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Last week, the news that Spades A was acquired by LVMH for 50% of the shares is not known, in the product line of Spades A, in addition to our common "rich must-have" gold label dry champagne, there are 4 other different wines.
If you only look at the packaging of Spades A Golden, it seems a little superficial. Compared with packaging, people who really drink wine should pay attention to the wine label first, because the wine label is equivalent to the "identity card" of a wine, which contains a lot of information. Today, I'm going to teach you 6 steps to understand sparkling wine labels.
The basic composition of the sparkling wine label
In general, the information on the sparkling wine label includes the type of sparkling wine, the winery information, the appellation, the sweetness, the alcohol content and the volume, although in most cases the sparkling wine is made from a mixture of multiple vintages of the base wine, but sometimes the vintage appears on the label.
1. Type of sparkling wine (appellation)
2. Winery information
3. Year
4. Sweetness
5. Alcohol
6. Capacity
Step 1: Type of sparkling wine (appellation)
Judging the type of sparkling wine is not difficult, as it tends to appear in the most prominent positions of the label. Different types can reflect the country (region) from which sparkling wine comes from, some of which also need to comply with local regulations, and have different regulations on brewing methods, grape varieties, etc., common types of sparkling wine include:
Sparkling Wine
If you see Sparkling or Sparkling Wine on the label, the bottle can be sparkling wine from any appellation.
Champagne (Champagne)
Champagne is what we most often call "champagne", it is a kind of sparkling wine, only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France can be called "champagne". All Champagnes are made using traditional methods and, according to the regulations, only seven grapes can be used, namely Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier Pinot, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arbane and Petit Meslier.
Cremant
Crémont, a sparkling wine produced in France except the Champagne region, is also made using the traditional method, and the grape varieties used for winemaking can use local varieties.
The more well-known Kremonts include French AOC sparkling wines such as Cremant d'Alsace, Cremant de Bourgogne, Crémant de Loire, Cremant de Bordeaux, Crémant de Jura and other French AOC sparkling wines.
Cava (Kava)
Spanish cava is much cheaper than champagne, but the quality is completely comparable. If you see Cava on the label, it's a bottle of sparkling wine from Spain. Like Champagne, cava is brewed using traditional methods.
Note: On the label of kava, unlike other sparkling wines, its quality grade (how long it lasts to age) is often indicated on its label, and the relevant terms are:
Joven (Normal): Aged more than 9 months
Reserva (Collector's): Aged more than 15 months
Gran Reserva: Aged more than 30 months
Prosecco (Prosecco)
Prosecco sparkling wine comes from the Prosecco region of northeastern Italy, where the main wine grape is Glera, which can produce white and rosé sparkling wine, this sparkling wine style is simple and delicate, fresh and lively, with floral and fruit aromas, compared to other sparkling wines, can retain more of the grape variety's own aromas. This property is due to the traditional Italian method of tank brewing, and like Champagne, Prosecco has its own regulations.
As with most wines, the smaller the appellation, the higher the quality grade of Prosecco sparkling wine. Prosecco doc, the most common grade, is labeled Prosecco DOC, which represents the largest range of appellations; Prosecco DOC Treviso is smaller, with stricter brewing regulations and naturally higher quality.
On a smaller scale, there are also 2 super-long-named super DOCG regions, Namely Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG and Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG.Conegliano Valdobbiadene Procco Superiore DOCG.
Sekt (Secket)
Germany calls its sparkling wine Seckert, which can be brewed from Riesling, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Most of them use the tank method for secondary fermentation, and a few use the same traditional method as Champagne.
Most of Secket's base wines are imported from France or Italy, but if the label deutscher Sekt indicates that the grapes used to make the bottle are from Germany.
If the grapes used come from high-quality appellations, such as Rheinhessen in the picture above, the label will be deutscher Sekt bA, the highest quality in this category of Seckert, and very rare.
Asti (Asti)
Asti sparkling wine is produced in the Asti DOCG region of Piemonte, Italy. This sparkling wine is made from small grains of white musk (Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains), with a strong floral and fruity aroma, all of which are sweet and low in alcohol, mostly around 7 degrees, making it a veritable "small sweet water".
