To begin, Champagne itself is a sparkling wine. It derives its proprietary name from the region in France it originates from
The other two most renowned sparkling wines are Cava, produced in the region of Penedès, Catalonia, Spain and Talento wines,
produced in the region of Trentino, Northern Italy^{1, 2}.

Magic in the production of Bubbles?

The production of sparkling wine takes place in two stages:
The first phase, involves the preparation of the base wine or cuvee. In the second phase, the sparkle stage, a sugar or concentrated
must and a yeast solution is added to the base wine and left to undergo a second alcoholic fermentation either in sealed bottles
(Metodo Classico/ Método Tradicional) or in pressurized tanks that prevent the CO₂ gas produced during fermentation from
escaping (Charmat, Granvas method).

How do Bubbles form?

In the case of weakly supersaturated liquids, such as sparkling wines, and other carbonated beverages, heterogeneous bubble
nucleation occurs due to pre-existing gas cavities. Several kinds of particles such as exogenous cellulose fibers from the
surrounding air, or deposits during from the wiping/polishing process, and endogenous tartrate crystals stuck on the glass wall,
are able to entrap gas pockets and serve as nucleation sites. These nucleation sites with their size and shape induce precise and
repetitive production of bubbles, which rise in the form of elegant bubble chains, reach the free surface and burst^{3, 4}.

Definition of Quality in Sparkling wines:

In Champagne, in order, for a sparkling wine to be qualified as quality sparkling wine,
it shall have a minimum of excess pressure of 3.5 bars at 20º C¹.

When to drink Sparkling wines?

Silly but true, unlike the table wines, sparkling wine is a more complex, more versatile drink, which pairs with a wider array of foods.
It also agrees with everyone’s palate.
Contraband’s aromas and flavors range from floral to more complex fruity notes. Hence Contraband Sparkling wine agrees with
everyone from novice wine drinkers to people who like beer and other forms of alcohol.

References/ Further Readings:
[1] Buxaderas S. and E. L. Tamames. 2010. Managing the quality of sparkling wines, in: “Managing Wine Quality”, (A. G. Reynolds, Ed.). Woodhead Publishing Limited. Pp. 553-582.
[2] Pueyo E., P. J. M. Alvarez, and M. C. Polo. 1995. Relationship between foam characteristics and chemical composition in wines and Cavas (sparkling wines). Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 46:518–524.
[3] Liger-Belair G., R. Marchal, and P. Jeandet. 2002. Close-up on bubble nucleation in a glass of Champagne. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 53:151-153.
[4] Senée J., L. Viaux, B. Robillard, B. Duteurtre, and M. V. Adler. 1998. The endogenous particles of a sparkling wine and their influence on the foaming behaviour. Food Hydrocolloids. 12:217-226.

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