November is the time to start thinking about holiday events/parties coming up.  I thought it might be helpful to give a brief over-view of the differences in Champagne and Sparkling wines.  First is the traditional method, in which the second fermentation occurs in the same bottle in which the wine is sold.  Yeast and sugar are added to the bottle, triggering thissecond fermentation.  The side effect is the releasing of CO2 which has no where to go, so it dissolves into fine bubbles.  This method is used in the French region of Champagne and also in Spain to make "Cava" and is referred to as methode champenoise. 

The second method is called Charmat , or tank method where the second fermentation takes place in large stainless steel tanks, being bulk filtered before bottling.  This is the method used to make Prosecco and 95% of all German Sekt.  The reason this method is used, is that it helps preserve more of the fresh fruit characateristics in the wine, making it ideal, especially, for certain grape types varieties.

Marie Griffin, North/West Wine Supervisor