Sparkling wine refers to wine that contains a lot of carbon dioxide (carbon dioxide gas), and is generally defined as a general term for effervescent wines with a gas pressure of 3 atmospheres or more.
There are famous sparkling wines made using traditional methods all over the world, including Champagne from France, Prosecco and Franciacorta from Italy, Cava from Spain, and Sekt from Germany.
There are three main manufacturing methods:
| Manufacturing method | |
|---|---|
| Champagne method (Traditional method) |
A second fermentation takes place in the bottle |
| Sharma method | Second fermentation in closed tanks |
| Carbon dioxide injection method | Carbon dioxide is artificially added to the finished wine. |
Traditional sparkling wines, which are made using the time-consuming and labor-intensive Champagne method, have fine bubbles and a delicate and gentle taste. However, they are expensive due to the high production costs.
On the other hand, wines made using a method that involves injecting carbon dioxide have larger bubbles but are cheaper. They also have the advantage of allowing you to directly taste the original flavor of the wine.
In New Zealand, there are still few sparkling wines made using the same traditional method as Champagne, and currently most sparkling wines are made using a carbon dioxide injection method.
