The Wine Institute

Sparkling wine/champagne is a beverage that brings to mind several thoughts—celebration, success, luxury, love and romance. These pleasant associations seem to be as strong now as they ever were. And because the wine is offered with different levels of sweetness, menu planners use the wine as an aperitif or a versatile accompaniment to a variety of foods such as salty nuts and cheese, lightly-spiced fish and Asian dishes, fried foods, strawberries and more.

The beginning of sparkling wine/champagne production in the U.S. was more than 160 years ago. Ohio Attorney Nicholas Longworth made the first American sparkling wine/champagne near Cincinnati in 1842. In California, Benjamin Davis Wilson, the first mayor of Los Angeles, produced the first one in this state. Today, U.S. wineries, with over 50 producers in California, shipped 17.1 million gallons (60% share) of sparkling wine/champagne to U.S. markets in 2005. Total U.S. and foreign-produced sparkling wine/champagne shipped to the U.S. was 29.7 million gallons. The category holds a 4.1 percent share of all wine-buying purchases of Americans.

Several U.S. producers label their sparkling wines "champagne," which the U.S. government allows as long as "champagne" is directly and prominently qualified with the appellation indicating the location where the winegrapes are grown. Traditional winegrape varieties used in California sparkling wine/champagne production are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, though many other varieties are used depending upon the production process and price point.

Major Production Processes

Following are the two most common methods used for sparkling wine/champagne production: Méthode champenoise--Still wine is used as a base wine in the process. A blend of base wine, yeast nutrient and a sugar source is added to the base wine. The mixture is sealed, fermented a second time and aged in the bottle, which captures the carbon dioxide released in the fermenting process producing the bubbles. Bulk or Charmat process--Still wines are fermented in a pressurized tank. Sugar and yeast are added for a second fermentation, but the wine remains in the tank for this stage of the process and is not fermented in individual bottles.

Styles

Sparkling wine/champagne ranges in style from very dry (Natural), dry (Brut), and slightly sweet (Extra Dry) to sweet (Sec and Demi-Sec). (Wines with no noticeable sweetness are described as "dry.") Many sparkling wines/champagnes are also identified as "Blanc de Blancs" (wines made from Chardonnay grapes), "Blanc de Noirs" (wines produced from black grapes), or rosé or pink sparkling wine/champagnes (small amount of red wine added to the blend or wine that is allowed brief skin contact with color-laden grapeskins).

Top 10 U.S. metro markets for sparkling wine/champagne in 2004

Thousands (000) of 9-liter cases

1. Chicago	947.8	6. Detroit	270.6
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach	776.3	7. San Diego	260.1
3. New York	648.5	8. Riverside-San Bernardino	258.5
4. Orange County	290.4	9. Nassau-Suffolk	245.0
5. Boston-Lawrence-Lowell-Brockton	288.9	10. Oakland	239.2

Source: 2005 Adams Wine Handbook

Top 10 states for consumption of sparkling wine/champagne in 2004

(9-liter cases)

1. California	2,669,700	6. Michigan	626,700
2. Illinois	1,315,400	7. New Jersey	494,600
3. New York	1,205,700	8. Massachusetts	379,200
4. Florida	924,700	9. Pennsylvania	365,000
5. Texas	717,100	10. Ohio	291,000

Source: 2005 Adams Wine Handbook

Consumption of Sparling Wine/Champagne in the U.S.

Source: Wine Institute using data from Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates. History revised. U.S.-produced sparkling wines hold a two-thirds share of the U.S. market.