{"id":9300,"date":"2026-10-31T10:47:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/?p=9300"},"modified":"2026-10-31T10:47:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T10:47:02","slug":"sparkling-wine-cava-champagne-cremant-pet-nat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/sparkling-wine-cava-champagne-cremant-pet-nat\/","title":{"rendered":"Cava, Corpinnat, champagne\u2026 which bubbles to choose this festive season?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>More bottles of bubbly are opened at Christmas than in the whole rest of the year.<br \/>\nAnd the same question almost always comes up in front of the shelf: cava, Corpinnat or champagne? And what exactly is a cr\u00e9mant or a pet-nat?<\/p>\n<p>You don&#8217;t need to be an expert to choose well. Here&#8217;s a plain-English guide.<\/p>\n<h2>Two ways to make bubbles<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Traditional method.<\/strong> First a base wine is made, and then a <strong>second fermentation takes place inside the bottle itself<\/strong>. That&#8217;s where the bubbles come from. The wine then rests on its yeasts for months or years: <strong>the longer it rests, the finer the bubbles<\/strong> and the more you get those aromas of bread, brioche and nuts. Cava, Corpinnat, champagne and cr\u00e9mant are all made this way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ancestral method.<\/strong> This is the oldest one. The wine is bottled <strong>before its one and only fermentation has finished<\/strong>: the yeasts complete the job inside the bottle and the gas stays trapped. This is how pet-nats are made.<\/p>\n<p>What changes from one to another is where they&#8217;re made, which grapes are used and which rules apply.<\/p>\n<h2>Cava<\/h2>\n<p>Cava is Spain&#8217;s best-known sparkling wine. Most of it is made in the Pened\u00e8s, near Barcelona, although the appellation also covers other parts of Spain.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Main grapes:<\/strong> macabeo, xarel\u00b7lo and parellada. There are also cavas with chardonnay or pinot noir, and ros\u00e9s made with trepat.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Minimum ageing:<\/strong> 9 months in bottle. A <strong>Reserva<\/strong> spends at least 18 months and a <strong>Gran Reserva<\/strong> at least 30.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The upside:<\/strong> huge variety, from young, fresh cavas for an aperitif to Gran Reservas with real depth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Corpinnat<\/h2>\n<p>Corpinnat is a collective brand created in 2018 by a group of Pened\u00e8s winemakers who wanted to go a step further. Their wines no longer carry the word cava on the label.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Organic grapes<\/strong>, <strong>picked by hand<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Grapes from the Pened\u00e8s, mainly <strong>local varieties<\/strong>: xarel\u00b7lo, macabeo and parellada.<\/li>\n<li>All the wine is made <strong>at the estate itself<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>At least 18 months<\/strong> of ageing in bottle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In the glass they tend to be sparkling wines with plenty of character and a strong sense of place.<br \/>\nA good choice if you want something special without going to France.<\/p>\n<h2>Champagne<\/h2>\n<p>Champagne can only be called champagne if it comes from the Champagne region in north-eastern France.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Grapes:<\/strong> chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Minimum ageing:<\/strong> 15 months in bottle; vintage champagnes, at least 3 years.<\/li>\n<li>A cool climate that gives it <strong>very lively acidity<\/strong> and very fine bubbles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two terms you&#8217;ll see on the label: <strong>blanc de blancs<\/strong> (white grapes only, fresher and more delicate) and <strong>blanc de noirs<\/strong> (black grapes only, fuller-bodied).<\/p>\n<h2>Cr\u00e9mant<\/h2>\n<p>Cr\u00e9mant is the name for French sparkling wines made by the traditional method <strong>outside the Champagne region<\/strong>. There&#8217;s cr\u00e9mant from Alsace, Burgundy, the Loire, the Jura, Limoux and Bordeaux, among others.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Grapes:<\/strong> depend on the region. In Burgundy, chardonnay and pinot noir, as in Champagne; in the Loire, chenin blanc; in Alsace, pinot blanc, riesling or auxerrois.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hand-picked grapes<\/strong> and <strong>at least 9 months<\/strong> of ageing in bottle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The upside:<\/strong> very close to champagne in style and finesse, often for a lot less money.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If you love champagne but want to surprise people with something different, it&#8217;s a safe bet.<\/p>\n<h2>Pet-nat and ancestral<\/h2>\n<p><em>Pet-nat<\/em> is short for <em>p\u00e9tillant naturel<\/em>, French for &#8220;naturally sparkling&#8221;. It&#8217;s made using the <strong>ancestral method<\/strong>: a single fermentation that finishes inside the bottle. &#8220;Ancestral&#8221; is the traditional name (in Limoux, in the south of France, it has been made this way for centuries); &#8220;pet-nat&#8221; is the name that has become fashionable.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Softer bubbles<\/strong> and less pressure than cava or champagne.<\/li>\n<li>Often <strong>not disgorged<\/strong>, so it can look a little cloudy from the yeast sediment. That&#8217;s normal.<\/li>\n<li>Usually sealed <strong>with a crown cap<\/strong>, like a beer.<\/li>\n<li>In the glass: <strong>fruit, freshness<\/strong> and a slightly rustic edge. Easy, uncomplicated drinking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some excellent ancestral-method wines are made in the Pened\u00e8s and other parts of Catalonia too, often by small producers.<\/p>\n<h2>Brut nature, brut, semi-seco\u2026 what does it mean?<\/h2>\n<p>It tells you how much <strong>sugar<\/strong> the sparkling wine contains. From driest to sweetest:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Brut nature:<\/strong> no added sugar. The driest.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Extra brut<\/strong> and <strong>brut:<\/strong> dry. Brut is the most common.