Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. Commonly called champagne, EU countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Usually sparkling wine is white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda, and Lambrusco, Australian sparkling Shiraz, and Azerbaijani “Pearl of Azerbaijan” made from Madrasa grapes. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties (French for ‘raw’ and ‘sweet’, respectively). The sparkling quality of these wines comes from its carbon dioxide content and may be the result of natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the traditional method, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the Charmat process), or as a result of simple carbon dioxide injection in some cheaper sparkling wines.
