| Sparkling wine around the world. |
| The most famous type of bubbly is champagne, a word which for centuries has been synonymous with the category itself. It is also an example of a geographically designated product—a wine can only be labeled as champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of northern France and is made in accordance with specific rules and regulations. |
| Champagne must be made from certain grapes: Pinot Noir and Pinot Muenier make up about 94 percent of production; 5 percent comes from Chardonnay; and the remainder is Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, and Arbane. New to the allowed list in 2021 is Voltis, a fungus-resistant variety. |
| Another French sparkling wine is crémant from Bordeaux. Of the six red varieties* found in these wines, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot appear most commonly in rosés; and for whites, all three traditional grapes* are used. |
| Prosecco is not to be overshadowed. Historically from northeast Italy in the Veneto region and made from at least 85 percent eponymous grapes, this wine has also been widely produced in Australia for years. As part of an effort to regain the regional association between Prosecco and Veneto, the Italians renamed the grape Glera in 2009. |
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| From Spain comes cava, named for the caves (cavas) in which the wine was laid down to age. Prior to 1970 it was simply called champaña, until Champagne cracked down on the nomenclature. The varieties for production are traditionally Macabeo, Parellada, and Xarel-lo grapes, but in the 1980s Chardonnay and Pinot Noir became acceptable. |
| Other winemaking regions of the world produce plenty of sparkling wine using all kinds of varieties and methods, but they aren’t restricted in the same way as those previously mentioned. In turn, they aren’t allowed to describe their wines with the specific designation of origin that champagne or cava enjoy. |
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| Maureen O’Callaghan,
Assistant Winemaker |
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