Champagne v Prosecco - The 5 main differences

Hi guys, my name is Tomas and I'm your wine advisor. Today I'm going to talk about the differences between bottle of Champagne and bottle of Prosecco. Keep watching. So guys, difference number one between Prosecco and Champagne is the country of origin. Prosecco is produced only in Italy in region called Veneto. Which is Champagne, it's produced in France in a region called Champagne. And that's the main difference between the other two of them. So guys, the second main difference between Prosecco and Champagne are the grape varieties that you allow to use to produce sparkling wines. So when you're producing Prosecco, the main grape variety most of the time will be a grape called Glera. There's three other grapes, one of them is Marzemina Bianca, a second one is Perera and finally we have a grape called Bianchetta. So there's four grape varieties in Prosecco. In Champagne are completely different grapes, it's seven altogether by the way. The three main grape varieties are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The last two are red grape varieties. And then we have also a little bit of Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Arban and Petit Monsieur. So that's four white grapes. So all together we have seven grape varieties in Champagne and four grape varieties in Prosecco. So guys, the third difference between Prosecco and Champagne and the more important one, it's the winemaking technique. I'm gonna start with bottle of Prosecco. So in the Veneto region they're using a winemaking technique called charmat. What that means? So first of all you have to produce a still wine. So make the first fermentation and the wine it's transferred to large stainless steel tanks. Then they're adding sugar and they're adding yeast and this is the time when the bubbles are produced. After a few months time wine it's ready to release and ready to drink. Okay, so making bottle of Prosecco it takes up to few months. When you produce bottle of Champagne and the method is called classic it's slightly different. So you have to make that first fermentation, so when you're making the still wine, then you transfer that wine into the bottle you're adding sugar and yeast and the bubbles are produced for at least 15 months. That means the wine have to be inside the bottle for at least 15 months for non-vintage Champagne and double which is 30 months for vintage Champagne. So before your bottle hit the shelf it's gonna take up to two years. So as you can see it's a time consuming and it's more expensive to produce bottle of Champagne than Prosecco. So guys the fourth difference between bottle of Prosecco and Champagne finally it's the price. As I mentioned before to produce bottle of Champagne we need more time and more work to do. So that's why always bottle of Champagne will be more expensive than Prosecco. Average price for bottle of Prosecco in Ireland, I mean for Spumante version, is between 20 to 30 euro per bottle. If you're looking for something less expensive in terms of Prosecco you have to look for a wine called Frizzante which is less bubbly and that means you have also less duty in Ireland. So you can get below 20 euro marks. If you're looking for a bottle of Champagne the average price in Ireland, I mean the entry level Champagnes will be between 40 to 60 euro mark per bottle which is not that cheap but it's absolutely worth it. So guys the fifth main difference between Champagne and Prosecco it's of course the taste. So when you have a glass of Prosecco like this you're expecting fruit forward in style of wine dominated by green apples and peach. Let me just confirm that. This is exactly what I expect. Delicious easygoing everyday wine. When you have a glass of Champagne, let me just pour one for myself, you're definitely expecting more complexity. You might get some aromas of brioche, toast, almonds, citrus, yellow apples, ripe melons and many many more. It depends on the blend as well. So let me taste it guys. Oh this is absolutely delicious. Wow! Really pronounced, complex and full body in the palate. So if you ask me which one I preferred, of course I would say Champagne. I have two more information for you. When you see two words on a bottle of Prosecco extra dry that means that wine is not extra dry. That actually means the wine is medium dry. They have a little bit more sugar. When you see words extra brute on a bottle of Champagne that actually means the wine is bone bone dry. The other things what I'd like to share with you have something very very special which is available only at the corkscrew.ie. We have Champagne Blanc de Blancs produced from four white grapes which is super super rare. Until next time guys, thank you.