The time that most people purchase sparkling wines is usually just prior to the winter holidays. People like to celebrate either the end of a challenging year or the beginning of a new one, which will be full of expectations for a great outcome.
Therefore, we generally publish a review of sparkling wines that we and the members of our “usual suspects” group of tasters, have enjoyed at the beginning of November each year.
For this season, we decided to try sparklers created in both the “Classic Method” that is the way Champagnes are made and the “Charmat – Martinotti” method, which is the way Prosecco is produced. We also had both white and rosé versions from numerous areas of the world that now produce sparkling wines.
The classic method or Méthode Champenoise is very labor-intensive, and that considerably increases the price of the final product. The entire production and aging process is hands-on for the winemaker and their assistants.
The secondary fermentation, which is the one that produces the bubbles, takes place in each individual bottle that’s closed with a temporary cork. During aging, this has to be turned by hand a quarter around, while the bottles rest on special racks. Then, the temporary cork is removed, the fermentation debris are disgorged, and the bottle is reclosed with the final cork. All that work is done by hand!
The Charmat product can be mostly mechanized from filling the stainless vats where the wine starts the fermentation, to bottling, which means less hands-on production costs. This results in lower prices.
The process doesn’t mean that one type of wine is better than the other. As far as we’re concerned, there are great producers, good producers, and lousy producers using both of these methods. The quality of your purchase depends on your personal taste.
In reality, the quality and taste of any wine depends on the soil of the vineyard, the weather during growth and harvest, the knowledge of the agronomist who tends the vines during the season, and the expertise of the winemaker, as well as their palate.
The only difference I would say is that in general, the Classic Method produces drier, tighter wines with complexity and depth. The Charmat-Martinotti produces wines that are usually less dry (sometimes almost demi-sec) and not as complex. But as I said, it all depends on what you like, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
For this tasting, we had sparkling wines from France, Italy, Germany, and Greece.
We had bottles of Albert Bichot Brut Réserve Crémant de Bourgogne and Ferrari Trento Brut Méthode Champenoise Rosé. Both are made in the classic method. Neither can be called champagne because they aren’t made in the Champagne region of France, but they are as good as any champagne.
Aphrodite Rosé, a newer Greek producer, makes a rosé sparkler from Xinomavro grapes using the Charmat method. The Xinomavro grape makes some of the best red Greek wines, mostly in northern and central Greece.
Loosen Brothers’ Dr. L Sparkling Riesling Sekt from Germany, as well as Markus Molitor Brut, both come from vineyards in the Mosel area, and both are produced in the Charmat method. It seems that Germany in the Bernkasteler region is one of the largest producers of sparkling wines. Who knew?
From Italy, we had three more bottles: a FIOL Prosecco, a Valdo Marca Oro Prosecco, and a Valdo Aquarius Extra Dry Blanc de Blancs.
Our good friend, Norma, was kind enough to lend us her living room and kitchen in her Manhattan apartment for the tasting, and she also made a sumptuous meal to be washed down with all that bubbly. In accordance with our long experience, we never drink on an empty stomach!
There were ten tasters altogether, and we enjoyed both the wines and her hospitality.
The general results were:
The 2 Méthode Champenoise bottles were given high ratings but only by a few points. The Bichot received 92 points, and the Ferrari 93. All the Charmat-produced sparklers in the tasting were deemed enjoyable, and all received above 89 points each.
89 points is considered the base for “good” wines, while anything below is average, and anything above 96 is exceptional. Both the German Sekts received 91 points, and the Aphrodite received 90 points.
Most of the Proseccos received either 90 or 91, and so did both Valdo bottles, though the graphics on the Aquarius bottles were deemed exceptionally attractive. The FIOL Prosecco bottle did stand out with 94 points. All of the above means that to our tasters’ palates, all of these sparklers were enjoyable.
I hope you enjoy your bottles as well, and feel free to make your own recommendations in the comments!
Manos Angelakis is one of the founders, the former Managing Editor for 25 years, the current Managing Editor Emeritus, and Senior Food & Wine Writer of LuxuryWeb Magazine. He is an accomplished travel writer, photographer, and food and wine critic based in Hackensack, New Jersey. As a travel writer, he has written extensively about numerous cities and countries. Manos has also been certified as a Tuscan Wine Master and has traveled to wine-producing areas in order to evaluate firsthand the product of top-rated vineyards. In the past year, he has visited and written multiple articles about Morocco, Turkey, Quebec City, Switzerland, Antarctica, and most recently the South of France. Articles in other publications include Vision Times and Epoch Times.
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