Italian term (frizzare = to sparkle or foam) for a sparkling wine, which corresponds to the French pétillant or the German semi-sparkling wine or secco. However, the name is not origin-protected and is also used by other countries such as Germany or Austria. Compared to a spumante = sparkling wine (3 to 6 bar), a frizzante has a lower overpressure of 1 to 2.5 bar. It is usually produced using the Méthode charmat (tank fermentation, Italian Metodo charmat or Metodo martinotti), or also using the transvasation or impregnation process. However, there are also bottle-fermented frizzante. The processing steps of a quality sparkling wine are described under Champagne.
If carbon dioxide has been added to the wine (i.e. not as a result of fermentation ), the label must state "Gassificato" or "Vino addizionato di andride carbonica". A Frizzante or Perwlein with an overpressure of up to 1 bar is labelled as Vivace or Frizzantino ("small" Frizzante). Frizzante are sealed with a normal cork (i.e. without an agraffe compared to a quality sparkling wine) and fixed with a spago (cord).
For information on the production of alcoholic beverages, see Champagne (sparkling wines), Distillation (distillates), Spirits (types), Winemaking (wines and wine types) and Wine law (wine law issues).
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Markus J. Eser
Weinakademiker und Herausgeber „Der Weinkalender“