Sparkling wine Champagne. Sparkling wine Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. Commonly called champagne, EU countries legally reserve that term for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Usually sparkling wine is white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, Australian sparkling Shiraz, and Azerbaijani "Pearl of Azerbaijan" made from Madrasa grapes. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry "brut" styles to sweeter "doux" varieties (French for 'raw' and 'sweet', respectively). The sparkling quality of these
History of French wine it was met with enthusiastic popularity. The development of stronger, thicker bottles by British glass makers encouraged more Champagne winemakers to actively start producing sparkling wine for the lucrative British market. In the 16th and 17th century, the Dutch (particularly those from Holland and Zeeland) wielded considerable influence over the development of French wine. Their strength was their sizable merchant fleet and trading access across Northern Europe in places like the Baltic and Hanseatic states. When political conflicts between the French and English flared up, it was the Dutch who stepped in to fill the void and serve as a