Spritzer In some places it is said that wine spritzers make poets sing and nations come together. The word comes from the German "spritzen" "spatter, squirt, spray, sprinkle", i.e. adding water and thus diluting the wine so that it can be consumed in larger, thirst-quenching amounts. Alcoholic spritzers are increasingly available ready-mixed in cans; their relatively low alcohol and calorific content means they are often marketed at women. In Hesse, "gespritzt" usually refers to a mixture of soda water or lemonade and "Apfelwein" (in Central Hessian dialect, "Ebblwoi"), an alcoholic drink from fermented apple juice somewhat similar to dry hard cider.
Sparkling wine says "Tasmania confidently holds its place as Australia’s sparkling capital" with both the traditional grape varieties and method of secondary fermentation being employed. Whilst most sparkling wine is produced from Chardonnay, Pinot noir and possibly Pinot Meuniere, an Australian speciality is sparkling Shiraz, a red sparkling wine produced from Shiraz grapes. Most sparkling Shiraz is traditionally somewhat sweet, but some producers make it dry, full-bodied and tannic. Since 2012, Australian mass producers of sparkling wine have begun using screw caps in place of the traditional cork & wire closure. Chile produces around 12 million bottles of sparkling wine per annum