
Sparkling wines have been around since the origins of wine production. An Egyptian papyrus mentions it as early as 522 AD. The phenomenon is due to a second fermentation, explained by the incomplete fermentation of the must. The phenomenon was poorly mastered for a long time and it was considered to be an accidental flaw in the wine.
Generally speaking, we will speak of sparkling or “sparkling” wines, according to the official terminology. These wines undergo an overpressure of the carbon dioxide generated by the fermentation, the gas being kept dissolved in the wine thanks to the hermetic closure of the bottle. Except for very small formats, the bottle must be glass and closed with a mushroom-shaped stopper.
There are many types of sparkling wines. Sparkling wines are defined by an overpressure of between 1 and 2.5 bars at 20 °. A pearling wine contains more than one gram of carbon dioxide per liter of wine. The bubbles form when the bottle is opened at 20 °.