Spumante seen as champagne alternative

ROME, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Italian sparkling wine has become more popular outside Italy's borders as it gains recognition as an alternative to French champagne, a report says.

The Coldiretti farmers' union said 80 million bottles of spumante will be popped to bring in 2008 in Italy and another 50 million will be uncorked abroad, a 22 percent jump over last year, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Monday.

Spumante sales abroad have doubled during the past 15 years, ANSA said, quoting The Economist. In the past five years in Britain, for example, 1.1 million bottles were sold in 2006.

Prosecco, another Italian sparkling wine, also is gaining growing as an alternative to champagne, The Economist said.

Spumante is now outselling champagne in the United States and Switzerland, and last year exports of prosecco crossed the 100-million bottle threshold, ANSA said.