The key difference between champagne and sparkling wine is that champagne is a variety of sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France, while sparkling wine is a carbonated wine made using any kind of white or red grapes.
Sparkling wine can only be called champagne if it is produced in the Champagne region in France. Moreover, champagne is made only using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grapes.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Champagne
3. What is Sparkling Wine
4. Champagne vs Sparkling Wine in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Champagne vs Sparkling Wine
What is Champagne?
Champagne is a variety of sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France. It is made using a few special types of grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, and Chardonnay. It is pale gold or pink in colour and has a moderate level of alcohol and different levels of sweetness with flavours like citrus, apple, and almond. Since most champagnes are white wines, they are low in tannins.
Champagne is made using a method called the tirage. It involves adding a mixture of sugar and yeast (the tirage) to the base wine while it is still in the bottle. Therefore, it undergoes a secondary fermentation process that produces carbon dioxide, which gives bubbles to the champagne and dead yeast, giving champagne its unique taste. Depending on the amount of sugar added in the secondary fermentation, the sweetness changes.
The sweetness level is indicated on the label in various ways, such as,
- Brut Nature – little or no sugar with 3 grams of sugar per litre,
- Extra Brut – slightly sweeter with 6 grams of sugar per litre,
- Brut-12 grams of sugar per litre,
- Extra Dry – 12 to 17 grams of sugar per litre,
- Dry – 17 to 32 grams of sugar per litre,
- Demi-Sec – 32 to 50 grams of sugar per litre,
- Doux – this is the sweetest champagne with 50 or more grams of sugar per litre
Champagne is also classified based on the type of grapes used.
- Blanc de Blanc- hundred percent chardonnay grapes,
- Blanc de Noirs- hundred percent ‘black’ wine grapes like Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier
- Rose – with a small amount of red wine
What is Sparkling Wine?
Sparkling wine is a carbonated wine that can be made using any kind of white or red grapes. The carbon dioxide in it makes it frizzy or bubbly. It can be made anywhere in the world. In fact, there are a few methods of making sparkling wine, such as the carbonation method, tank method, or traditional method, also known as the champagne method.
The common variety is white sparkling wines, but there are red sparkling wines as well. They have a dry to sweet taste and vary with the type of grapes used, the climate they are grown in, and the winemaking process.
When making sparkling wine, sugar and yeast are combined to create alcohol and CO2. The fermentation process for wine needs a sealed or enclosed environment so that no gas can escape from the wine. Because of this, the carbon dioxide return to the wine, and when the bottle is opened, it is released in the form of bubbles.
There are several types of sparkling wines, including Cava in Spain, which has a fresh, creamy taste; Prosecco, which is from the Veneto region of Italy and has larger bubbles; Sekt, which is from Australia and Germany; and Cremant, which is softer and creamier in taste.
What is the Difference Between Champagne and Sparkling Wine?
The key difference between champagne and sparkling wine is that champagne is a variety of sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France while sparkling wine is a carbonated wine made using any kind of white or red grapes. In other words, champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is champagne.
Below is a summary of the difference between champagne and sparkling wine in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Champagne vs Sparkling Wine
Champagne is a variety of sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France. They are made using grapes like pinot noir, pinot meunier, or chardonnay from the Champagne region. Champagnes are sparkling wines. Sparkling wine is a carbonated wine made using any kind of white or red grapes. But not all sparkling wines are champagnes. They become champagnes only if they come from the Champagne region in Northern France. So, this is the summary of the difference between champagne and sparkling wine.
Reference:
1. “Champagne.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation.
2. “Sparkling Wine.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia Foundation.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Champagne Deutz Blanc de Blancs” By e_calamar – Flickr: Champagne Deutz Blanc de Blancs (CC BY 2.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Close-Up Of Two Flute Glasses Filled With Sparkling Wine With Ribbons And Christmas Decor” (CC0) Pexels