Prosecco vs Champagne: What’s the difference?
Good question, and if you want to know everything there is to know about the differences, you’ve certainly stumbled across the right article! To settle the age-old debate once and for all we’re going to talk names, bubbles, taste and of course those all-important juicy little grapes. All you have to do is sit back, put your feet up, and spend a few minutes reading the following wise words. Enjoy!
What’s in a name?
The Prosecco vs Champagne debate is a tricky one if you don’t know your history, so here goes…
Champagne is actually a region in northeast France by the same name. They’re so proud of their heritage (rightfully so in our opinion) that they’ve trademarked the name of their namesake drink. That means if you want to be able to call your drink ‘Champagne’ the grapes have to be grown in the region. Otherwise you have just another run of the mill sparkling wine…at least as far as the local residents are concerned!
Not to be deterred by this, wine makers in Veneto, Italy started creating their own vintages using skills they’d passed down the generations. As time went by they came to call their drink ‘Prosecco’ and the world was never the same again. They’re not quite as strict about who can pinch the name of their drink perhaps because Prosecco tends to be a little more affordable in the price stakes.
How about those juicy little grapes!
Another good question! You’re on fire right now, aren’t you? If you want to really get to know a wine then you need to know where it comes from, and with the Prosecco vs Champagne debate it all starts with the grapes. They’re where the fermentation begins, where the colour and flavour come from, and they’re basically the special ingredient that makes the magic possible in the first place.
Champagne is carefully crafted from a mixture of chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir grapes, with the balance of each depending very much on the label you’re buying. All the grapes are local to the Champagne region and are rarely grown to such levels of precision anywhere else: hence the naming argument we’ve just been over.
Prosecco is a little different, taking it’s flavour predominately from juicy glera grapes that are known for their sweetness and hint of a bite. There are a whole host of varieties on sale today, with little twists and tweaks added in to keep your tastebuds excited. Just what you want to hear when you are ready to treat yourself to a bottle of something special that may just settle the Prosecco vs Champagne debate once and for all. But before we get to that, there’s something else we need to talk about…
Prosecco vs Champagne: What about the flavour?
We called this article ‘Prosecco vs Champagne: What’s the difference?’ but we could have focused on the flavour angle if past experience with intrepid customers like yourself are anything to go by.
Prosecco tends to have a little bit of extra sweetness and light owing to the type of grapes it’s made from, whereas Champagne is very much focused on a smooth taste with a hint of sweetness that comes through from the background. This will of course vary from brand to brand that you try, and for the more discerning of you it will vary from vintage to vintage as well. The truth is that no matter how we decide we’re going to settle the age-old Prosecco vs Champagne debate, which one you decide to treat yourself to next is really nothing more than personal choice. So don’t worry, we’re not going to throw in a test at the end to see which one you have to drop at the expense of the other! If you want a custom bottle of each, we’re always right here when you need us.
Prosecco vs Champagne: How about those bubbles?
They’re what catches the air and dances with the light from across the room, but are the bubbles really that important? Well, the good news for you is that we can most certainly tell you from our experience that they do matter, and they matter in a big way!
The bubbles tell a story of how the flavour percolates through the body of the wine, comes to life in your mouth and pops when it reaches your tastebuds. If you want to know the real differences in the Prosecco vs Champagne debate that only the connoisseurs will know, you need to pay close attention to what we’re about to tell you.
Prosecco has big, loose bubbles which tend to flow up from the bottom of the glass with a mind of their own. They transport a delicate balance of apple, lemon, pear and sometimes even flowers and tropical fruit directly to your nose and tastebuds. Champagne on the other hand is all about fine, precise bubbles which glide up the side of the glass.
Prosecco vs Champagne: What about the price?
Because Champagne refers only to the wines grown in a tiny region in France, there’s not all that much of it compared to Prosecco. That instantly pushes the price up, gives it a rarefied reputation, and makes it exclusive for all the right reasons. At the end of the day it’s really just personal choice, but Champagne won’t be quite as kind to your wallet.
Final Thoughts
If you want to treat yourself to something with a custom label on it, there’s nothing more important than knowing everything there is to know about what’s inside it. It’s simple when you’re dealing with beers and spirits, but wine needs that little extra bit of thought. But don’t worry, you’ll still be able to dress even the most sophisticated bottle to impress with nothing more than a few clicks of a button and a spark of creativity.
‘Prosecco vs Champagne: What’s the difference?’ I heard you ask…hopefully now you have everything you need to know to impress at any dinner party.