The Sparkle Revolution – How Women Are Shaping the Future of Sparkling Wine | Platinum Magazine

February is the month of love, and for me, it’s also the month of bubbles. Sparkling wine has long been associated with celebration, but there’s more to sparkling wine than corks hitting the ceiling and froth spraying forth. Behind every great bottle, there’s often a woman winemaker quietly reshaping tradition with courage, craft, and grace.

This month, I’m raising a glass to two female winemakers who make fabulous sparkling wines and who’ve inspired me: Constance Delaire, oenologist at Laurent-Perrier Champagne, and Paola Fandiño, the pioneer behind Mar de Frades Sparkling Albariño in Galicia, Spain. Both are women who’ve followed their instincts to bring something truly special to the world of sparkling wine.

Constance Delaire

Constance Delaire is an oenologist at the Champagne house Laurent-Perrier, supervising and managing all aspects of wine production, from the vineyard to the bottle.

When I first met Constance, I was struck by her quiet confidence - how young she is, beautiful, articulate, and completely in her element at the front of 67 Pall Mall tasting room in front of a crowd of seasoned wine professionals.

She spoke about Laurent-Perrier’s wine with such precision and passion, and after the presentation she handled even the most technical questions with grace, clarity and warmth. It was inspiring to watch her work and a breath of fresh air to meet such a talented woman, translating technical precision into something human and memorable.

Constance is from Bordeaux and wine runs through her blood (her father is a winemaker in Saint-Émilion). After completing a Master’s in Wine and Spirits Management at KEDGE Business School, she moved north to Champagne. She is an exceptionally qualified and talented woman, part of the next generation shaping the future of sparkling wine, who joined Laurent-Perrier in 2023.

Constance speaks about freshness, purity and elegance as the pillars of Laurent-Perrier’s identity. She explains that to make the popular house’s Cuvée Rosé, “it’s a lot of hard work”. Most rosé Champagne is made by the assemblage method, blending a little still red Pinot Noir into a white base before the second fermentation. Laurent-Perrier’s Cuvée Rosé, however, follows a completely different path, one that many Champagne houses would consider unthinkably complex at scale.

“It’s a really complicated wine to make,” Delaire admits. “But that’s what makes it so special.”

Made entirely from Pinot Noir sourced from Montigny-de-Reims, the wine undergoes maceration for up to 72 hours, allowing a gentle extraction of colour and aroma. So no blending, just 100% “bleeding” the colour, which is rare and called Saignee.

In the glass, it’s aromatic and structured, with flavours of raspberry, strawberry and black cherry, rounded on the palate and finishing long.

It’s beautiful with duck, grilled prawns or even raw fish, and heavenly with Parmesan or lightly spiced dishes (including Asian and Indian). And if you can resist opening it straight away, it will age for up to five years.

Looking at Laurent-Perrier’s full line-up, my favourite white sparkling was the Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature - 100% Chardonnay, 100% malolactic fermentation, aged for eight years, and only made in the best vintages. Lemon scented, rounded and pronounced with a clean mineral finish, it’s brilliant with food, especially mild spice. At £80 from Majestic, it’s outstanding value for a Champagne of this calibre.

Laurent-Perrier’s wines are thoughtfully made, designed to pair effortlessly with food and are guaranteed to make an impression. Their Cuvée Rosé, dressed this Christmas in a sleek metal bottle jacket (£90 Ocado / £80 Majestic), feels iconic and is a bottle that will really impress.

Paola Fandiño

Paola is the woman who made Albariño sparkle – and if Champagne is the old world’s classic love story, Paola’s wine is the modern romance.

In Spain’s Rías Baixas region, she dared to do something no one had done before: create a sparkling Albariño using the traditional Champagne method. There were no manuals, no mentors and no paths to follow, but she believed in the grape, in the place and in her vision.

The journey wasn’t easy. The second fermentation was unpredictable, and no one around her could advise, as no one else had done it. Yet Paola persisted. Today, Mar de Frades Sparkling Albariño is stunning and is made entirely by hand, with fine bubbles, notes of green apple, citrus, dried fruit and toasted brioche, all carried by that Atlantic freshness that makes Albariño so captivating.

Last year’s harvest was the earliest on record, beginning on 25 August. Climate change is reshaping viticulture, but Paola is adapting with optimism and energy. “You can’t control nature,” she told me, “…but you can learn from it.”

Originally, Paola trained as an agricultural engineer specialising in food science before realising wine was her true path. “I never thought I could make such good wines”, she says. She’s delivered the perfect match – the harmony of countryside, culture, smell and taste in the bottle. Her sparkling Albariño pairs with potatoes and mussels, oysters, squid, and octopus.  It’s just the perfect glass to share over seafood on a warm day.

When I asked Paola what drives her, she smiled: “Just do it. Make it happen. Don’t be afraid of what people think. The world of wine is wide open for women – and we can do it.”

Her words feel to me like guidance for how to approach 2026. Focus forward. Stay in your lane. Do the things you dream of doing. Happy Valentine’s Day! Elizabeth x Written for Platinum Magazine, February 2026