English Sparkling Wine Methods Explained: Traditional, Tank, Pét-Nat and Carbonated

More than 90% of English sparkling wine is made the way Champagne is, with a second fermentation in the bottle, according to WineGB. The rest is made in a tank, bottled mid-fermentation or carbonated, and the method changes the bubbles, the taste and the price.

English sparkling wine methods at a glance

Traditional method (classic method)

Traditional method is how Champagne is made, and it is the method behind the English sparkling wines that built the country's reputation. The base wine is bottled with a little sugar and yeast, and a second fermentation in the bottle produces the bubbles. The wine then rests on the dead yeast, called the lees, which gives it the toasty, brioche character people look for. The bottle is turned until the yeast collects in the neck, the yeast is removed, and the bottle is topped up and corked.

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It is slow and it costs more, and many English producers age their wines for far longer than the legal minimum.

Most English traditional-method wine uses the three Champagne grapes, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. See our guides to the best English sparkling wine, the best value English sparkling wine and the best English sparkling rosé.

Tank method (Charmat)

In the tank method, also called Charmat, the second fermentation happens in a large sealed tank instead of in each bottle. The wine is filtered and bottled under pressure. It takes weeks rather than months, which is why it suits fresh, fruity styles and costs less to make. Prosecco is the best-known example. It is a region in north-east Italy rather than a grape, and the wine must be at least 85% Glera.

English tank-method wines are a small but growing group. Flint Vineyard in Norfolk makes Prosecco-style Charmat wines, including a rosé from grapes such as Solaris and Rondo. Silverhand Estate in Kent makes Silver Reign, a Charmat wine.

Pét-nat and col fondo

Pét-nat, short for pétillant naturel, is bottled while the first fermentation is still going, so the carbon dioxide stays in the bottle and there is no second fermentation. Col fondo is the Italian version, bottled the same way with the yeast left in, which makes it cloudy and gently sparkling. Both belong to the older ancestral method, and they taste livelier and more varied than traditional-method wine.

English producers making them include Westwell, Davenport, Black Mountain and Sedlescombe. Our guide to English and Welsh pét-nat covers the best of them.

Carbonated sparkling wine

Carbonated wine is still wine with carbon dioxide added under pressure, the way a fizzy drink is made. It is the quickest and cheapest route and produces larger, shorter-lived bubbles. In England it is a small corner of the market. Chapel Down makes A Touch of Sparkle, a lightly fizzy Bacchus with carbon dioxide added to the still wine. The Uncommon sells English sparkling wine in cans, with the bubbles added at canning.

English sparkling wine labels: PDO, PGI and Sussex

English sparkling wine is sold in three tiers. The top tier is English PDO, which allows only six grapes, none of them hybrids, and requires every grape to come from England. Next is English Regional PGI, which allows more varieties, including hybrids such as Seyval Blanc, and at least 85% of the grapes must come from England. Wine outside both schemes is labelled sparkling wine, Product of England, and only PDO and PGI wines can carry the terms English, English Regional or Sussex.

Both schemes set the same rules for the method. The wine must have its second fermentation in the bottle, spend at least nine months on the lees and be disgorged, which means tank-method and carbonated wines cannot enter either scheme.

Sussex PDO

Sussex has its own PDO for sparkling wine, registered in 2022. It covers traditional-method white, rosé and red wine from East and West Sussex, with grapes picked by hand. The bottle must stay in the cellar for at least 15 months before release, including a minimum of 12 months on the lees.

Classic Method hallmark

WineGB's Classic Method hallmark is a voluntary mark for traditional-method wines. It is only open to PDO wines made from grapes grown in Great Britain, and the producer needs a licence.

Where to learn about each method

You can learn how each method works at the vineyards that use it. Flint Vineyard in Norfolk makes tank-method wines, Westwell in Kent makes pét-nat, and Hattingley Valley in Hampshire makes traditional-method wines and runs booked tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.