Italian Sparkling wines have been around for centuries. However, Italy is more famous for its still (not sparkling) red and white wines such as Chianti or other reds from Tuscany, Barolo and Barbaresco (from Piedmont), Pinot Grigio, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, etc.
Italian sparkling wines, with the exception of Prosecco, tend to get overlooked. But they shouldn’t be!
Italy produces some of the most delicious sparkling wines in the world including wines made in the same or with a very similar method to wines made in Champagne.
There are many different kinds of Italian sparkling or ‘frizzante’ wines, called ‘vini spumanti’. Some are made the traditional way using the Charmat method, while others are made using the Metodo Classico which is very similar to the winemaking methods in Champagne, and still others have their own unique processes, style, and fermentation methods. Below, I’ll break down the different kinds of Italian sparkling wine, how they are made, where they are from/where they are made, and what the average price points are.
Asti Spumante and Moscato d’Asti Italian Sparkling Wines
Asti Spumante is a type of Italian sparkling white wine made from the Moscato Bianco grape. Asti Spumante is typically (and traditionally) sweet or slightly sweet.
Moscato d’Asti is a slightly frizzante (semi-sparkling, but not as much so as an Asti Spumante or Prosecco) wine that is made in the same region with the same grapes and in a similar style to Asti Spumante but it less sparkly and normally is lower alcohol (and slightly higher sugar).
Where is Asti Spumante produced?
Asti Spumante is produced throughout the Piedmont region of Italy, but most of all in and around the towns of Asti (from which the wine takes its name) and Alba.
How is Asti Spumante made?
Unlike Champagne, Asti’s bubbles aren’t produced via a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Asti goes through only one fermentation (referred to as single tank fermentation) utilizing the Charmat method.
The Charmat method is a method that involves adding sugar and yeast to the wine in a tank and allowing the wine to ferment in the closed tank. Because no air can escape, CO2 can’t escape and therefore dissolves into the wine, creating bubbles. After the wine is fermented, the dead yeast is filtered and removed. The Charmat method is typically used on lower-priced sparkling wines, as it is much less expensive to ferment wines in tanks and only to ferment one time than to ferment wines a second-time in-bottle. That said, extended fermentation times and aging in-bottle after fermentation affects the quality of the finished wines. The longer the wine is fermented and aged, the finer and more durable the bubbles became.
Franciacorta Italian Sparkling Wines
Franciacorta is an Italian sparkling wine made in the hills of the Franciacorta region, west of Italy’s capital city. It is produced using Glera grapes, an Italian grape variety used to produce sparkling wines.
Where is Franciacorta produced?
The Franciacorta wine region is located in the Brescia province in the larger region of Lombardy. Franciacorta is situated at the foot of Lake Iseo’s northern arm, to the southeast of the lake.
How is Franciacorta made?
Franciacorta is produced using the Traditional Method of fermentation, which is the method most often used in Champagne. The grapes are harvested, crushed to separate the juice from the skin, and fermented in stainless steel tanks for about ten days. Once the wine is ready, it is transferred into bottles to undergo its secondary fermentation.
In Italy, the primary fermentation is referred to as ‘mosto fiore’. This is the part of the fermentation process during which a dry, still, white wine is made. After this first fermentation, the wine is then bottled with the addition of a little bit of sugar and yeast and sealed off with a cap to ensure that no air escapes. The wine then goes through a secondary fermentation in-bottle which is the period during which the dry, white wine turns into sparkling wine.
With the traditional method, wines must be laid horizontally (and rotated daily) and aged for a minimum number of months. For a regular Franciacorta, the wine must age in a bottle for at least 18 months, for a Franciacorta Rosé or Satèn, the wine must age a minimum of 24 months, and for a Riserva, the wine must age a minimum of 60 months.
