Sparkling Wine Has Bubbles by Design
To sparkle is to shine with small flashes of light. Wine borrowed the word for bubbles, and the two share the idea of tiny points appearing and vanishing.
To sparkle is to shine with many small bright flashes. Wine took the word for carbonation, and the image fits: bubbles rise, catch the light and vanish exactly like sparks. Champagne earns its pressure from a second fermentation inside the sealed bottle.
- To shine in small flashes. *The frost sparkled.*
- To be lively. *The conversation sparkled.*
- Sparkling — carbonated. *Sparkling water.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | sparkle | The sea sparkled. |
| Past | sparkled | Sparkled briefly. |
| Noun | sparkle | A sparkle in her eye. |
| Adjective | sparkling | Sparkling wine. |
| Related | spark | An electrical spark. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Snow sparkled in the sunlight.Many tiny points of light.
- Still or sparkling?The standard restaurant question.
- Her performance sparkled.Lively and brilliant.
Sparkling wine by method
- Traditional method — second fermentation in the bottle, as in Champagne
- Tank method — second fermentation in a pressurised tank, as in Prosecco
- Ancestral method — bottled before the first fermentation finishes
- Carbonation — gas injected, used for cheaper wines
- Atmospheres — the pressure measure; Champagne runs around six
A frequentative of *spark*, from Old English *spearca*. The *-le* ending means to do repeatedly — sparkling is sparking again and again.
Why is only some sparkling wine called Champagne?
Because the name is legally protected and reserved for wine from the Champagne region of France made to defined rules.
What does the -le ending do?
It makes a frequentative: sparkle is repeated sparking, and the same pattern gives crackle, twinkle and dazzle.