’s a story for another day.
For now all you need to know is that when Champagne is at its best it tastes like a breakfast buffet at a fancy hotel: flaky almond pastry, sweet brioche, those little pots of jams that you steal to take home, maybe some slow cooked mushrooms on toast if you’re lucky.
This is all down to the traditional method that, due to champagne’s popularity, is now replicated all over the world, leading to strict rules and regulations to protect champagne from poor imitation.
The traditional method, to put it very simply, involves not one but two fermentations, the second of which happens inside the bottle. This second ferment is created by adding extra sugar and yeast to a pretty bland but very acidic base wine. All of the dead yeast and carbon dioxide that occurs during that fermentation gets trapped, creating both a sparkle and all of those complex breakfast buffet notes that people know and love.
A fun fact about Champagne that will make you look very smart in front of anyone that makes you feel otherwise is that seven grapes, not three, can be used to make it: the main trio of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and also the lesser known Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane and Petit Meslier.
Transversage
Not, necessarily, a type of sparkling wine, but something I thought interesting to include. Transversage is a twist on the traditional method, where immediately after disgorgement (when the dead yeast is removed from the bottle) the sparkling wine is transferred to a high pressure tank for the dosage (a little sugary top up to make the wine even tastier) to be added. The wine is then put back into it’s bottle, sealed and is good to go.
This method is used for those mini bottles of sparkling you see on airplanes and supermarket shelves, as well as the bigger sizes (anything above a magnum) that you only see in movies about rich people. Should you be making the choice to travel this festive season buy a mini one for your train home and think of me. Should you be a rich person in a movie, think of me and send me one, I thank you in advance.
Crémant
Crémant is the term used for French sparkling wine that is made like Champagne, just not in Champagne. Although it is worth noting that this is also the name for quality sparkling wines made in Luxembourg as well, because wine loves to keep things confusing. The term Crémant was coined when the name methode champenoise was outlawed by the EU in the 80s, in an attempt to protect the Champagne region. The name means ‘creamy’ and is a reference to the wine being made at a slightly lower atmospheric pressure than Champagne. Or, as Marissa Ross puts it, ‘drinks like a white wine but still feels like a party’.
Crémant is made in Alsace, Bourdeaoux, Burgundy, Die, Jura, Limoux, Loire and Savoie (quite a few places, basically). Whilst all of these appellations will taste different, being made with different terroirs and different grape varieties and all that, they are all made under similar winemaking methods, so will share similarities in taste, smell and appearance. They tend to be very light, delicate wines, all apples, pears and soft lemon. Crémant de Limoux seems to be very popular in supermarkets at the moment if you want to try some for yourself.
Cava
Meaning ‘cellar’ in Catalan,Cava is Spain’s answer to Champagne, made in the same traditional method, just with different grapes (and in a different country with a different terroir…). The main three grapes used here are Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo.
Cava production mainly occurs in Catalonia (just north of Barcelona) although Cava can be made in other regions such as Rioja, but this happens rarely. This being a lot further south than Champagne means that Cava isn’t as acidic, so it won’t have quite the same citrus hit, but will still have those lovely brioche, biscuit notes you get from traditional method winemaking, alongside apple, quince and perhaps some fig. It all makes for a very lovely and far cheaper alternative to Champagne, in my humble opinion.
Other Traditional Method Wines
Due to Champagne’s global success it is not surprising that pretty much wherever you can find Chardonnay you will find someone ready to make that Chardonnay sparkle. British sparkling wine is making waves in rivalling Champagne having both a similar soil (chalk and lots of it) and, thanks to global warming, a similar climate now too. Others to look out for are those from California, New Zealand and South Africa, which is named Méthode Cap Classique.
Lambrusco (and other sparkling reds)
Sparkling red and mince pies has been my Christmas Eve breakfast of choice for the last few years and no pandemic is going to stop that from happening again this year. Perhaps the most well known of all the sparkling reds is the one and only Lambrusco.
Lambrusco is both the name of an Italian grape that has multiple varieties (about 60!) and the fizzy red wine that can be made from said grapes. It has a bad rep for being sweet and not serious enough which I have a lot of issue with. Lambrusco, like most sparkling wines, comes in varying forms of sweetness, including dry and is a sensational food wine (try it with pizza and thank me later). Just because it’s not Bordeaux doesn’t mean it’s cherry and strawberry deliciousness doesn’t deserve respect.
There are a lot of other fun sparkling reds going around, all made from different grapes in different regions and all equally delightful. Serve them slightly chilled and preferably with about three to four mince pies per person.
Moscato d’Asti
This is a very light, slightly sweet sparkling wine that I don’t think many people have managed to drink and not be immediately charmed with. It’s a very frothy, low in alcohol sparkling made with very ripe Moscato (Italian for Muscat) grapes which is a rare variety in that it makes wines that actually taste of grapes (as well as peaches and orange blossom and a particularly warm day in Spring). Moscato d’Asti has been dubbed as the perfect breakfast wine and there’s only one way to find out if that is actually the case. Please report back your findings.
Prosecco
There are two common misconceptions with Prosecco. One being that it is Italy’s answer to Champagne (it isn’t, thats Franciacorta, a traditional method Italian sparkling that is as lovely as it is elusive) and two that Prosecco is trash which is, as you may have guessed, also incorrect.
The reason people love to shit on Prosecco is because it makes them feel superior; they are the wine people you need to stay away from in this life. It is also because unlike Champagne and Cava, Prosecco is made with the tank method, where the fermentation occurs in a large vessel as opposed to individual bottles. This process is cheaper, quicker and involves far less labour than traditional method wines, but that doesn’t mean the wine is inferior. It simply means it tastes different and, not having any dissolved yeast interacting with it, of the wine itself as opposed to the winemaking methods used on it. Think pear, green apple skin and maybe a touch of honeydew melon and you’re pretty much there.
Pétillant Naturel
Otherwise known as the ancestral method, this style of wine is currently the darling of the natural wine world, and for good reason, it’s delicious. Pét-Nat creates it’s sparkle with only one fermentation, trapped the fizz in the bottle the first time around, with no need for any additions to the wine, hence it’s natural popularity. This results in a wine that foams where other sparklings tend to fizz, making it softer on the tongue and lower in alcohol.
Pét-Nats can be made with any grape in any region, so it’s impossible for me to give you a rough taste profile here, I would just encourage you to experiment with any grapes and colours available to you at your price bracket, this is very much a style to have fun with.
If this piece has inspired you to dry some different sparkling wines this festive season and you are in a position to shop outside of the supermarket aisles then here are some places selling wine that I love. (If you are not, then hello, me too! I hope you are being good and kind to yourself.)
In Wales I love Vin Van Caerdydd for Welsh sparkling wines and Good News Drinks for low intervention wines from further afield.
Elm in Sheffield introduced me to one of my favourite Pét-Nats this year, Lola Provisions in Leamington Spa have a sparkling selection I continuously drool over and Sip Champagne has an incredible range of Champagnes with some pretty affordable options too.
