Sparkling wines range from very dry to sweet, and from light to rich and fuller-bodied. They can be vintage or non-vintage; they can be whites, reds or rosés. There is, however, one fundamental rule: only those produced in France’s Champagne region can be called champagne – everything else is just sparkling wine.

All sparkling wines have significant levels of carbon dioxide at pressures of between two to six atmospheres, which is responsible for the amount of fizziness. This is achieved during the secondary fermentation process which, in champagnes and wines produced under the “champenoise” or “traditionelle” method, is done in the bottle. The wine is then aged for a significant period of time, sometimes years, and the dead yeast cells, or lees, are removed. (It is the lees that lend an aroma of baked bread or sweet brioche to these wines.)

For the vast majority of other sparkling wines, the secondary fermentation process takes place in a closed stainless steel tank, or cuvee. This ensures the distinctive aromas of flowers and white-fleshed fruits like pears, white peaches and green apples. Transfer is another method, whereby carbon dioxide is added (much like in fizzy soft drinks), while ancestral is yet another process that yields slightly fizzy and sweet wines, and is also responsible for the PET-NAT (Petillant Naturelle, or naturally sparkling) category that will soon make its appearance on Greek shelves.

MADE IN GREECE

Greece produced sparkling wines long before regular Greek wine made the qualitative leap that put it on the international map. The main varieties used in the production of sparkling wines are Debina (found in PDO Zitsa wines from Epirus), Xinomavro (PDO Amyntaio, Macedonia), Athiri (PDO Rhodes) and Moschofilero (PDO Mantineia, Peloponnese).

New varieties, such as Muscat of Alexandria, Assyrtiko, Agiorgitiko, Vidiano and Limniona are being introduced to create yet more fashionable and sought-after sparkling wines – with impressive results.