How Does Champagne Differ From Sparkling Wine?
What Makes a Wine a Champagne?
Though they may look the same, sparkling wine and champagne do differ. Champagne is an actual location in France. In order for a wine to be deemed as champagne, it must be produced in that region of France. What gets confusing is that not all wines produced in this region are sparkling wines. Sparkling wines have only been produced in this region for the past 200 years. However, only a few of the wines produced here are "still" wines. Inconsistent weather makes producing still wines difficult. In addition, the price of champagne fruit makes producing still wine an expensive venture.
Since 1891, champagne producers have been guarded over the right to call a wine a champagne. During the same year, a treaty was signed, stating that only wines produced in a particular region could contain the term "champagne" on their bottle. This was called the Treaty of Madrid. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. This treaty was a peace agreement that ended World War I. When the treaty was signed, the rule about using the word champagne on wine bottles was reaffirmed.
What About U.S. Sparkling Wine?
The Treaty of Versailles was never signed by the United States. Instead, they signed a different peace treaty with Germany. In the treaty they signed with Germany, there was no stipulation regarding the regulations of spirits. The United States did not see the need to agree to any rules concerning spirits because during that time, they were going through Prohibition and alcohol was banned in the United States. Some U.S. vintners took advantage of the loophole after Prohibition was lifted and began producing American champagne.
The Process
Many sparkling wines and champagnes are produced using a process that is called the methode classique. This means that a dose of unfermented grape juice is added to the wine after it has completed the fermentation process and is bottled. Once the juice is added, a crown cap temporarily seals the bottle and they are stored in special racks, where they will then go through a second fermentation process. During this second process, the CO2, which the yeast produced during the first fermentation process, is dissolved in the wine. The bottles are then stored on their sides and riddled, or twisted and shaken to loosen the sediment that settles. The bottles are then angled downwards gradually, until they end up completely inverted. Inverting the bottles allows the yeast to compact itself into the neck of the bottle for later removal. When it's time to remove the sediment, the bottle neck is frozen, the cap is removed and the frozen sediment plug gets removed. Once this process is complete, the bottle is ready to be filled with wine and have the cork placed in it.
Tags: fermentation process, United States, wines produced, bottles then, Champagne Differ From, Differ From, Differ From Sparkling