Vini: meglio uno spumante italiano o uno champagne francese? Tutte le differenze

Sparkling wine or Champagne A difficult choice according to tastes and needs. But it's not just about nationalism between Italian and French bubbles, but also about different characteristics, even from a legislative point of view..

Wines: better an Italian sparkling wine or a French champagne? All the differences. We are faced with many diversities, from geographical ones to those related to production, up to the quality and taste of each bubbly. Any champagne is sparkling wine, but the same cannot be said of sparkling wine; there are in fact different types of sparkling wine, and among the best known are champagne, prosecco and cava. Champagne, however, is only called that if it actually comes from the Champagne region in northern France.

What is Champagne

Let's start from the assumption that champagne has exclusively French origins, and owes its name to the land of the same name Champagne, about 150 km north-east of Paris. The Champagne production and denomination area is delimited by a 1927 law, which extends for just over 34,000 hectares and includes 320 municipalities in five departments: the Marne (66%), the Aube (23%), the 'Aisne (10%), the Haute-Marne and the Seine-et-Marne.e.

Champagne is protected by the legislation on the defense of products with a geographical designation, now recognized almost all over the world, which contributes to raising the quality and cost of the wine. Champagne is in fact an appellation d'origine contrôlée brand, just like our DOC and DOCG brands. It is an effervescent wine obtained with classic method, called Champenoise, which can only be created from three grape varieties, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, grown only in the Champagne region. The harvest is done manually, without machines, so that the grapes are in perfect condition, in full compliance with the legislation in force which requires the pressing of the whole grapes.

After a long period of maturation and careful conservation of the bottles in dark and cold places to allow the formation of carbon dioxide, a compound made of natural yeasts, nutritional salts, cane sugar or beetroot is added to the wine; a scrupulous procedure to give it a sweeter taste, thus determining its organoleptic characteristics. Finally, we proceed to the actual corking with the famous mushroom-shaped cork, able to preserve its perlage (the bubbles).

What is Spumante

Spumante is produced in various Italian regions, famous for the production of the typical bubbles; let's talk about Franciacorta, of the lands of the Prosecco, and some vines that give life to Verdicchio in the Marches, Inzolia in Sicily and Torbato in Sardinia, without forgetting the lands of Oltrepò Pavese and, to the south, of San Severo. It is a generic effervescent wine obtained thanks to different processing methods and on the basis of different qualities of grapes, grown all over the world. Each nation has different legislations to protect its sparkling wines: this is because each sparkling wine is different in terms of origin, typology, blend and other characteristics. The best, for example, have managed to obtain their own denomination of geographical origin both in Italy and in other countries.

The Spumante is produced both with the Classic Method or Champenoise (mandatory for Champagne) and with the one called Martinotti, which differs from the first for the second fermentation which does not take place in the bottle, but in an autoclave, giving life to a more fruity sparkling wine made from aromatic grapes, such as Moscato and Malvasia. But there are also other important differences, such as that between Natural Sparkling Wines and Gasified Sparkling Wines: in the latter, carbon dioxide is not formed naturally, but is added at low temperatures and are characterized by significantly lower consumer prices.

The differences between Spumante and Champagne

As we have already noticed, there are several differences between Champagne and Spumante. In general, even if the same procedure can be used through the Champenoise method and the Classic method, what makes the difference are the climate, the quality of the soil and that of the vines used. And then, of course, there is also a difference in taste: in quality Champagnes, an intense scent of bread is perceived, deriving from the use of natural yeasts to facilitate effervescence; in Italian sparkling wines, on the other hand, especially in those produced in Franciacorta, there are more floral and fruity notes, even with more sour aromas.

However, attention should be paid to the classification of sweetness, for example sparkling wine is often labeled as “brut or extra dryry”. The Brut has a dry taste, with almost no sweetness. The extra dry, on the other hand, has a slightly sweet taste. In order to further diversify Champagne and Spumante, it is necessary to recognize the region in which they were produced. In this regard, true Champagnes can only be made in the Champagne region of France from the 7 different grape types and via the Methode Traditionnelle.

Sparkling wines, on the other hand, are not required to comply with the same restrictions. The sparkling wine, in fact, can be produced with the same identical grapes of the champagne or with a completely different blend, and using the Classic Method, a simpler process where the second fermentation takes place in the tank), or with the Ancestral Method Petillant Naturel, which uses very low temperatures to pause the fermentation, in order to then bottle the wines and finish the fermentation at a later time. Furthermore, from a legislative point of view, in France the generic sparkling wine is indicated with the name of Cremant, which can be produced in various French regions, including the most famous Provence and Burgundy, and other areas of the transalpine south. But even between these regions there are differences both in the disciplinary, both for the grapes used and for the aging methods.

Furthermore, regarding the sparkling process, in France the classic one of Champagne is generally mandatory, whereas as regards taste, the differences are even wider, given that the grapes are completely different and grow in clearly different climatic conditions between the various areas. And then there's the price factor: the most expensive champagnes can also be worth a few thousand euros, while sparkling wine generally has lower prices. The price, however, is determined by the quality of the grape used for the production of the alcohol, but also by the fermentation process used.

Are you looking for a wine for your aperitifs Then ours Sparkling Rose Brut GrapeVita it is ideal to combine with both Cinta Senese cold cuts, pizza and seafood and shellfish. A wine produced from Sangiovese grapes, perfect to be enjoyed during your moments of relaxation.