Champagne bubbles are commonly called effervescence or bead ; in wine terms, you may also hear mousse or perlage for the bubble stream and texture.

Quick scoop

  • Effervescence = the fizz or bubbling quality.
  • Bead = the trail or stream of bubbles.
  • Mousse = the creamy, foamy feel of the bubbles in the glass or mouth.
  • Perlage = a term often used for the fine bubble chain in sparkling wine.

If you want, I can also give you the most common everyday term versus the wine-sommelier term.