Trying to master terminology of Champagne is like learning an entirely new language.

Terms of engagement: Put a French wine lover in a room with a California wine lover and tell them to talk about Champagne and they will soon be at each other’s taste buds, arguing that Champagne and California sparkling wine cannot be compared, contrasted or even mentioned in the same breath. Let’s burst their bubbles — the differences between excellent French Champagnes and excellent California sparkling wines are so slight that few wine experts can tell the differences in a blind tasting of several wines on the table.

When Eileen Crane decided to become a winemaker — a groundbreaking move for a woman 20 years ago — there was a reason she decided to focus on sparkling wines: “I knew I’d be tasting a lot of it,” she said.