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1. Méthode Champenoise.
2. Transfer system.
3. Charmat.
4. Carbonation.
There are 3 general groups of grapes used to make sparkling wine:
1. Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Sultana and Trebbiano. These produce delicate fruit styles that require high acid. Generally they are early maturing wines that are not generally given any wood treatment in the base wine.
2. Pinot Noir and Ondenc. Naturally high in acid, richly flavoured with a neutral bouquet. Base wines are often aged in wood. Bottle maturation can be for three or more years.
3. Chardonnay and Semillon. High natural acid and a light perfumed bouquet. The base wines are sometimes given wood ageing and have a medium body.

1. Méthode Champenoise
This is the traditional process for the making of champagne. Méthode Champenoise is an involved and labour intensive process which accounts for higher prices for these wines.
A base wine is made, from grapes that are high in acid and flavour with adequate sugar levels, in the same manner as for a dry white table wine. This base wine is then bottled and yeast and sugar is added to made to activate a secondary fermentation. This process takes between six months and many years depending on the quality and the style of wine being made. The bottles are continually turned (riddled) and stored throughout this period in a semi-inverted position to allow the lees (dead yeast cells) to settle in the neck of the bottle.
At the end of this fermentation the neck of the bottle is frozen and the frozen lees are removed (disgorged). Additions of liqueur, sweetener, brandy spirit or other are made and the bottles are re-corked and wired. The finished wines are then ready for cellaring or sale.

2. Transfer system
This is very similar to the Méthode Champenoise except the wine's second fermentation takes place in upright bottles with crown seals. At the end of fermentation the crowns are pierced under pressure and the wine is transferred to bottles and corked.
The quality of wine from this process are no less than that produced via Méthode Champenoise. It is ultimately the quality of the grape, the winemaking and indeed the entire process that determines the final wine quality. The advantage of this system is that the end wine is more uniform in its quality and involves less labour through mechanisation. Wines produced by this method are less expensive to produce than those by Méthode Champenoise.

3. Charmat
In this case secondary fermentation takes place in a large stainless steel pressure tank. At the end of fermentation the wine is transferred to the bottles under pressure and corked.
The qualities of this wine are not as complex as that of the previous two processes due to less contact with the lees. The advantage is that the process can be more automated than the others and the wine is cheaper to produce.

4. Carbonation
This is the method for making low-cost sparkling wines. It is a simple process where the wine is fermented to the desired style and then bottled and carbonated (addition of carbon dioxide).