Not all sparkling wines are alike. While you may know that, the specific differences between the ever-popular champagne, trendy prosecco and always-tasty cava are a bit more nuanced. This graphic from VinePair break them down easily, including how they’re made, where they’re made and how to choose one.
Perhaps most obviously, champagne is distinctly French, because only sparkling wines made in the Champagne region can take the name. Cava and prosecco on the other hand are made in Spain and Italy respectively, and have different standards for how they get their names.
All three wines have different levels of sweetness, and terms like “brut”, “extra brut” and “demi-sec” describe that sweetness (“extra brut” and “brut” describe dry wines, while “sec” and “demi-sec” describe sweeter wines) and have nothing to do with quality, as some people assume. Each type of sparkling wine is also made from different kinds of grapes, and produced in specific regions, which is important to know before you go shopping.
Click on the graphic above for the full version, or hit the link below to check it out over at VinePair and read their additional commentary.
The Differences Between Champagne, Prosecco, and Cava [Vinepair]
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