DRINK DIFFERENT - CHARMING CHARMAT

February – the month of romance, and any Valentine’s Day celebration calls for a bottle of bubbly.  Prosecco is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to Champagne, not just because it is lighter on the pocket, but because it often has a fruitier, less acidic character.

That is because it is made in a different way, using the cuve close, or Charmat method (named for Frenchman Eugene Charmat, who pioneered the process).  Rather than the secondary fermentation taking place in the bottle, it happens in pressurized tanks.

Increasingly English winemakers are using the process to produce quality alternatives to the ubiquitous Prosecco.  Here in Norfolk, Chet Valley Vineyard in Bergh Apton makes a version called ‘Skylark’, which is full of character with fruit aromatics of white peach, apricot, pear and tropical fruits – and infinitely more character than the many bland Proseccos which have flooded the market to cash in on the boom.