It is evident from the methods of description in regard to the manufacture that a sparkling wine is not likely to be as fragrant, as wholesome, nor as desirable as a still wine. A still wine is matured with free access of the air, hence the character of the congeneric substances developed during the secondary fermentation and during the ripening is quite different from those which are developed in a closed bottle, to which no oxygen is allowed access. Sparkling wine, therefore, is a less mature product than good still wine, and has the flavoring characteristics of a raw or immature product.

The great use of a sparkling wine is for table purposes. It is in many countries considered the necessary accompaniment of the after-part of the dinner, especially that part devoted to the toasts and the speeches. It is not a wine, however, to be drunk as a table wine in the sense that a good red or white wine is consumed. A single glass of it is quite sufficient for any one person at any one meal.