Champagne, Fizz & Sweet Wine

Regardless of whether you want a great wine with your meal or something to savour in excellent company - quality is required when it comes to sparkling and sweet wine! Your own preferences also play a role. So taste your way through the world of sparkling wine and prosecco to find your personal favourites! At large celebrations, wine can accompany food or be served as an aperitif or dessert. The right choice of drink rounds off the meal perfectly and complements flavour notes. Give your sparkling wine, white wine and dessert wine enough time to cool. Then enjoy!

The finest sparkling wines: Champagne from France

Champagne is a special sparkling wine that is only produced in the French wine-growing region of Champagne. Other types of sparkling wine include German Sekt or Italian prosecco. It is possible to find the word champagne or "champagne-style" in large letters on other sparkling wine labels, but the differences lie in the manufacturing process. Unlike sparkling wine, champagne is made according to very strict rules. The unique selling point is the trademarked name "Champagne". The cultivation area of the grapes is also delimited.

Other high-quality sparkling wine

Quality sparkling wines are given different names in different European countries. Luxembourgers speak of Vin Mousseux or Crémant. Italians enjoy chilled Prosecco or Spumante. Hauersekt is drunk in Austria and in Germany tingling Sekt is a must. Alcoholic fermentation is triggered when wine is refined. Sparkling wine has a fresh acidity and is often drunk as an aperitif. Single-variety grapes are used or a cuvée is put together. The chosen blend creates the character of the cuvée.

Sweet wine, infinite joy for the palate

Sweet wine can be found under different terms. Mostly referred to as dessert wine, these are sweet, aromatic wines. Even if not very well known in the UK, sweet wine is often drunk with dessert in many countries. Due to its natural sweetness, this wine is also fantastic with cheese and grapes. In dessert wine, the intensity of the sweetness and aroma come exclusively from the grapes themselves. This is achieved through the late harvest and drying of the grapes. For Eiswein wine, producers wait to harvest after the first frost. Sweet wine tastes pleasant and aromatic. Liqueur wines, known to many connoisseurs as fortified wines, are also included in this category. The sweetness is created here by the high concentration of natural must sugar. Sweet wines have a long shelf life due to their high sugar content. The Italian variant is called Passito or Vin Santo, traditionally from central Italy.

One more: port wine

Port is also a sweet wine, but there is a difference in how it is made. The storage time of the wine, through which it develops its unmistakable character in huge barrels, is remarkable. It takes at least two years to make a good port wine. During this time, the port develops an intense aroma.

Among the many variations, the following are our favourites:

• Champagne
• Sekt
• Sweet wines
• Port

Increase your enjoyment of sparkling and sweet wine! First, decide whether you want to buy wine for your whole meal or you want to offer your guests specific drinks. An aperitif (appetising alcoholic drink) has a low alcohol content and is served in small quantities to get in the mood for a meal. Choose good white or red wines according to the dishes. Red wines for red, strong meat dishes, white wines for light meals, fish or pasta. Always choose the right wine for the food. The culinary highlight is dessert or sweet wines at the end. The Italians have the fine art of indulgence in their blood and at the end of a meal offer small pastries that combine wonderfully with the taste of sweet wine. And with each of these drinks, the following applies: Quality instead of quantity!

You can find an article on the subject of bottle sizes for champagne and wine here!