A Complete Guide to Sparkling Wine: Champagne, Prosecco, Cava & More

A Complete Guide to Sparkling Wine

Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Crémant – what’s the difference?

Sparkling wine is a bit of a catch-all term for a category that’s actually just as varied as red, white and rosé wine. For years, sparkling wine seemed to come down to three familiar names: Champagne, Prosecco and Cava. But these days, there’s a lot more to choose from.

English sparkling wine is on the rise, Crémant is showing up on more wine lists, and there are more styles than ever to choose from on our supermarket shelves. Which, obviously, is a good thing. More wine is always welcome. But it can also make choosing a bottle feel confusing.

So, what actually makes Champagne different from Cava? How does Prosecco fit in? And what exactly is Crémant?

Here’s a guide to the sparkling wines you’re most likely to come across, what makes them different and, importantly, a few bottles worth trying along the way. Because what’s the point in reading about wine if you can’t drink some of it too?

Jump to Champagne | Prosecco | Cava | Crémant | English Sparkling Wine

Champagne

The one we know and love

Let’s start with the obvious one: Champagne. We know it, we love it, but because of the price tag, it’s something many of us save for special occasions – weddings, birthdays, New Year’s Eve and anything else that feels worthy of cracking open the fancy stuff. So, what are we actually paying for?

For starters, the location. Champagne isn’t simply a style of sparkling wine. The name is legally protected, meaning a wine can only be called Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France.

There’s only so much vineyard land in the region, which makes it highly sought-after – and, inevitably, more expensive. There are also strict rules around how Champagne is produced, including how much can be harvested and how the grapes are picked. Harvesting must be done by hand, and Champagne can only be made from seven permitted grape varieties, although the three you’re most likely to come across are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Then there’s the way it’s made. Champagne uses the traditional method, where the second fermentation – the process that creates the bubbles – takes place in the bottle. It’s a more time-consuming process than the method typically used for Prosecco, and it’s one of the reasons Champagne has those fine bubbles and more complex, toasty flavours.

The result? Freshness, fine bubbles and, particularly in bottles that have spent longer ageing, those richer flavours of toasted brioche, biscuit and bread.

Prosecco

The one you probably know best

My first experience of sparkling wine – and I’m guessing I’m not alone here – was Prosecco. It was always the bottle to have in the fridge. Easy-drinking, affordable and reliable. 

If Champagne is the special-occasion sparkling wine, Prosecco is probably the one that’s made its way most firmly into everyday drinking.

It’s Italian, primarily made from the Glera grape, and tends to be fresh, fruity and easy-drinking. Think pear, apple, citrus and plenty of fresh fruit. It’s also made differently from Champagne. Instead of the second fermentation happening in the bottle, Prosecco is generally made using the tank method, with the second fermentation taking place in stainless steel tanks. 

There are some exceptions, but for the Prosecco you’re most likely to come across, the tank method is the one worth knowing.

And while Prosecco has become synonymous with brunch, weddings and easy-drinking sparkling, there’s much more to it than a glass of something fizzy with orange juice.

Cava

The underrated one

Oh, here she goes again, telling you Spanish wine is underrated. And I’m not stopping anytime soon.

Admittedly, I didn’t drink much Cava for a while. When I first started drinking sparkling wine, I almost exclusively reached for Prosecco. I honestly barely considered Cava an option. I’m not entirely sure why, because, as regular readers will know, I’m basically a Spanish wine ambassador at this point.

Cava is Spain’s answer to sparkling wine, with much of it coming from Catalonia in the northeast of the country. It’s made using the traditional method (like Champagne), but it has its own less restrictive rules around where and how it can be produced.

The grapes are different, too. Typically, Cava is made with Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, which tend to produce fresh, dry wines, sometimes with a slightly savoury character.

If you love Champagne but don’t necessarily want to spend Champagne money every time you fancy a bottle of bubbles, give Cava a go. There are some seriously good-value bottles out there, particularly if you like your sparkling wine on the drier, more savoury side.

Crémant

The one you might have seen and wondered about

Returning to French sparkling, you might have noticed Crémant appearing on more and more wine lists when you’re out and about. Like Champagne, Crémant is a French sparkling wine, but it doesn’t come with the same regional restrictions – Crémant can be made across multiple regions of France, as well as Luxembourg.

You might’ve spotted a few different Crémants, including Crémant de Bourgogne, Crémant d’Alsace and Crémant de Loire, which can all have their own distinct styles depending on where they’re made.

What ties them together is that they’re made using the traditional method, giving them those lovely fine, soft bubbles we so often associate with Champagne – but often at a much lower price point.

English Sparkling Wine

The one that’s getting harder to ignore

If you’d told me when I first started drinking wine that some of the best sparkling wine would be coming from the UK, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

But here we are. English sparkling wine has come a long way, and it’s a category I’m finding myself exploring more and more. New producers are popping up across the country, and increasingly I’m seeing English sparkling wine on wine lists and in shops alongside Prosecco, Cava and Champagne.

In fact, a lot of English sparkling wine is made using the same grapes you’ll find in Champagne: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

In terms of style, English sparkling tends to be fresh, crisp and quite elegant, with plenty of citrus and green apple flavours. You’ll also often get those toasty, bready notes you’d associate with traditional-method sparkling wine, particularly in bottles that have aged longer.

And I think there’s something quite nice about having good sparkling wine being made here in the UK. We’re so used to looking to France, Italy and Spain when we want a bottle of bubbles, so having more options closer to home is definitely something I’m happy to see.

So, which one should you try?

Honestly? Try them all. That’s the thing I like about sparkling wine – there’s no need to pick a favourite and stick to it. Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, Crémant and English sparkling wine all bring something slightly different to the table, whether you like your bubbles crisp and fruity, dry and savoury, or rich and toasty.

If you’re usually a Prosecco person, give Cava a go. If Champagne is your usual order, try a Crémant next time. And if English sparkling wine still isn’t on your radar, I’d say it’s time to change that.

At the end of the day, the best way to figure out what you like is to open a bottle and find out. Which is pretty fun, if you ask me.

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