Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, (wither in a bottle, as with the methode champenoise, or in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved, as in the Charmat process) or as a result of carbon dioxide injection.
The United States is a significant producer of sparkling wine: California in particular is famous for its rose sparklers. Recently the United Kingdom has started producing Champagne-style wines. Sparkling wine is usually white or rose but there are many examples of red sparkling wines such as Italian Brachetto and Australian sparkling Shiraz, some of high quality.
Some wines are made only lightly sparkling, such as vinho verde in Portugal--such wines are often called frizzante or petillant, or simply semi-s[Sparkling wines. Sparkling Wines as opposed to Semi-Sparkling wines must contain more than 2.5 atmospheres of Carbon Dioxide as at sea level and 20°C.
The classic example of a Sparkling Wine is Champagne, but many other examples are produced in other countries and regions, such as Cava in Spain, Asti in Italy (the generic Italian term for sparkling wine being Spumante) and Cap Classique in South Africa. In some parts of the world, the word "champagne" is used as a synonym for sparkling wine, although laws in Europe and other countries reserve the word champagne for a specific type from the Champagne region of France. The French term "Cremant" is used to refer to sparkling wine not made in the Champagne region. German and Czech Sparkling wines are called Sekt.
Current US regulations require that what is defined as a semi-generic name (such as champagne) shall be used on a wine label only if there appears next to that name the appellation of "the actual place of origin" in order to prevent any possible consumer confusion. Many US producers of quality sparkling wine no longer find the term "champagne" useful in marketing and prefer to call their products "sparkling wine".
Germany is the largest per capita consumer of sparkling wine in the world.
Sparkling wines produced in the United States can be made in both the methode champenoise and the charmat method. Lower cost sparklers, such as Andre, Cook's and Tott's, often employ the latter method while more premium sparkling wines utilizing the former.
The history of producing quality sparkling wine in California can be traced to the Sonoma Valley where, in 1892, the Korbel brothers (immigrated from Bohemia in 1852) began producing sparkling wine according to the methode champenoise. The first wines produced were made from Riesling, Muscatel, Traminer and Chasselas grapes. As the sparkling wine industry in California grew, foreign investments from some of the Champagne region's most noted Champagne houses came to set up wineries in the area. These include Moët, Chandon's Domaine Chandon, Louis Roederer's Roederer Estate, and Taittinger's Domaine Carneros.
Partly aided by the foreign influence, the overall quality of Californian sparklers increased with the introduction of the more traditional Champagne grapes of Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Pinot Meunier and Pinot blanc into the production. US AVA requirements and wine laws do not regulate the sugar levels and sweetness of wine though most producers tend to follow European standards with Brut wine having less than 1.5% sugar up to Doux having more than 5%.
This information is provided by Wikipedia. To see more information on this subject, click here: Sparkling Wine
More information is also available here: Champagne
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