Spumante is a distinctly effervescent category of wine. The legal definition of a spumante is a wine with a pressure in the bottle greater than 3 bar, but in quality products this is always higher, reaching as much as 5 or 6 bar. In addition to effervescence, spumante is characterised by its low alcohol content and heady aromatic fragrance. Wine can be made effervescent industrially by adding carbon dioxide. But these are artificial, low quality types of spumante. Quality spumante, on the other hand, is produced using an elaborate process involving two phases of fermentation: the first to obtain the base wine and the second to generate the effervescence. A wine can be considered a spumante when secondary fermentation is triggered for the purpose of entrapping the carbon dioxide. There are two methods for doing this and they produce two every different types of spumante.

When the Martinotti (or Charmat) Method is used, secondary fermentation takes place in pressurised autoclaves. Sugar and yeasts are added to the light base wine and it is transferred to an airtight autoclave. Secondary fermentation raises the alcohol content slightly and produces carbon dioxide, which - being unable to escape - becomes incorporated in the liquid in the form of fine bubbles. This is the method used to produce, for example, Prosecco, and many aromatic spumantes. The Traditional Method is far more expensive and complex. When this method is used, secondary fermentation takes place in the individual bottles that will then be placed on the market. The Traditional Method is used to produce the finest spumante, first and foremost Champagne. In Italy there are 4 designations dedicated to spumantes produced with the Traditional Method: Alta Langa DOCG in Piedmont, Oltrepò Pavese Metodo Classico DOCG and Franciacorta DOCG in Lombardy and Trento DOC in Trentino – Alto Adige. There are also Traditional Method spumantes made from native grape varieties in many other regions, often with very interesting results. Dosage is a final addition of sugar to the spumante. Dosage can be considered as an adjustment or a method for customising the style of spumante, which can range from absolutely dry (no dosage) to medium-sweet or sweet. The classification of spumantes, on the basis of the dosage, is as follows: Pas dosé, Brut nature, Nature, Zero dosage; Extra-Brut, Brut, Extra-Dry, Dry, Medium-dry, Sweet