There has long been grumblings in the Northern Hemisphere of the impending dominance of the Asian market and the impact it would have on the ‘old guard’ wine superpowers of the United States and Europe.

Having spent the last six years immersing myself in the wine culture in Europe, I was slightly hesitant when arriving in Singapore as to what sort of range and variety wine drinkers here are offered. After being here now for six months it has become clear that I had nothing to worry about. The emergence of Asia on the world wine map has brought with it exposure to the world’s best wines and the diversity you would find in any of the historic wine capitals. So, if you are an adventurous drinker and willing to explore what the wine world has to offer there is no place to be like Singapore.

Take sparkling wines for example, the range to choose from on the shelves and online these days is incredible. So how do we know what we are drinking, and more importantly how do we choose? Let’s look at three different options from Europe.

France

At the top of the tree (especially in terms of price) sits Champagne.

From the famous Champagne region in Northern France, this wine has probably been written about more than any other. Unfortunately it is often regarded as a wine to drink only when celebrating, and many people don’t realise how unique and complex Champagne’s are.

And what makes them so I hear you ask? Well that’s hard to define. The answer lies somewhere between the history of the wine (first recordings of Champagne production were in 1531), the varieties used (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier) the uniqueness of the climate and soils of the Champagne region, and of course the production process, or Methode Champenoise.

Without going into too much depth (as word limits are in place!) the method basically goes like this:

1. Crush the grapes, ferment the grapes and bottle the resulting wine.
2.  Add a little bit of yeast and sugar before bottling to promote a secondary fermentation in the bottle. This will give the bubbles to the wine.
3. Let the bottle sit around for a while (Champagne laws require a minimum of 1.5 years) and wait.
4. After that time the dead yeast cells (called lees) would have formed a deposit in the bottle which needs to be removed. By manipulating the lees over the 1.5 years all the sediment will be sitting in the neck of the bottle. This process is known as Remuage
5. Disgorgement is the process of removing the dead yeast cells, and with a bit of a top up (dosage) we have Champagne!

As a result of all of this we are left with incredibly unique, complex and utterly delicious wines, albeit with a price tag to match!

Italy

If splashing out more than $100 on a bottle of bubbles is not an everyday occurrence, fear not, look towards Italy and buy Prosecco.

The famous Italian sparkling comes from the North Eastern part of the country in what is known as the Veneto region (not far from Venice).

Now the Italians are famous for confusing wine drinkers with labels, varieties and regions so keep in mind that Prosecco is the name of the style of the wine, the name of the grape variety used to make it and also the designated area from where it comes from. Crazy hey?

So how does it differ from Champagne? Well, obviously it comes from a different country and is produced from a different variety so already we can’t really make direct accurate comparisons between the two.

From a production point of view most Prosecco is made using the Charmat method. This follows almost all of the same steps as the traditional Champagne process but the second fermentation happens in a large stainless steel tank, not a bottle which dramatically reduces production costs but sacrifices elements of quality.

From a drinkers point of view it is generally lighter in style, is best drunk young and has flavours of citrus, green apple and pear. It is often served as an aperitif and the good news is you can get really good Prosecco’s around town for between $30 and $40 which makes it a great value alternative to Champagne.

Spain

Not to be left out on the bubbles boom, the mighty Spanish threw their hat into the ring with a sparkling wine they call Cava, meaning cave or cellar.

The Penedes region lies in the north east corner of the country, about 2 hours north of Barcelona, and is where about 95% of all Cava production occurs.

Long known as the poor man’s Champagne (it used to be called Spanish Champagne), Cava is made using the traditional Champagne method from the varieties Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel – lo, all native to the region.

When the EU passed laws in the 1970’s forbidding anything outside the Champagne region to be labelled as Champagne, the Spanish producers had to come up with a new identity and Cava was born. From a marketing point of view it was a stroke of genius as they now had a product that was easily identifiable and could set about building the Cava ‘brand’ that is now known around the world.

It normally sells for about the same price as Prosecco and is well worth hunting down in your local wine shop if you are wanting great quality, traditionally produced fizz coming into Christmas.

If you want more in depth information on the bubbles from around the world, or have any wine questions drop me a line.

Cheers.

Mike Back

Director, Equatorial Wines

mike@eqwines.net.