Step 2: Winery information
The source | Wine Folly
Another conspicuous information on the label is the winery information, taking the most well-known champagnes, the more common and famous wineries include Bollinger, Cook Champagne (Krug), Louis Roederer, Moet & Chandon champagne (Moet & Chandon) and so on.
Step 3: Year
In fact, most sparkling wines are made from a mixture of base wines of different vintages, which are Non-vintage, so the wine label does not indicate the grape picking year like a static wine.
However, if the vintage of a particular year is particularly good, the winery will also consider the vintage of the sparkling wine, at which point the wine label will indicate the year of harvest.
In addition to the numbers, we often see vintage, Millesimato and other words, which translate to "vintage", Vintage is French, France and most countries such as France will use sparkling wine labels, Millesimato is Italian, more common in Italian sparkling wine produced in Italy.
Step 4: Sweetness
On all kinds of sparkling wine labels, terms such as brut and dry appear, which represent the sweetness of sparkling wine.
So is the minimum sweetness of sparkling wine extra-dry as we usually say? If you think so, you would be sorely mistaken, there are 7 terms within the European Union for sparkling wine sweetness, from low to high in the following order:
Brut Nature/Bruto Natural/Naturherb/Zero Dosage: Less than 3 g/L residual sugar.
Extra Brut/Extra Bruto/Extra Herb: Dry in taste with a residual sugar content of 0-6 g/L.
Natural (Brut/Bruto/Herb): Most champagne styles with a residual sugar content of 0-15 g/L.
Extra-Sec/Extra-Dry/Extra Trocken: With a residual sugar content of 12-20 g/L, it is not as dry as expected.
Dry (Sec/Secco/Seco/Dry/Trocken): Residual sugar content of 17-35 g/L.
Semi-dry (Demi-Sec/Semi-Seco/Medium Dry/Abboccato/Halbtrocken): Residual sugar content of 35-50 g/L.
Doux/Dulce/Mild: Most Asti sparkling wines are in this style, with residual sugar content of more than 50 g/L.
You see, among the many sweetnesses, the absolute dry type is the third-to-last, and the sweetest type is particularly close.
Step 5: Alcohol
Sparkling wines are mostly between 12 and 13 degrees by alcohol, which is lower than other static wines. However, don't drink without hesitation when you see people with low alcohol levels. The carbon dioxide contained in sparkling wine can speed up the body's absorption of alcohol, so it is easier to get drunk.
Step 6: Capacity
Like static wines, most sparkling wines have a capacity of 750ml. However, some wineries also produce special capacity sparkling wines, such as the 30L "Big Mac" Champagne of the A Gold Label of Spades. In general, due to its inconvenience, the storage environment is more stable, and the wine area is less in contact with the air, the larger the bottle, the better the aging potential of the wine.
Other terms related to sparkling wine
In addition to the common terms of the wine label listed above in the 6 major points, Xiaobian also lists some other terms that may appear on the wine label here, write them down, most of the sparkling wine labels are difficult for you:
Blanc de blancs : A sparkling wine made entirely from white grape varieties (usually Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc).
Blanc de noir (black and white): Sparkling wine made from red grape varieties, but the color of the sparkling wine is not red, but the color of white wine.
Dosage: Refers to a mixture of liquor and sugar added before sealing the sparkling wine to balance acidity and help produce flavor substances, at this stage sparkling wine that does not add any sugar is labeled Zero Dosage.
Grand Cru: In the Champagne region, there are 17 Grand Villages in the region, but this classification was originally intended to give winegrowers a pricing standard when selling grapes, and has little to do with the quality of Champagne itself.
Methode Champenoise: Synonymous with Methode Traditionnelle (traditional method), refers to sparkling wine brewed using traditional methods.
Methode Cap Classique: Guides sparkling wines that are not brewed using the traditional method, and wineries using this method need to contact the sparkling wine with the puree for more than 9 months.
Prestige Cuvee: Cuvee refers to the same batch or series of sparkling wines, and Prestige Cuvee is often used to describe the best wine produced by the same producer.
Reims: A city in northeastern France, the Champagne region is located around it, famous for producing Champagne.
So now, understanding the label of A of Spades should be a piece of cake, right?