Europe at a Glance
Sparkling Wine from Austria, England, Portugal: Europe's Sparkling Wine Countries
Alongside France, Italy and Spain, several other countries have their own sparkling wine regulations: Austria has a three-tier Sekt pyramid, England has the protected designation Sussex, and Portugal has its own sparkling wine appellation with Távora-Varosa. Add to that the large sparkling wine houses in Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Austrian Sekt g.U.: Klassik, Reserve, Große Reserve
Since late 2016, a dedicated regulation has governed Austrian Sekt with a protected designation of origin. No Sekt g.U. may be sold without meeting one of three tiers. The base tier is called Klassik: the grapes come from a single federal state, the Sekt rests on the lees for at least nine months, and it may be made by any method, including tank fermentation. It reaches the market no earlier than October 22 of the year following harvest.
Reserve and Große Reserve require hand harvesting, whole-cluster pressing and traditional bottle fermentation. Reserve needs at least 18 months on the lees, while Große Reserve needs 30 months and grapes from a single municipality. Both may contain no more than 12 grams of sugar per liter, making them Brut or drier. Sekt without g.U. status, made from base wines of any origin, remains permitted and is widely available. The pioneer is considered to be the Schlumberger winery, founded in 1842, which produced Austria's first Sekt made by the traditional method.
English Sparkling Wine: Sussex, Kent and the Champagne Varieties
In just a few decades, a sparkling wine landscape has emerged in southern England. The leading producers mostly rely on the Champagne varieties Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier, along with traditional bottle fermentation. Nyetimber farms 425 hectares across West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire and was the first English producer to work exclusively with these three varieties. Chapel Down in Kent is considered the country's largest producer.
Since 2022, Sussex has been a protected designation of origin within the United Kingdom. According to trade press, sparkling wine under this name must undergo traditional bottle fermentation, rest on the lees for at least 12 months, and reach 15 months before sale. How seriously Champagne takes this competition is shown by Taittinger: the house planted vines in Kent and released the first bottles of its Domaine Evremond in April 2025.
Portugal: Espumante from Távora-Varosa and Bairrada
In northern Portugal, the country's first appellation dedicated solely to sparkling wine, DO Távora-Varosa, was established in 1989. In Portuguese, sparkling wine is called Espumante. The region's best-known brand is Raposeira. The area lies in mountainous inland terrain, far from the coast.
More significant in terms of volume is Bairrada, between Porto and Coimbra. According to trade sources, around two-thirds of certified Portuguese Espumante comes from there, and the town of Anadia calls itself the capital of Espumante. Native varieties are used, including the red Baga as well as the white Bical, Maria Gomes and Arinto. It's precisely these varieties that set Espumante apart from England's Champagne varieties.
Other Sparkling Wine Countries: Hungary, the Czech Republic and a Look Overseas
In Central Europe, large sparkling wine houses have a long tradition. József Törley founded a winery in Budafok near Budapest in 1882 that is today the market leader in Hungary and belongs to the German Henkell group. In the Czech Republic, Bohemia Sekt produces in Starý Plzenec, likewise majority-owned by Henkell since 1999. Germany itself, according to the OIV, was the world's largest sparkling wine market by volume in 2018 with 3.2 million hectoliters, around 17 percent of global consumption.
Outside Europe, two designations stand out. In South Africa, Méthode Cap Classique, introduced in 1992 by the producers' association, denotes bottle fermentation; from the 2019 vintage onward, the association requires at least 12 months on the lees. This is not an appellation but a method designation. In Brazil, Altos de Pinto Bandeira became, according to trade press, the New World's first appellation dedicated solely to sparkling wine in November 2022, requiring the traditional method and at least 12 months on the lees.