Sparkling Wines

Without getting too technical, there’s a big winemaking distinction in the world of sparkling wine. The best wines tend to be made in the same way as Champagne, i.e. with the addition of some sugar ("dosage") to bottled wine to promote a secondary fermentation within the bottle and thereby generate CO2 - the bubbles in Champagne. This so classed "méthode Champenoise" is used in top quality sparkling wines all over the world, from Crémant de Bourgogne and Crémant de Limoux to wines made in South Africa called Methode Cap Classique (MCC); or indeed the better English sparkling wines (we usually offer the excellent Exton Park from Hampshire). Similarly sparkling wines crafted in this way tend to be made from the classic grapes of Champagne, i.e. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
The majority of other sparkling wine, for example Prosecco from the Glera grape, is made by the Charmat method, by which the second fermentation takes place in tank and then the sparkling wine is bottled under pressure.