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Sparkling wine quiz: 15 sommelier questions

Champagne is only the start. Fifteen questions on Franciacorta, Cava, Prosecco, Crémant, Cap Classique and more, each with the answer and a short why.

Alper Billik · Advanced Sommelier

Updated October 2026 · 4 min read · Edited with AI

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On this page
  1. Italy
  2. France and Spain
  3. The New World
  4. What to study next
  5. Questions people ask

Every wine list needs bubbles beyond Champagne, and every sommelier exam asks about them. The key is the method: the traditional method (second fermentation in the bottle), the tank method (second fermentation in a sealed tank) and the ancestral method (one fermentation, finished in the bottle). These 15 questions sit at Certified depth. They are practice questions, not real exam questions.

  • Answer all 15 first. Then open the answers.
  • 12 or more: your sparkling list is in good hands. 9–11: solid. Under 9: learn the method behind each wine first.

Italy

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15 questions, one at a time. The answer and why after each one, then your score and your weakest topics.

Question 1

Which grape is Prosecco mainly made from?

  1. a)Sangiovese
  2. b)Glera
  3. c)Nebbiolo
  4. d)Corvina
Show answer

b) Glera. Glera gives Prosecco its light pear and white-flower fruit.

Question 2

How is most Prosecco made sparkling?

  1. a)Traditional method
  2. b)Tank method
  3. c)Ancestral method
  4. d)Carbonation
Show answer

b) Tank method. The second fermentation in a pressure tank keeps the fresh, fruity aromas of Glera.

Question 3

What is Cartizze?

  1. a)A flat plain near Venice
  2. b)A small, steep hill area in Valdobbiadene, the top cru of Prosecco Superiore
  3. c)A red sparkling wine
  4. d)A Prosecco grape
Show answer

b) A small, steep hill area in Valdobbiadene, the top cru of Prosecco Superiore. It is labelled Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze DOCG.

Question 4

Franciacorta, made by the traditional method, comes from which Italian region?

  1. a)Piedmont
  2. b)Lombardy
  3. c)Veneto
  4. d)Tuscany
Show answer

b) Lombardy. It lies south of Lake Iseo, between Bergamo and Brescia.

Question 5

Which statement about Franciacorta Satèn is true?

  1. a)It can include red grapes
  2. b)It is made only from white grapes, only as Brut, with lower pressure
  3. c)It needs no time on the lees
  4. d)It is always sweet
Show answer

b) It is made only from white grapes, only as Brut, with lower pressure. Chardonnay and Pinot Bianco only, under 5 atmospheres for a softer, “satin” mousse, and at least 24 months on the lees.

Question 6

Ferrari, one of Italy's best-known sparkling houses, makes Trentodoc by which method?

  1. a)Tank method
  2. b)Traditional method
  3. c)Ancestral method
  4. d)Transfer method only
Show answer

b) Traditional method. Trentodoc is traditional-method sparkling wine from the mountains of Trentino.

Question 7

Asti DOCG is a sweet, low-alcohol sparkling wine made from which grape?

  1. a)Moscato Bianco
  2. b)Glera
  3. c)Cortese
  4. d)Arneis
Show answer

a) Moscato Bianco. Grapey, floral and gently sweet: a classic Piedmont dessert sparkler.

France and Spain

Question 8

Blanquette de Limoux is made mainly from which grape?

  1. a)Chardonnay
  2. b)Mauzac
  3. c)Chenin Blanc
  4. d)Ugni Blanc
Show answer

b) Mauzac. Mauzac gives a distinct green-apple and apple-peel character.

Question 9

On a French label, what does “Crémant” tell you?

  1. a)A sweet tank-method wine
  2. b)A traditional-method sparkling wine from a French region outside Champagne
  3. c)A still white wine
  4. d)A wine from Champagne's Grand Cru villages
Show answer

b) A traditional-method sparkling wine from a French region outside Champagne. Crémant de Bourgogne, de Loire and d'Alsace are three well-known ones.

Question 10

Most Cava is made in which part of Spain?

  1. a)Rioja
  2. b)Penedès, in Catalonia
  3. c)Ribera del Duero
  4. d)Rías Baixas
Show answer

b) Penedès, in Catalonia. Around the town of Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, even though the Cava DO is allowed in several regions.

Question 11

Corpinnat, a group of growers who make traditional-method sparkling wine outside the Cava DO, works in which area?

  1. a)Rioja
  2. b)Champagne
  3. c)Penedès
  4. d)Piedmont
Show answer

c) Penedès. Its members left the Cava DO and sell under their own collective brand, rooted in Penedès.

The New World

Question 12

Which winery makes the sparkling wine Pelorus?

  1. a)Cloudy Bay
  2. b)Graham Beck
  3. c)Mumm Napa
  4. d)Chandon
Show answer

a) Cloudy Bay. Cloudy Bay, in Marlborough, New Zealand, is best known for Sauvignon Blanc but also makes Pelorus by the traditional method.

Question 13

What are South Africa's traditional-method sparkling wines called?

  1. a)Espumante
  2. b)Cap Classique
  3. c)Sekt
  4. d)Spumante
Show answer

b) Cap Classique. Méthode Cap Classique, often shortened to MCC.

Question 14

Roederer Estate, in California's Anderson Valley, was founded by which Champagne house?

  1. a)Moët & Chandon
  2. b)Louis Roederer
  3. c)Taittinger
  4. d)Mumm
Show answer

b) Louis Roederer. Anderson Valley in Mendocino is cool and foggy, well suited to sparkling wine.

Question 15

Sekt is the word for sparkling wine in which countries?

  1. a)Spain and Portugal
  2. b)Germany and Austria
  3. c)Italy and Slovenia
  4. d)France and Belgium
Show answer

b) Germany and Austria. Quality Sekt can be made by the tank or the traditional method; the label tells you which.

What to study next

Learn the method first, then the place. Read Champagne vs sparkling wine, the Crémant de Bourgogne guide and, for the ancestral method, the piece on Pét-Nat.

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Questions people ask

What is the difference between the traditional and the tank method?

In the traditional method the second fermentation happens in the bottle you buy, which adds bready, toasty notes. In the tank method it happens in a large sealed tank, which keeps fresh fruit aromas.

Which sparkling wines are made like Champagne?

Franciacorta, Trentodoc, Cava, Crémant, and Cap Classique all use the traditional method.

Is Prosecco a cheaper Champagne?

No, it is a different wine: a different grape (Glera), a different method (mostly tank) and a fruitier, lighter style.

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