Sparkling

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Effervescence of wine is the development of bubbles (perlage) after opening a bottle of wine as a result of the release of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous substance at room temperature, but is very easy to dissolve in aqueous solutions, which wine in fact is. Opening the bottle releases the gas, whose bubbles create the typical froth of these wines. In semi-sparkling and sparkling wines, the bubbles of carbon dioxide (also called pérlage) create the froth, enhance the aromas and the brilliance of the colour, and reinforce the sensation of freshness on the palate characteristic of these wines. The ideal bubbles are fine, numerous and persistent. They give rise to a fine froth, which is more evanescent in sparkling wines and more persistent in quality sparkling wines, especially those made using the classic method. Deviation from these ideal conditions (more sparse, or coarse, or short-lived bubbles) is a negative factor in the judgement and scoring of the wine under examination. Numerosity, fineness and persistence of the bubbles in the wine are due not to the pressure, but to the structure of the wine itself. At the lowest level of the structure scale, there is distilled water. If over-saturated in carbon dioxide, it immediately releases all the gas when the overpressure fails. As the number of substances dissolved in the wine increases, and thus as the structure and complexity of the wine increases, physical properties such as density, viscosity and surface tension cause the release of bubbles after opening the bottle to occur continuously and gradually. With the same overpressure, a classic method sparkling wine of long ageing will have more numerous, fine and persistent bubbles than a younger, lighter sparkling wine. Quality sparkling wines can be produced by two methods:

Classical Method (traditional, champenoise): used for the production of Champagne and the highest quality sparkling wines, involves re-fermentation of the wine in the bottle.
Charmat (Martinotti) method: characterised by shorter time and lower costs, it involves re-fermentation of the wine in an autoclave.

Metodo Classico is excellent with fish and fish dishes. It must be remembered, however, that the tastier the dish, the stronger the sparkling wine must be. A simple but excellent combination is with langoustines or smoked salmon. The iodine contained in the fish finds a faithful companion in the characteristic acidity of the bubbles. It goes well with all cured meats, but Metodo Classico and culatello is a decidedly excellent pairing. As an aperitif and to accompany hors d'oeuvres; as an accompaniment to desserts, especially leavened desserts and creams (the bubbles help "degrease" the butteriness of the dessert) and excluding those with more intense and complex flavours, such as chocolate, and ice cream, both because of the temperature and the strong aromaticity of the fruit and structure in the case of creams.