Many of us are getting ready for even more sparkling wine celebration with the New Year. I’ve focused on plenty of various sparkling wines here but thought this week I’d present illustration of how it is made as well.

Champagne is often considered the pinnacle of sparkling wines. It’s production method allows wonderful complexity of flavors, and the highest quality as well. There are actually three regulated sparkling wines made with this same method, known as the methode traditionelle–champagne, franciacorta, and cava. In each case, the production method includes the same double fermentation process with the second fermentation occurring in the same bottle in which the wine will then be sold. The quality of the final sparkling wine importantly begins with the quality of the original cuve’e–the still wine produced from the first fermentation.

Following, is a comic on the primary steps of me’thode traditionelle, and a couple of cava reviews.

Friday we’ll take a look at how another sparkling wine–prosecco–is made, and do a review of four affordable examples of the style.

Here’s how it works…

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Getting ready for celebration? Here are two cava brut rose’s perfect for the occasion. Both rely heavily on pinot noir, a newer happy focus for cavas.

The Marques de Gelida Brut Reserva Rose’ is 100% Pinot Noir.

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The second cava is known as the favorite of Salvador Dali. As the story goes, he served it to his dearest friends. The Galatea Torre Perelada Brut Rosado is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir, 25% Garnacha (aka. Grenache), and 25% Monastrell (aka. Mourv’edre, or, Matar’o).

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To consider other sparkling wines click on the “Sparkling Wines” link on the right under “Regions, and Wine Types.”

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