92. Sparkling Wine 101: A Clear Introduction to Bubbles, Mousse, and Winemaking Methods for WSET Students and Sparkling Wine Enthusiasts

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Episode 92 | Sparkling Wine Series Begins

Hello and welcome to Episode 92 of the Wine Educate Podcast. I'm your host, Joanne Close, and we're just about at the New Year. The holidays happened, the bubbles were flowing, and I sure enjoyed my fair share of sparkling wine. Now we're kicking off a brand new Sparkling Wine Series, and friends, it's a big one.

This series is built as a supplement, not a replacement for the WSET class. I'll be focusing mainly on Level 2 material, with a few Level 3 touches where it makes sense, but the deeper Level 3 concepts are being saved for the new Level 3 membership launching in February.

How Sparkling Wine Shows Up in WSET Exams

For Level 1 and Level 2, sparkling wines show up early, including Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, the style overview, and the ever-popular service question: how to open a bottle of sparkling wine. Yes, that question keeps showing up at multiple levels.

For Level 2, sparkling wine and fortified wines are covered in Session 8, and the service component is important and appears in the multiple choice questions.

For Level 3, you will not get a sparkling wine in the practical tasting exam, but you will see it in the theory, including multiple choice questions and short answer essays on sparkling or fortified wines.

Tasting Term to Know: Mousse

Mousse describes the bubble texture on the palate. In class, we talk about three broad levels: delicate, creamy, and aggressive. The class always gets a good laugh out of the aggressive mousse question, and yes, it sticks in your memory. You use it in your Level 3 SAT framework, but you won't be assessed on tasting a sparkling wine.

Definition of Sparkling Wine

Sparkling wine is wine that bubbles when poured into a glass. The bubbles form because carbon dioxide is dissolved in the wine under pressure until the bottle is opened and the cork is removed. I love that Oxford Companion definition. It's simple, it's clear, and it just works.

Grapes for Sparkling Wine

Acidity is the key. Grapes with naturally high acidity make fresher, livelier styles of sparkling wine.

• In Champagne, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are stars because they deliver high acidity and make great sparkling wine. This model has been copied in other regions.

• In the Loire Valley, Chenin Blanc steps up as the hero grape for extraordinary sparkling wines.

• In Australia, Shiraz is used to make red sparkling wine, because it's their grape. So why not?

How the Bubbles Get in the Bottle: Main Production Methods

The method has a direct correlation to style, quality, mouthfeel, price, and the feel of the bubbles when you sip the wine.

Here are the big ones we'll explore in this series:

• Traditional Method

• Transfer Method

• Ancestral Method (Petillant Naturel, or Pet Nat)

• Tank Method

• Carbonation Method

The traditional fermentation method is the most expensive to produce. Other methods exist to make sparkling wine more affordable and accessible, and each method creates a different style in the glass.

Sparkling Wine Styles, Sweetness & Alcohol

Sparkling wines can be white, rosé, or red, and range from very dry to sweet, and everything in between. Alcohol is often around 12% to 12.5%, but it can be lower. Producers try not to let alcohol creep too high because it can mute freshness and balance.

Sparkling Wine Today

Global sparkling wine consumption has increased by 57% since 2002 and continues steadily upward. We live in exciting times in wine, especially for sparkling, because there are more grapes, more methods, more styles, and more opportunities to taste something new.

What's Next

Next week in Episode 93, we're diving into the traditional method, the science, the wonder, and the pure magic of how those bubbles get into the wine.

If you want weekly quizzes, short answer practice, and pairing context delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for the Wine Educate newsletter. Head to wineeducate.com and click the green newsletter signup button, or use the link in the show notes. And as always, hit reply if you have questions. I love hearing from you.

Cheers,
Joanne Close