Champagne and Sparkling Wine: Champagne vs. Sparklers

The informed American consumer can at least choose from wines made from a better selection of grapes and a wine that is hopefully made by the transfer method, not Charmat bulk processing. In the transfer method, the second fermentation does indeed happen in a bottle, but then thousands of bottles of this bubbly wine are poured into a tank, a dosage is added, and the wine is poured back into bottles. Wines labeled as “fermented in the bottle” are made by this process, which was developed in Germany for its Sekt sparklers. The American versions of these wines are drinkable, even enjoyable, but despite their label, they are not, and will never be, true Champagne.