What is the difference between sparkling wine, cava and champagne?

Sparkling wine, cava and champagne are sparkling wines, originally fermented still wines. Quiet? Then how do the beautiful bubbles get into the glass? This is where the whole game begins with the differences, because there are two options for adding carbon dioxide that decide what is allowed on the bottle.

Some wines are supplied with carbon dioxide from the outside, they then have rather little carbon dioxide and are given the name sparkling wine (Frizzante). The other possibility for bubbles is the second fermentation, because this also provides carbonic acid. With sparkling wine, it usually takes place in large pressure tanks, with the high-quality sparkling wines champagne, its competitors Crémant and Cava, the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. This bottle fermentation is an absolute must for them, the process of their production is pretty much identical.

In fact, one could say that cava is Spanish champagne. The Catalan Josep Raventós is said to have made sure of this. He acquired knowledge of champagne production during a visit to French Champagne and then imitated it on his winery back in his native Spanish Codorníu: in 1870 he produced his bottle-fermented sparkling wine called Cava, which is in Spanish for the first time «Basement» means.

The names Codorníu and Raventós should be remembered: as their origins, they still play a major role in the cava business today. But what in turn plays a major role with champagne: the origin. According to a court ruling from 2005, only champagne can be named, which also comes from the French Champagne. In addition to the second fermentation in the bottle, there is also the protected indication of origin for champagne. And so the cava from Spain is called cava instead of champagne.

Only fair: Crémant, which comes from other French regions, is therefore not allowed to call itself champagne despite the same manufacturing process. Cava and Crémant are usually between sparkling wine and champagne in price and are therefore popular alternatives.

A Prosecco can be sparkling or sparkling wine. He gets the term Prosecco when he comes from the geographically defined area in north-east Italy. A sparkling wine is usually a cuvée made from different types of wine from different regions and, as described above, fermented in large tanks, which makes it cheaper. Carbon dioxide must not be added to it from outside.

Industrially produced sparkling wine can be made from table wines from all over Europe and is therefore significantly cheaper than quality wines that only contain certain grape varieties. In the case of champagne, these grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Pinot Meunier. When it comes to cava, there are the white varieties Macabeo, Parellada and Xarello, which are typical for Spain.

Are you already thinking about which bottle (s) to serve for Christmas and New Year’s Eve? If you want to try the Spanish cava, be aware that a cava labeled “seco” (dry) could already taste quite sweet on the bottle. “Extra Seco” or “Brut” are the right choice if you prefer dry varieties.