Many buyers confuse sparkling wines and champagne, considering these two types of alcoholic drinks to be identical. In fact, champagne is a type of sparkling wine, its name comes from the name of the region in France. Only wines from the Champagne province have the right to be called champagne.
According to history, champagne was invented in the 17th century. At this time in Champagne, the monk Dom Pierre Perignon experimented with the tastes of wines, one of his creations was a drink made from white and black grapes with gas bubbles. Until that time, any non-sparkling wines produced in the region were called champagne.
Difference between sparkling wines and champagne
For the first time, the champagne received by the monks was called "devil's wine" because of the bubbles in it. This phenomenon was attributed to the use of secondary fermentation technology. Sparkling wines are saturated with carbon dioxide, making the drink fizzy.
Sparkling wines are produced in several ways. The simplest of them is the artificial injection of carbon dioxide into ordinary "still" wine. This wine quickly loses its "sparkling". Real champagne and sparkling wines are made by secondary fermentation directly in bottles or in large tanks.
The production of sparkling wines is put on stream, while the factories that make champagne do not share their secrets. They have been using the same technology for years.
How to buy sparkling wine or champagne
Today champagne is called wine made in Champagne from acceptable grape varieties. There are only three of them - red Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and white Chardonnay. At the same time, in many countries champagne is still synonymous with sparkling wines, the French are trying to officially register the name "Champagne" so that such confusion disappears.
Most often, real champagne is made from grapes of different harvests; production lasts from 2 to 6 years. Blending sparkling wines from several vintages of different varieties is called blending. Sparkling wines are aged for only fifteen months. And if champagne is made according to the classical technology, sparkling wine can be produced by the Sharma method, carbonation, in the classical way.
Sparkling wines are produced in many countries of the world, including Spain, France, Italy, USA, South Africa, Germany. In order not to confuse sparkling wine and champagne, be sure to read the information on the label. It should indicate the region and state in which the drink was produced. And, of course, you need to study the composition. Unlike champagne, sparkling wine can be made from more than just the three grape varieties listed above. Riesling, Aligote and others are often used.