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Extra dry<\/strong> and <strong>dry (seco):<\/strong> a touch of sweetness starts to show.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Semi-dry (semiseco)<\/strong> and <strong>sweet (dulce):<\/strong> for dessert.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Pet-nats rarely carry these terms on the label. They&#8217;re usually dry, although some keep a hint of the grape&#8217;s natural sweetness.<\/p>\n<h2>Which one for each moment<\/h2>\n<h3>For the aperitif and seafood<\/h3>\n<p>A young <strong>brut nature<\/strong> cava or Corpinnat, or a blanc de blancs champagne. Fresh, dry and light. If it&#8217;s a casual get-together, a <strong>pet-nat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>To go with the whole meal<\/h3>\n<p>A <strong>Gran Reserva<\/strong>, a longer-aged Corpinnat or a blanc de noirs champagne. They have plenty of body for cannelloni, baked fish or turkey.<\/p>\n<h3>To impress without spending a fortune<\/h3>\n<p>A <strong>cr\u00e9mant<\/strong> from Burgundy or the Loire. Fine, elegant bubbles, and a good story to tell at the table.<\/p>\n<h3>For the midnight toast<\/h3>\n<p>Here the table decides. If tastes vary, a well-balanced <strong>brut<\/strong> never fails.<\/p>\n<h3>With turr\u00f3n and Christmas sweets<\/h3>\n<p>A <strong>semi-dry<\/strong>. A brut nature tastes bitter next to turr\u00f3n, and the sweetness of the dessert overwhelms it.<\/p>\n<h2>How to serve it<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Between 6 and 8 \u00b0C.<\/strong> Never in the freezer: an ice bucket with water and ice for 20 minutes is better.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Open it quietly.<\/strong> Hold the cork and turn the bottle, not the cork. It should sigh, not bang.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If it&#8217;s a pet-nat<\/strong>, open it well chilled and with the bottle slightly tilted: sometimes it&#8217;s eager to get out. If there&#8217;s sediment, you can pour it clear or gently turn the bottle to mix it in; it&#8217;s a matter of taste.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Glass:<\/strong> a white wine glass is better than a very narrow flute. You&#8217;ll get much more of the aromas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bubbles, always<\/h2>\n<p>Coco Chanel summed it up in one line:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I only drink champagne on two occasions: when I am in love and when I am not.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Coco Chanel<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We feel the same way about bubbles in general. You don&#8217;t need midnight bells or a big occasion: a cava with fried fish on a Friday, a pet-nat with Sunday vermouth, a cr\u00e9mant with pizza, or a champagne just because.<\/p>\n<p>Their acidity and bubbles refresh the palate and go with almost anything: seafood, fried food, rice dishes, cheese\u2026 The holidays are a great excuse to start. But there&#8217;s no need to wait for the next ones.<\/p>\n<h2>Come and choose it at the shop<\/h2>\n<p>At the shop we have cavas, Corpinnat, champagnes, cr\u00e9mants and pet-nats for every taste and budget, from small producers and big houses alike.<\/p>\n<p>Tell us what you&#8217;ll be eating, how many of you there will be and how much you&#8217;d like to spend, and we&#8217;ll help you choose.<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re in the Eixample: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wine-shop\/\">Carrer de la Diputaci\u00f3 163<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Can&#8217;t make it? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/contact\/\">Write to us<\/a> and we&#8217;ll deliver it.<\/p>\n<p>Looking for gifts for clients or your team? Take a look at our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/corporate-wine-gifts\/\">corporate wine gifts<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More bottles of bubbly are opened at Christmas than in the whole rest of the year. And the same question almost always comes up in front of the shelf: cava, Corpinnat or champagne? And what exactly is a cr\u00e9mant or a pet-nat? You don&#8217;t need to be an expert to choose well. Here&#8217;s a plain-English [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[388],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discover-wine"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cava, Corpinnat, champagne, cr\u00e9mant or pet-nat: which to choose - viconvino.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The differences between cava, Corpinnat, champagne, cr\u00e9mant and pet-nat, what brut nature or gran reserva mean, and which bubbles to choose for every moment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/sparkling-wine-cava-champagne-cremant-pet-nat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cava, Corpinnat, champagne, cr\u00e9mant or pet-nat: which to choose - 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El lugar en el que encontrar\u00e1s el regalo perfecto relacionado con el mundo del vino.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/#organization","name":"Viconvino","url":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/viconvino_mail.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/viconvino_mail.png","width":424,"height":258,"caption":"Viconvino"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/viconvino","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/viconvino\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/7ebebce822158ec600b47eb99bd58ec9","name":"Vanesa Segovia","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ab88eae1622ee2d570284cad90ef4768e903f9ed3c6c65c1c9d325bdad2b530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ab88eae1622ee2d570284cad90ef4768e903f9ed3c6c65c1c9d325bdad2b530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3ab88eae1622ee2d570284cad90ef4768e903f9ed3c6c65c1c9d325bdad2b530?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Vanesa Segovia"},"url":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/author\/1d42c45743\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9302,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9300\/revisions\/9302"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viconvino.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}