Christopher Merret FRS, FRCP, also spelt Merrett, was an English physician and scientist. He was the first to document the deliberate addition of sugar for the production of sparkling wine, and produced the first lists of British birds and butterflies.
Christopher Merret
Title page of Merrett's Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum, 1666
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it, making it fizzy. While it is common to refer to this as champagne, European Union countries legally reserve that word for products exclusively produced in the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is usually either white or rosé, but there are examples of red sparkling wines such as the Italian Brachetto, Bonarda and Lambrusco, and the Australian sparkling Shiraz. The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry brut styles to sweeter doux varieties.
A glass of champagne
A glass of Lambrusco from Italy
While harvesting grapes destined for sparkling wine, premium producers will take extra care to handle the grapes as gently as possible in order to minimize the extraction of harsh phenolic compounds from the skin.
The transfer method is used to make small and large format bottles of sparkling wine, such as this split (quarter bottle) of champagne.