Before a wine is finished and a regular cork is put into the bottle and secured with a wire enclosure, the yeast and sediment that have collected in the neck of the bottle must be removed. How this is done (in both Champagne and Franciacorta) is that the neck is frozen so that when the cap is removed, the frozen mixture of dead yeast pops out. In order to fill the bottle back up and finish the wine, a liquid mixture of wine and sugar is added. The level of sugar depends on the style wine is being made: Dry, Extra Brut, etc.
Extra Brut is the dryest style of Franciacorta, though Brut is also dry (but tends to taste/feel a bit smoother due to the balance achieved between acidity and sugar and the slight texture difference).
Lambrusco Italian Sparkling Wines
Lambrusco is a slightly sparkling (‘frizzante) and normally off-dry or slightly sweet red wine made from Lambrusco grapes. In Italy, it isn’t common for wine to be named after the grape (versus the name of a town or region), but with Lambrusco it is a unique case as there are a variety of grapes within the Lambrusco family that include the name Lambrusco and that may be used in the wine.
Lambrusco Grasparossa, Lambrusco Maestri, Lambrusco Marani, Lambrusco Montericco, and Lambrusco Salamino are the most common Lambrusco varieties.
While in the past, the only Lambrusco people in the U.S. tended to be familiar with were the very sweet and inexpensive kind that were popular in the 70s and 80s, Lambrusco wines can range in sweetness from dry to off-dry (amabile) to sweet (dolce).
Where is Lambrusco produced?
Lambrusco is produced in four different areas in Emilia-Romagna, and one region in Lombardy—particularly around the Modena, Parma, Reggio-Emilia, and Mantua central provinces.
How is Lambrusco Made?
Lambrusco is often produced in a pressurized tank using the Charmat process, which involves a secondary fermentation.
Metodo Classico Italian Sparkling Wines
Metodo Classico is the Italian term for the fermentation method that is also referred to as the “champagne” or “méthode champenoise” technique. It involves a natural second fermentation that occurs in the bottle after a specified period of time, usually 15 months.
Where are Metodo Classico wines produced?
In the case of Metodo Classico, it is not a type of Italian sparkling wine that is specific to a particular region but instead refers to a particular method of producing/fermenting a sparkling wine. However, in the past, it was a method primarily used in Trento (a region known in part, for its sparkling wines) and Franciacorta.
Today, you will find Metodo Classico wines produced in different regions throughout Italy. You will still find a lot of Metodo Classico wines in Trento and Franciacorta but you can also find Metodo Classico wines in Piedmont, Alto Adige, Marche, and other regions.
Prosecco Italian Sparkling Wines
Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine made from a blend of grapes that must be at least 85% Glera (a grape used exclusively in sparkling wines in Italy). For the remainder of the blend the following (both domestic Italian grapes and international varieties) grapes are permitted: verdiso, bianchetta trevigiana, perera, chardonnay, pinot bianco, pinot grigio, and pinot noir.
Where is Prosecco made?
Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine made in the Veneto region of Italy. The majority of this sparkling wine comes from the hills around Conegliano and Valdobbiadene. The best proseccos are considered to come from the Valdobbiadene region.
How is Prosecco made?
The majority of Prosecco is produced using the Charmat or tank method already discussed above.
What are the Different Styles of Prosecco?
There are six levels of sweetness in Prosecco that vary from very dry to very sweet.
The following list orders these from dryest to sweetest:
Brut Nature
Extra Brut
Brut
Extra Dry
Dry
Demi-Sec
How to find the best quality Prosecco
The best quality/highest quality level Proseccos will be marked with ‘DOCG’ on the bottle, and generally, they will hail from Valdobbiadene (these are my personal favorites). DOCG signifies the highest quality category that a wine in Italy can be designated. DOC is just one level down from DOCG, and is also considered to be an indicator of high quality.
Your own taste will dictate whether you will prefer a Brut Nature, Extra Brut, Extra Dry, or Brut Prosecco. I like my sparkling wines very dry, but not so dry that they lack character and texture so I opt for Extra Brut in most cases.