Overview

In the UK when we think of a glass of sparkling wine we would imagine a chilled glass of champagne, prosecco or cava. And also growing in popularity in the last few years are English sparkling wine or a Crémant. The thing all of these wines have in common is they are typically classed as a white wine.

With the prosecco market maturing we are seeing consumers looking to diversify to something slightly different. This is where we are seeing an increase in demand for organic, rosé  and red sparkling wines.

Interestingly, rose prosecco was only introduced last year with the prosecco DOC consortium (the governing body of Italy’s favourite fizz), announcing they were allowing the production of rosé prosecco in May 2020.

Whilst red sparkling wine is not a new phenomenon it could definitely be a trend to keep an eye on this year.

History

Here in the UK the idea of a sparkling red wine may be relatively new, in countries such as Australia and Italy, this has been a popular drink for many years.

Italians have the longest tradition of producing the red variety of a sparkling wine, with the most well known being Lambrusco. Although not Lambrusco as you and I remember, the Italian version is much more, with a dark and savory offering.

As you would suspect, sparkling red wine is made from red grapes. It is their red skins that add the colour when added. They are double fermented to add alcohol and carbon dioxide is then introduced to produce the sparkle.

 

Growth

Sparkling red wine has previously had a bit of a bad reputation, often considered overly sweet and cheaper than it’s paler counterparts. However over the past several years it has had a bit of an overhaul. 

Although it remains relatively niche amongst the wine producers it has certainly been improved of late, becoming more sophisticated and complex. Gone are the days of a sickly, sweet Lambrusco being the only thing on offer.

There are red frizzantes and red sparkling and Chandon even released a red champagne at the end of 2019.

Another point that sets it apart from the still red wines is that it is best served chilled and drunk in the sunshine.

 

What Next for Sparkling Red?

According to a report by Technavio, the sparkling red wine market is poised to grow by £155 million between 2019 and 2023. Therefore many predict that the rise in popularity of the red variety will continue to trend upwards over the next couple of years.

If you are already a fan of the sparkling red or would like to try something new, the Bonarda Frizzante from the Tenuta Il Bosco estate, is a great place to start.