Let's settle something that confuses almost everyone.
Prosecco and Champagne are both sparkling. Both come in a bottle with a cage and a cork. Both appear at celebrations. And yet they taste completely different — and the reason why is one of the most interesting stories in wine.
They're made differently. Completely differently.
Champagne is made using what's called the traditional method. After the wine is bottled, a small amount of sugar and yeast is added, which triggers a second fermentation inside the bottle. The bubbles form slowly, trapped under pressure. The wine then ages on the dead yeast cells — called lees — for a minimum of 15 months, often much longer for prestige cuvées. This is what gives Champagne its signature toasty, biscuity, nutty character. It's rich and complex because it has spent a long time in contact with itself.
Prosecco works differently. Its second fermentation happens in a large pressurised tank — the Charmat method. It's faster, and the wine never spends time on lees. The result is something lighter, fresher, more immediately fruity. When you smell Prosecco, you get green apple, white peach, pear blossom. When you smell Champagne, you get brioche, cream, roasted almonds. Neither is wrong. They're just different conversations.
The grapes are different too
Champagne is built on three grapes: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier — grown in the Champagne region of northern France. Prosecco is made almost entirely from Glera, a grape native to the Veneto and Friuli regions of northeast Italy. Glera is naturally high in acidity and aromatic, which is why Prosecco has that floral, fruit-forward quality even without barrel ageing or lees contact.
So which one is "better"?
Wrong question. The right question is: what are you drinking it with, and when?
Champagne earns its place at long meals, with rich food, or when you want something contemplative. It rewards attention. Prosecco is lighter on its feet — perfect as an aperitivo, with seafood, with soft cheeses, or simply on a warm evening when you don't want to think too hard and just want something that tastes like summer.
The price difference isn't about quality — it's about the labour. Making Champagne takes years of cellar work. Prosecco is designed to be consumed young and fresh, and it should be. A five-year-old bottle of Prosecco is not a treat.
What we carry, and why
The Proseccos in our shop come from the Veneto — Glera grapes, Charmat method, meant to be opened and enjoyed without ceremony. They're not trying to be Champagne. That's exactly the point.
If you've only ever reached for Champagne because it felt like the "serious" choice, we'd invite you to try these with fresh eyes. Sometimes the lighter conversation is the one worth having.