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🍷 Semi-sparkling wine

Type of wine ✔ Checked: 10.2026 · sources: 3 Updated:

Wine with light, gentle bubbles.

Semi-sparkling wine is wine with light, weak bubbles. It stands between still and sparkling. In Italy such wines are called "frizzante", meaning "slightly fizzy". Under European Union rules, the pressure of carbon dioxide in a semi-sparkling bottle must be between 1 and 2.5 atmospheres, and alcohol at least 7 percent. By comparison, true sparkling wine has pressure of at least 3 atmospheres. So the cork of a semi-sparkling wine is usually plain, without a wire cage. There are many such wines in Italy. They include Lambrusco, among them Lambrusco di Sorbara and Grasparossa di Castelvetro, and also Prosecco frizzante. They are made in Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, the Veneto and other regions. Grapes include Pignoletto, Barbera, Bonarda, Malvasia and Muscat. Semi-sparkling wines are usually light and fresh. They are drunk chilled with cured meats, cheese and pasta. The wine suits those who want a light drink without strong bubbles.

What it includes

kind of🍷types of winemakes📜Bosco Eliceomakes📜Canellimakes📜Freisa d'Astimakes📜Lambrusco Salamin…makes📜Modenamakes📜Monica di Sardegnamakes📍Oltrepò Pavesemakes📜Ortrugo dei Colli…similar🍷Still winesimilar🍷Sparkling winesimilar🍷Frizzantesimilar🍷Perlantsimilar🍷Pétillantsimilar🍷Perlweinsimilar🍷Agulha🍷towardia.com
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How it connects to Wine

🍷 Semi-sparkling wine → kind of → 🍷 Types of wine → kind of → 🍷 Wine

Part of
🍷 Types of wine
Appellations
Italy: 📜 Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco, 📜 Prosecco, 📍 Oltrepò Pavese, 📜 Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro, 📜 Lambrusco di Sorbara, 📍 Emilia, 📜 Bosco Eliceo, 📜 Canelli, 📜 Freisa d'Asti, 📜 Lambrusco Salamino di Santa Croce
and 32 more📜 Modena, 📜 Monica di Sardegna, 📜 Ortrugo dei Colli Piacentini, 📜 Quistello, 📜 Reggiano, 📜 Barbera del Monferrato, 📜 Buttafuoco, 📜 Castelfranco Emilia, 📜 Colli Bolognesi, 📜 Colli Piacentini, 📜 Colli di Scandiano e di Canossa, 📜 Forlì, 📜 Freisa di Chieri, 📜 Merlara, 📜 Moscadello di Montalcino, 📜 Oltrepò Pavese Pinot Grigio, 📜 Penisola Sorrentina, 📜 Provincia di Pavia, 📜 Reno, 📜 Sabbioneta, 📜 San Colombano al Lambro, 📜 Sangue di Giuda, 📜 Bonarda dell'Oltrepò Pavese, 📜 Colli Bolognesi Pignoletto, 📜 Colli di Parma, 📜 Cortese dell'Alto Monferrato, 📜 Fortana del Taro, 📜 Gutturnio, 📜 Lambrusco Mantovano, 📜 Provincia di Mantova, 📜 Ravenna, 📜 Val Tidone
Similar and different
🍷 Still wine, 🍷 Sparkling wine, 🍷 Frizzante, 🍷 Perlant, 🍷 Pétillant, 🍷 Perlwein, 🍷 Agulha

Frequently asked questions

What is semi-sparkling wine?

Wine with weak bubbles, with 1 to 2.5 atmospheres of pressure in the bottle under EU rules.

What is it called in Italian?

Frizzante, meaning "slightly fizzy".

How is it different from sparkling wine?

Sparkling wine has higher pressure, usually at least 3 atmospheres, and a wired cork.

What to read next

  • 🍷 Still wine — Ordinary wine without carbon dioxide bubbles.
  • 📜 Prosecco — A popular sparkling wine from the Glera grape from north-eastern Italy.
  • 🍷 Perlant — A French word for wine with a barely noticeable sparkle.
  • 🍷 Pétillant — The French word for lightly sparkling wine.
  • 🍷 Perlwein — German semi-sparkling wine, often with added gas.

Similar

🍷 Sparkling wine · 🍷 Low-alcohol wine · 🍷 Natural wine · 🍷 Red wine · 🍷 Still wine · 🍷 Rosé

⚠️ Wine contains alcohol: adults only, drink in moderation. Wine usually contains sulphites; egg white or milk proteins are sometimes used for fining — important for allergies and for vegans.

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