In French terms "Mousseux" or "Cr?mant" are used to refer to sparkling wine not made in the Champagne region. 
 
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the m?thode champenoise  in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved (as in the Charmat process), or as a result of carbon dioxide injection.
Sparkling wine is usually white or ros? but there are many examples of red sparkling wines such as Italian Brachetto.The sweetness of sparkling wine can range from very dry "brut" styles to sweeter "doux" varieties.

Interestingly, Champagne or its replectives are possible only because The British rediscovered the use of cork stoppers, once used by the Romans but forgotten for centuries after the fall of the Roman empire.  It was the British, not the French that  were the first to see the tendency of wines to sparkle as a desirable trait and tried to understand why it produced bubbles. 

In Italy, however, it is an everyday drink. Restaurants often bring out complimentary glasses when diners are first seated. It is a very versatile wine; in Italy it is not served just as an aperitivo,but throughout the course of the meal, or in the late afternoon as an ombrette,a little pick-me-up.

Particularly infuriating to Europeans is the American habit of calling any wine that sparkles ?champagne.? True champagne comes only from the legally recognized region of Champagne in France, and true Prosecco comes only from the Veneto in Italy. 

It may be purely cultural, but Italians do not view Prosecco with the same intensity the French view their champagne. Prosecco is a fun, uncomplicated beverage, considerably less expensive than true champagne because it is made with less labor-intensive methods. Prosecco goes through a second fermentation in stainless steel vats and is infused with carbon dioxide to make it bubble. It is meant for consumption shortly after release, unlike vintage champagne.

Because of their affordability and their sparkle, Proseccos are attractive for adulterating with various fruits and potions to make an array of summer cocktails. 

Local prices for Prosecco range from an $11.99 bottle of Lisa Bella at Greenbrier Winn Dixie or a $12.99 bottle of Bel Star at The Wine Cellar on Quintard in Anniston to prices in the $20s.

If making cocktails, less expensive Prosecco will suffice nicely, because the flavors of the wine will be masked with the addition of fruit purees and juices.

Tyson Art and Frame in Golden Springs has two delicious, ready-made adulterated Proseccos by Canella for $15.75. One is a blood orange Mimosa Prosecco, the other a Bellini Prosecco, with white peach juice. Both are delicious served chilled, and are hassle-proof.

For Prosecco-based cocktails, just about any fresh fruit adulteration will work. In addition to the recipes below, consider purees of apricots, plums, watermelon and kiwi. I recently heard of a bride offering a Prosecco bar at her reception along with an array of fresh fruits, allowing guests to invent their own cocktails.

Here are some of my favorite mixtures:

Simple Prosecco cocktail: Soak a cube of sugar in angostura bitters. (Angostura bitters, commonly found in a small bottle in the drink mixer section of your supermarket, is an aromatic concoction traditionally used in vintage cocktail recipes like Manhattans and Rum Punch.) Place sugar cube in bottom of champagne flute. Pour chilled Prosecco over sugar cube. Add a twist of lemon peel and serve immediately.

Bellini cocktail. Famous peach juice and Prosecco cocktail invented at Harry?s Bar in Venice, where they hand-squeeze white peaches to extract juice for this drink. If white peaches are not available, local peaches from Glen Acres U Pick Farm just off Highway 9 across from White Plains Elementary School will suffice nicely. Depending on the sweetness of the fruit, it is sometimes necessary to add a splash or two of simple syrup (equal parts of sugar to water, allowed to boil just long enough to dissolve sugar). 

Pour three parts Prosecco to one part peach juice into a glass. Stir and enjoy. 

Rossini: A cocktail made with Prosecco and fresh strawberry puree. Mix one part strawberry puree to three parts Prosecco. Float a few blueberries in the mix and add a sprig of mint. Pretty and delicious. 

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