Sparkling Wines to Explore from France, Italy and Spain

Beyond Champagne, Prosecco and Cava, how many of these lesser-known sparkling wines have you tried from France, Italy and Spain?

France

 

Crémant, a high-quality, traditionally made fizz from regions outside Champagne like Alsace, Burgundy, and Loire, offering Champagne-like complexity (brioche, nuts, citrus) at a lower price.

Blanquette de Limoux, made primarily from the indigenous Mauzac grape, offers unique apple and floral notes; it’s one of the world’s first sparkling wines.

Clairette de Die is an older style, often using the transfer method, with high altitude fruit and lower alcohol, featuring floral notes.

Bugey-Cerdon is a delightful, dark, fruity rosé Pet-Nat from the Jura foothills, made with Gamay and Poulsard.

Gaillac Mousseux is another French Pet-Nat region, known for its ancestral method, cloudy, and often wild-fruited sparkling wines.

Italy 

Franciacorta DOCG is from Lombardy, made with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc, using the same method as Champagne (secondary fermentation in bottle), offering richness and complexity.

Trentodoc (Trento DOC) is from Trentino, high-altitude, crisp, lean sparkling wines from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, etc., with bright acidity.

Alta Langa DOCG, Piedmont’s traditional method sparkling wine, vintage-only, aged longer on lees, using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico is another under-the-radar traditional method region in Lombardy.

Lambrusco (Emilia-Romagna) a modern version that is dry, complex, red/rosé sparkling wines (often frizzante), great with fatty meats, not the sweet stuff of the past.

Lessini Durello (Veneto) is made from the ancient Durella grape, often using the Charmat method but known for volcanic soil notes and high acidity.

Prosecco Col Fondo is a traditional Prosecco style where fermentation finishes in the bottle, leaving natural sediment, creating a cloudy, dry, yeasty, and complex fizz.

Asti, a sweeter, aromatic sparkling wine made from Moscato grapes.

Spain

Corpinnat is a group of producers breaking from the standard Cava rules to emphasise terroir, indigenous grapes (like Xarel·lo Vermell, Sumoll), and extended ageing, offering complex, powerful wines.

Sparkling Albariño, from Galicia’s Rías Baixas, this offers crisp, salty, citrus notes (peach, melon) with a creamy texture from traditional method ageing, perfect with seafood.

Moscatel sparkling wines are aromatic, fruity, and often sweet, offering notes of tropical fruits, orange blossom, honey, and citrus, perfect as aperitifs or with desserts.

Rosato sparkling wines, often called rosados frizzantes or espumosos rosados, offer fresh, fruity bubbles, commonly found in regions like Penedès (Cava) or La Mancha, using grapes like Garnacha for vibrant red fruit notes, perfect as aperitifs or with seafood.