According to the definition given in the Dictionnaire du Vin, a semi-sparkling wine is an effervescent wine which in a closed container has a pressure between 1 and 2.5 bar at 20ºC.

Name:

• Vin pétillant - France
• Vino frizzente - Italy
• Vino con aguja - Spain
• Vinho frisante - Portugal
• Perlwein - Germany
• Perlwine or Pearlwine - England

Such wines can be made like sparkling wines, with secondary fermentation occurring either in the bottle or in a closed tank.

In France, semi-sparkling wines are made in two regions: Loire Valley and Bugey-Cerdon.

Note: Carbonated semi-sparkling wines contain exogenous carbon dioxide.