Is champagne a type of sparkling wine Why can't sparkling wine be called champagne?

Sparkling wine is a type of wine that is sweet, acidic and rich in carbon dioxide. Sparkling wine produces a lot of bubbles when the bottle is opened, hence the name, so it is also often used in festive occasions. A common sparkling wine is champagne, but not all sparkling wines are champagne. Specifically to understand it!

Champagne is a kind of sparkling wine

Champagne (Champagne) are sparkling wine (Sparkling Wine, hereinafter referred to as sparkling wine), but not all sparkling wine can be called Champagne.

Sparkling wines are wines that have a carbon dioxide pressure greater than or equal to 0.5 bar at 20℃. There are several ways to make sparkling wine, including the Traditional Method, Transfer Method, Tank Method, and so on.

According to the different origins, grape varieties and brewing methods, sparkling wine is also divided into many kinds, of which the more famous are the French Champagne, Spain's Cava (Cava) and Italy's Asti (Asti) and so on.

According to the law issued on July 22, 1927, only sparkling wines made in the Champagne region of France, using the specified grape varieties and observing the strict rules on planting, harvesting, pressing and other aspects, and using the traditional method of secondary fermentation in the bottle, can be called Champagne.

Therefore, Champagne is only one type of sparkling wine, and the various types of sparkling wines we usually see are not necessarily Champagne.

Why can't sparkling wine be called champagne

Most people don't know enough about wine, and mistakenly call all sparkling wine champagne; in fact, it is not. Strictly speaking, champagne refers to the production of the Champagne region of France, with the legal grape varieties (the most commonly used three kinds: Chardonnay Chardonnay Pinot Noir PinotMonieur Pinot), through the traditional method (bottle) of brewing sparkling wine, the second fermentation. Only sparkling wines made with the traditional method (secondary fermentation in the bottle) can be called Champagne.

The difference between the two is as follows -

- The choice of grape varieties is different

There are three main varieties of grapes used to make Champagne: the white grape Chardonnay (Chardonnay), the red grape Pinot Noir (Point Noir), and Pinot Meunier, because of the Champagne is made in a very unique way of pressing, the skin color of the red grapes will not enter the juice, so the champagne is generally a charming golden yellow, a few show romantic pink.

Sparkling wines, on the other hand, are less restricted by the variety of wine they are made from, and even grapes used to make red wine can be used to make sparkling wine.

Champagne is made using a special, demanding winemaking process, with secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle

Champagne is made by adding sugar and yeast to the liquid and using secondary fermentation to produce carbon dioxide, whereas sparkling wine is made by pumping carbon dioxide directly into the wine. Therefore, the brewing process of champagne is much slower and more complex than that of sparkling wine, and the specific secondary bottle fermentation in the Champagne region requires at least 15 months of aging time, and the aging time of expensive champagne can even be as long as eight or nine years. Therefore, the price of champagne is much more expensive than sparkling wine.

Why Sparkling Wine Has Bubbles

There are two ways of producing sparkling wine:

One is produced by natural fermentation, which belongs to the advanced sparkling wine, such as champagne. Sugar and yeast are added to the grape-based wine during the winemaking process, allowing it to undergo a secondary fermentation. Alcohol produces carbon dioxide during fermentation in a closed container, which creates bubbles.

The other way to create bubbles is much simpler and more crude: carbon dioxide gas is pumped directly into the base wine with a tool, like putting air in a tire, and this type of sparkling wine is generally cheaper. Good sparkling wines have small, fine bubbles that last for a long time in the glass, even up to several minutes. The ones that don't see bubbles for minutes are mostly cheap.