Honest Wine: Quality of Sparkling
It’s officially the holidays. If there was ever a time to be grabbing sparkling wine, it’s now. This post gives a quick run-down on how to tell if your sparkling wine is any good AND the different methods to producing this style. Here’s a fun experiment. Open your selection next to a very inexpensive sparkling wine from the grocery store, say André Brut. Opening them side-by-side can show you some unmistakable clues about what sets premium bubbles apart from the rest.
The first thing to look at? The bubbles themselves. Quality sparkling wine typically has very fine bubbles that form a steady, elegant stream, while cheaper wines often have larger, coarser bubbles that don’t last as long. And then of course the taste will give away quite a bit as well.
A few methods of producing quality sparkling wine include:
Traditional method, or méthode champenoise
Pétillant naturel, or pét-nat, is an alternative style of sparkling wine that’s made in the ancestral method.
Let’s explore both a little bit more…
The Traditional Method: The Champagne Standard
This meticulous, multi-step process includes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which is key to creating Champagne’s signature fine bubbles and complex flavors.
Here’s how it works:
First Fermentation: The base wine (typically made from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Pinot Meunier grapes) undergoes an initial fermentation in a tank, producing a still wine.
Second Fermentation in Bottle: The still wine is bottled with a small addition of sugar and yeast, which starts a secondary fermentation. This process naturally creates carbon dioxide, which becomes trapped in the wine, forming those delicate bubbles.
Aging on the Lees: The wine then ages in the bottle with the dead yeast cells, or lees, for months or even years. This lees aging gives Champagne its unique toasty, nutty, and brioche-like flavors.
Dosage: After the yeast is removed, a small amount of sugar (called the dosage) is added, balancing the wine’s acidity and determining its sweetness level.
The results are sparkling wines with incredible depth, finesse, and gorgeous complexity.
Pét-Nat: A Fresher, Sparkling Style
Unlike Champagne, which undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, pét-nat is bottled before the primary fermentation is complete, allowing it to finish fermenting in the bottle. This method results in a sparkling wine that is generally fresher and consumed younger than Champagne.
Here’s what you’ll notice about pét-nat:
Unfiltered and Low-Intervention: Pét-nat is often bottled without filtration, which can often leave natural yeast sediment in the bottle.
No Dosage: Since pét-nat is typically left unrefined, no additional sugar is added. This results in a wine that’s often drier and fruitier than Champagne.
Cost and Simplicity: With less labor-intensive production and a more “natural” approach, pét-nat tends to be more affordable than Champagne. This is also a great style for those seeking a more natural approach to winemaking. Pét-nats are often enjoyed for their fresh fruit flavors, and casual appeal, making them a fun and accessible choice for those exploring sparkling wines. Pictured above is a delightful, natural Pét Nat that didn’t break the bank and is truly delightful.
So what’s the big takeaway here? There are a few approaches to producing sparkling wine that both lead to quality in the bottle. As a good rule of thumb though…
Finer bubbles equal a finer wine!
Cheers, friends!
