The Difference Between Sparkling Wine and Champagne

The Sparkling wine market is floated by a cloud of a question that lingers in the heads of most wine consumers across the globe. Not every wine taker knows the difference between sparkling wine and Champagne as both beverages bubble when uncorked and have a similar trademark.

But to crack this nut for free is that not every sparkling wine can be regarded as Champagne. Several aspects contribute to a sparkling wine categorized as Champagne, and pulling out a dramatic enthusiasm, is not among them.

The “pop sound” results from the escaping Carbon (iv) Oxide (CO2) that is formally created and trapped inside the bottle after fermentation—the process that is used when preparing all sparkling wines. That said, just because sparkling wine is bubbling, it doesn’t give it traction to be dubbed Champagne. 

Champagne wines exhibit all the sparkling wines grown, prepared, and bottled in the Champagne region of France. The area covers a 100 miles’ radius of the country’s northeastern part and sits at the outskirts of Paris. It is known for the large-scale grape plantations that come in handy when creating the Champagne wine. 

The grapes are the key ingredients that contribute to Champagne’s distinct taste and flavor. Any sparkling wine in France outside the Champagne region is not regarded as Champagne but as Crémant. And across the world, wines that do not come from the Champagne location are referred to as sparkling wines.

However, the entire process of preparing Champagne is quite costly. It requires a considerable labor force due to the technicalities involved. The grapes are picked from the plantation, fermented into still wine. Then yeast and sugar are added to initiate the second fermentation phase as the resulting composition is bottled and left to age for about one and half years.

After the yeast cells die, the bottles undergo a riddling process (a slow rotation) to trap the dead cells at the bottleneck to remove them through disgorgement. Some sugar is again added, and the bottle is sealed. The whole process is known as the [traditional method] or [Méthod Champenoise] and attributes to the hiked price of Champagne.

On the other hand, sparkling wines were introduced into the sparkling wine market to cut the cost of production and lower the price of wine to the average consumer as the demand for sparkling wine surged. As of 2019, the market was valued at $33.9 billion and is forecasted to reach $51.7 billion in the next five years. This has been geared by the increase in the variety of sparkling wine versions across the globe. In Asia, China has the highest demand, prompted by the belief that drinking red wine is a tradition in the country.

Sparkling wine aims to meet the demand in the market and shave down the price so that wine is relatively affordable. In this case, its production is done in large volumes through the [tanking method]. 

Unlike Champagne, where fermentation occurs in a bottle, sparkling wine’s fermentation is done in tanks. The Wineries’ goal is to increase the speed of getting products into the market. This lowers its quality as compared to Champagne. In addition, the grapes used are of lower quality as well. However, the sparkling wine quality might differ from one country to another. This is attributed to the fact that each winemaking country has a style of its own, and sometimes the climatic region could determine the quality of sparkling wine it produces.

Globally, the consumption of sparkling wine (both Champagne and other wine versions) has showcased unprecedented growth in some countries since the late 90s. As of 2014, the United States has topped as the most wine-consuming country in the world. The country houses about 10,000 wineries, and the annual consumption of wine stagnates at 2.94 gallons.

The surge in consumption spurred just as the e-commerce market gained traction and people were seamlessly ordering goods online. This triggered the e-commerce sales of sparkling wine to skyrocket.

Through a Direct-to-customer (D2C) retail channel, wine takers would order the product online, and it was delivered at their doorstep. By 2017, e-commerce sales of sparkling wine accounted for 67% of the entire alcohol e-commerce sales made that year. Last year, D2C sales of sparkling wines jumped by 15.3%, adding $5.78 million to its all-time high of $2.69 billion (as of 2017). 

Conclusion.

Sparkling wine is any bubbly wine prepared using grapes and fermentation, but not all sparkling wines are Champagne. The method of preparing Champagne is distinct and labor-intensive. However, sparkling wines are cost-effective to create, but their preparation method may differ from one country to another. This results in several wine versions depending on the country it is produced.