10 Alternatives to Champagne and Prosecco

I’m certainly not here to steer you away from either Champagne or Prosecco, both these wine regions I simply love and adore from the wines they produce to the wine tourism splendour I have enjoyed so many times from each region. In fact, I have only just returned from an amazing visit to Champagne Henri Giraud to indulge in fine hospitality, wines and gastronomy which I’d recommend to anyone looking for that WOW experience!

Sometimes though, just outside the zone of these two most famous names when it comes to sparkling wine regions, other special treasures can be found either fighting for their market share or simply moving along at a slower pace and somewhat yet to be discovered.

 

Champagne and Prosecco are also known to be sparkling wines made in a very different way. Whereas Champagne uses the traditional method where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle and requires a minimum storage time of 15 months, Prosecco uses the Charmat method seeing the secondary fermentation happen in large pressurised stainless steel tanks and hitting the shelves only a few months later.

Around the world, these two sparkling wine methods are the most adopted and with what some would say equalling success with an array of variations affecting aromas and flavours such as terroir, climate, storage, sugars, yeast, grape varieties, wine-maker and much more.

Outside of Champagne and Prosecco:

A total of 362 million bottles of Champagne were produced in 2018 with Prosecco producing around 600 million bottles. Believe it or not, there is still room for more sparkling wine production in our world and it is said that demand is still increasing!

 

Big names outside the top two include Cava, Sekt, Méthode Cap Classique / MCC, Franciacorta, Lambrusco, Spumante, Crémant and many more. Around the globe, there are tens of, if not hundreds of, thousands of other sparkling wine growers and producers giving us wonderful examples of white, rosé and red sparklers. Countries we might not even of thought of when it comes to sparkling wine production chip in on supplying consumers with their fizz fix including Georgia, Japan, India, Netherlands, Canada and even us here in the UK with English and Welsh sparklers building their reputations.

10 great sparkling wines outside of Champagne & Prosecco:

I rummaged through my wine collection to pick out some random yet very enjoyable sparkling wines that each holds a unique character and are well worth a try if you wish to pour something different into your glass.

 

Italy – Trentodoc – Ferrari Maximum Brut: “Fruity, floral and a touch of nutty pastry on the nose. Flavours are lively with crisp fruity and white floral notes.”

 

England –  Raimes Vintage Rosé 2014: “Vibrant red berry fruits bursting with zesty flavours with a lengthy raspberry pastry / pink rose petal length.”

 

Slovenia – Medot 48 Brut: “Aromas are fruity and lively with green and yellow fruits with a hint of oak / minerals / honey notes. Crisp, dry and delicate flavours with a light toasted bread, minerals, citrus, apricot, peach skin and more giving a good length and after taste.”

 

Luxembourg – B.Brut Rosé: “Dry raspberry and white strawberry on the nose. Crisp, touch dry with red berry fruits and chalky hints.”

 

Italy – Spumanté – Charling Vino Spumante Brut Millesimato 2014: “Floral and white fruit flavours.”

 

Australia – Umamu Estate 2012 Sparkling Chardonnay: “Floral and sweet citrus on the nose. Dry citrus and yellow fruit flavours.”

 

Canada – Jackon-Triggs Entourage Grand Reserve Brut 2015: “Citrus pasty with chalky notes on the nose. Flavour is dry citrus, almond, brioche combination.”

 

Georgia – Badagoni Rosé: “Really enjoyable fruits mostly strawberry in aromas and taste. Ideal summer day sparkling wine.”

 

Slovenia – Silveri Blanc de Blancs NV: “Nose similar to a vintage Champagne with creamy floral with butter and tropical. Delightful tasting experience with soft citrus, peach skin, honeycomb, yellow rose petals and more.”

 

Italy – Le Marche – Alberto Quacquarini Vino Spumante Dolce: “Blackcurrant jam and blueberry pie on the nose. A touch of spice / black pepper on the taste with a bold dark berry fruit burst.”