Sparkling wines are produced all over the world. They can be white, rosé or red, presenting different levels of sweetness and flavours, as well as produced in different styles.
Champagne is a sparkling wine produced only in the French region of Champagne, having been classified as such for the first time in 1690. It can be produced using various methods, resulting in sparkling wines of different quality and with different characteristics.
The nomenclature associated with sparkling wines may be somewhat confusing, presenting variations between countries, as well as within the same country, and can be classified in a didactic way when to: Sweetness, Style and Production Method.
Sweetness
Brut Nature - The least sweet 0-3 g/L of sugar.
Extra-Brut / Extra-Bruto – 0-6 g/L de açúcar.
Brut - 0-12 g/L of sugar.
Extra-Sec- 12-17 g/L of sugar.
Sec/Dry– 17-32 g/L of sugar.
Demi-Sec/ – 32-50 g/L of sugar.
Doux/Sweet – +50 g/L of sugar.
Style
Blanc de Blancs – Espumantes produzido exclusivamente a partir de castas brancas.
Blanc de Noir Sparkling wines produced exclusively from red grape varieties.
Rosé - Rosé sparkling wines are classified by the Comité Champagne as Rosé d'assemblage or Rosé de macération. Rosé d’assemblage or Rosé de macération.
A d`assemblage rosé consists of adding red wine to the base white wine before bottling, with a percentage between 5 and 20%.
A Rosé de macération is produced by short maceration of red grapes (Pinot Noir or Meunier in the Champagne region 24 -72h) before pressing, or obtaining by bleeding red grapes (10 to 15%) macerated for more than 24-72h - "saignée".
Prestige Cuvée- Not a labelling term, but generally describes the best wine in a producer's range.
Note: The term Cuvée generally refers to the first liquid resulting from pressing, which contains the purest juice, the best sparkling wines being produced only with Cuvée.
Vintage - means that the wine is from a single year (exceptions may exist)
Non Vintage - wine made from a blend of wines from more than one vintage.
Production
Traditional Method - Used in most high quality sparkling wines, where the 2nd fermentation occurs in the bottle where it is sold, originating the bubbles, followed by the Remuage and Dégorgement processes.
Note:
Remuage - Verticalisation of the bottles so that the deposit accumulates in the "cup" of the bottle sealing crown.
Dégorgement - Submersion of the neck in a cold solution, leading to freezing of the deposit for subsequent expulsion.
Transfer Method - Similar process to the traditional one until the end of the 2nd fermentation, being filtered in tanks after emptying the bottles (without Dégorgement), with subsequent bottling. Good quality at lower prices.
Ancestral Method - Very old method in which a single fermentation takes place and the wine is bottled during the same period. They are often called Pétillant Naturel or Pét Nat. They have very varied characteristics - dry to almost dry, low alcohol content, different intensity of bubbles - released young to the market.
Tank Method - The 2nd fermentation takes place in a sealed tank rather than in the bottles and is then filtered before bottling. This method is generally intended for sparkling wines where only primary fruit flavours are desired, such as Prosecco.
Asti Method - Single fermentation method, mainly used for some sweet sparkling wines from the Asti region of Piedmont (Italy).
Carbonation - Economic method in which CO2 is injected into the base wine, subsequently bottled under pressure. Generally used for grape varieties with strong varietal flavours.
Sources:
Comité Champagne – www.champagne.fr
Compreendento do vinho: explicando o estilo e a qualidade. Wine Spirit Education Trust (WSET).Volume 2, 2022.
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