The Many Ways to Make Sparkling Wine 

From the hallowed caves of Champagne to the Pacific Northwest and beyond, there are many ways to sparkle. In wineries, daily choices have big implications. How the grapes are pressed, and the ways that liquid can be fermented, blended, and aged, all impact the flavors, textures, and overall character of any wine in your glass.

In the May/June 2026 issue of Imbibe, we illustrate the steps to making sparkling wine via the méthode Champenoise, the world-famous approach from Champagne, France. But that’s not the only way to fizz. Here are the most prominent sparkling winemaking methods, from the limestone caves of Champagne to mod domestic operations and beyond.

Méthode Champenoise 

The méthode Champenoise is the labor of love behind some of the world’s most prestigious sparkling wines. Also known as the Champagne method, traditional method, or méthode traditionelle, it’s used to make Champagne, Crémant d’Alsace, Cava, Franciacorta, South Africa’s Cap Classique, and others. 

The first step is to ferment grapes into a base wine. Depending on their house style or personal preferences, winemakers might blend it with other wines in a process called assemblage. Afterward, they add the liqueur de tirage, or a combination of yeast and sugar, and ferment it again in bottles. During this second fermentation, the wine comes in contact with dead yeast cells called lees. How long lees stay in the wines varies; in Champagne, it’s between 15 months and 10 years. 

While the wines rest on their lees, winemakers slowly rotate the bottles in downward-tilting racks. This process is called riddling, and it ensures that the yeast sediment gathers in the neck of the bottle. When it’s (finally) time to get the wines out of the cellar, winemakers freeze and remove the accumulated yeast cap. They might then top bottles up with additional wine or add a sugary mixture called dosage. Some age their wines even longer in the bottles before releasing them.

The time and expertise required is one reason why bottles made with the méthode Champenoise can be more rarified or expensive than other sparkling wines. “The flavors you get from the traditional method are far superior,” says Christian Grieb, owner and winemaker of Treveri Cellars, a sparkling wine specialist in Wapato, Washington, that uses the méthode Champenoise. “It’s creating all this complexity you didn’t have before. Think about sourdough versus a slice of white bread you get at the supermarket. Those flavors are epic.” Wines made with the méthode Champenoise are often highly ageable, too.

Charmat Method

Also called the tank method, charmat is a winemaking technique that many people associate with Prosecco. There are also some German Sekt and domestic bubbles made this way.

The process is more streamlined than the méthode Champenoise. First, winemakers ferment grapes in stainless-steel tanks. They combine that base wine with sugar and yeast in a sealed tank where it undergoes a second fermentation, and then they filter and bottle the wine under pressure to keep its effervescence intact. 

The results are fresher, fruitier, arguably less complex than wines made with yeast autolysis. “With the charmat method, the goal is usually to preserve primary fruit,” explains Émilien Boutillat, the chef de caves at Champagne Piper-Heidsieck. “The wines are more direct, aromatic, and often easier to approach when young, but they don’t develop the same depth or structure [as wines made with méthode Champenoise].”

Ancestral Method

As the name suggests, the ancestral method is ancient—many historians believe it predates the méthode Champenoise. Sometimes called the méthode ancestrale or méthode rurale, this low-fi approach is used to make most pétillant-naturelles, or pét-nats, as well as traditional bubbles from Bugey Cerdon and Limoux, France.

To make sparkling wines with the ancestral method, winemakers put wine into bottles before it’s finished the first fermentation. The yeast continues to process the sugar in the liquid, building pressure inside the bottle and generating enough carbon dioxide to create effervescence. This process is far less regulated and precise than the méthode champenoise or charmat method. “It can be more spontaneous and less controlled, sometimes with a softer effervescence and a more rustic profile,” says Boutillat.

The ancestral method doesn’t necessarily entail disgorgement, so wines made this way can appear cloudy due to the presence of the dead yeast cells. You may see some sediment in the bottle, too. 

Other Ways to Make Sparkling Wine

Additional sparkling winemaking practices include the transfer method, which shares some characteristics with the méthode Champenoise. Like the methode Champenoise, wines made via transfer method undergo their second fermentation in bottles. However, instead of painstakingly riddling and disgorging them, winemakers pour the liquid into a pressurized tank and then filter and bottle it. Winemakers often use this technique for small- or large-format bottlings, like the splits you might find in a well-stocked hotel minifridge. 

You can also create effervescence by adding CO2 to still wines before bottling. This process is called the industrial method, gas injection, or, fittingly, carbonation. It’s reserved for lower-caliber bottlings because it does the flavors and textures of wines no favors. After all, every decision has consequences.