An outdated practice stilled used in New Zealand, California and Australia that is now outlawed by law. These old fashioned wine styles were labelled as Chablis, Claret, Burgundy, Sherry, Port pretending to have a stylistic relationship to the original European wines from each of these geographical regions. Rarely were the same grape varieties used, and rarer still would the generic wine actually taste like the original it was modelled on. These intensely sweet grapes produce either rich, low alcohol dessert wines or powerfully rich semi-dry, high alcohol wines. The method used in the Champagne region of France to produce the highest quality sparkling wines with the finest grade of bubbles.
Wine is put through a secondary fermentation in the very bottle it is eventually sold in.
Depending on where from, the words Cava, Methode Traditionelle or Fermented in this Bottle describe the same method. Often a key factor in dividing a great wine from an average wine. Average wines often fall down in the middle part of their trip through the mouth. A common Southern Hemisphere wine term used to describe a wines texture. The 'bouquet' or perfume or, sometimes, stink of a wine.