Prosecco, Champagne, Cava and... British Fizz?

<p>Did you know that Champagne can only called as such if it's produced from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France? It also has to be made according to strict traditional methods. Similarly, Prosecco is produced exclusively in certain parts of northeastern Italy and same goes for Spain's Cava. </p><p>This means that there's really no such thing as a 'British Champagne' or 'English Prosecco.' But that doesn't mean that we don't have some corking (sorry) sparkling wines here in the UK as well. Which is why the UK wine industry has applied for protected name status for what's commonly referred to as 'British sparkling wine.'</p><p>Introducing 'British Fizz' - the proper name for sparkling wine made with English, Scottish, or Welsh grapes.</p><p><img alt class="ci-image ci-hero" src="https://ui3.assets-asda.com/dm/friends-cheering-with-sparkling-wine__hero_GL?scl=1"></p><p>Now the name British Fizz is not to confused with 'British wine', which is wine made using imported grapes. Got that?</p><p>The new name was apparently coined by New York bar owner Jason Hicks, who started using British Fizz on his menu.</p><p>Bob and Sam Lindo from the UK Vineyard Association saw the name and are now in the process of applying for protected geographical indication (PGI) status for the term, meaning that only winemakers growing grapes in the UK and making sparkling wine using the traditional bottle-fermentation method will be allowed to label their bottles as British Fizz.</p><p>If all goes well, the name will go through the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs before needing to go through EU approval.</p><p>So, what has the reaction to the new name been? Slightly underwhelming it seems. </p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Surely you can come up with something more compelling than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BritishFizz?src=hash">#BritishFizz</a>?!? <a href="https://t.co/yXJyRxfYOa">https://t.co/yXJyRxfYOa</a></p>— Joreen Belocura (@AgeofIrony) <a href="https://twitter.com/AgeofIrony/status/822081776189374464">January 19, 2017</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Not sure I like this proposed appellation you know, not very classy ���� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/britishfizz?src=hash">#britishfizz</a> <a href="https://t.co/pcqkPfubrH">https://t.co/pcqkPfubrH</a></p>— Sorcha Holloway (@SorchaHolloway) <a href="https://twitter.com/SorchaHolloway/status/822057485611700224">January 19, 2017</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>However Sam Lindo argues that since the name is already being used, we might as well get behind it.</p><p>“No one&rsquo;s ever going to agree on the name so maybe we have to roll with the name that people are already using and protect that name before we lose it,” he told <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/british-bubbly-finally-gets-a-name-but-it-isn-t-vintage-9txp8n06p" target="_blank"><em>The Times</em></a>.</p><p>What do you think? Take our poll below! </p><script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.playbuzz.com/widget/feed.js"></script><div class="pb_feed" data-comments="false" data-embed-by="cab7d1db-74b9-4b33-8bc5-f0b3973e0c18" data-game="/alexiadellner10/british-sparkling-wine-to-receive-a-proper-name" data-game-info="false" data-recommend="false"> </div><p><strong><em>However you feel about the British Fizz label, don't forget to pick up a bottle of delicious <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/aisle/wine-champagne/champagne-sparkling-wine/910000975404" target="_blank">British sparkling wine from Asda</a>. </em></strong></p>

British sparkling wine to receive a proper name

By Asda Good Living,20th January 2017

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