Sparkling Wines w/o Breaking the Bank

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ChefJune

Master Chef
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The holidays, especially New Year's, seem to awaken most folks' interest in sparkling wine. Most of us think first of Champagne -- that light and sparkly wine from France. But the price for the "real" stuff starts around $30 per bottle. In these times of economic downturn, that can be out of most folks reach, especially if you want more than one bottle.

There are a bunch of mostly awful-tasting alternatives that advertise heavily this time of year, and if you like them well, then go for it. I don't, and I thought maybe a short list of some fairly widely available affordable AND tasty alternatives might be useful, so here goes!

Gruet Brut -- sparkling wine from (you're reading right) New Mexico -- $10.99
St. Hilaire -- French sparkling wine in the Champagne style from the Limoux region -- $10.99
Segura Viudas Aria Brut -- Cava from Spain, from local Spanish grapes -- $14.99

Less specifically, there are a number of French sparkling wines called "Crémant" -- either de Loire, d'Alsace, de Bourgogne, that are all pretty tasty and all (I've seen) under $20.

Prosecco's and Cava's abound. some are very good, others, less so, but all pretty affordable.

imho, the best of the California sparklings under $20 is Roederer Estate Anderson Valley, found around here between $17 and $20.99

Hope everyone has a fabulous, sparkly New Years.... :)

(We won't be drinking Krug this year!) :(
 
I have never enjoyed the pleasure of sipping on a fine flute of Krug but it is on my list of things to do.
 
June - You touched on two of my favorites - Gruet and Aria!!! I love that granny smith apple note in the Gruet and the Aria is perfect for those brut lovers! My employer used to work in the Gruet vineyards in his college years.

Here are a few other favorite sparklers:

Zardetta Prosecco - Italy
Riondo Prosecco (has a light floral note to it) - Italy
Marques de Gelida Cava - Spain
Francois Montand - France, just not Champagne, France

All of the above should be between $10.99 and $17.99 in most places.

We did, however, celebrate Christmas with a bottle of Canard Charles VII...not too terribly expensive but the amazing taste was worth every penny!
 
I so, so, so, SO miss "Paul Cheneau", which was a cava from either Spain or Portugal. Lovely sparkle, fabulous flavor (neither too sweet nor too dry), & priced more than right at around $8.99 bottle before it disappeared several years ago. I used to buy it year-round by the case. While I've heard that it's still being produced, unfortunately it's apparently no longer being exported to the U.S. So I'm stuck with Freixenet.
 
Take halved or quartered strawberries and roll them in sugar...Put the sugared strawberries into the champagne flutes/glasses and fill with ANY, including CHEAP champagne. It's a knock out presentation and makes the champagne much more enjoyable for even the anti-champagne person... :)
 
The holidays, especially New Year's, seem to awaken most folks' interest in sparkling wine. Most of us think first of Champagne -- that light and sparkly wine from France. But the price for the "real" stuff starts around $30 per bottle. In these times of economic downturn, that can be out of most folks reach, especially if you want more than one bottle.

There are a bunch of mostly awful-tasting alternatives that advertise heavily this time of year, and if you like them well, then go for it. I don't, and I thought maybe a short list of some fairly widely available affordable AND tasty alternatives might be useful, so here goes!

Gruet Brut -- sparkling wine from (you're reading right) New Mexico -- $10.99
St. Hilaire -- French sparkling wine in the Champagne style from the Limoux region -- $10.99
Segura Viudas Aria Brut -- Cava from Spain, from local Spanish grapes -- $14.99

Less specifically, there are a number of French sparkling wines called "Crémant" -- either de Loire, d'Alsace, de Bourgogne, that are all pretty tasty and all (I've seen) under $20.

Prosecco's and Cava's abound. some are very good, others, less so, but all pretty affordable.

imho, the best of the California sparklings under $20 is Roederer Estate Anderson Valley, found around here between $17 and $20.99

Hope everyone has a fabulous, sparkly New Years.... :)

(We won't be drinking Krug this year!) :(

there is a brand here called "bare foot" everything of theirs i have tried is very good. champ. runs about 11 dollars , often is on special, the others korbel etc are not worth drinking. wouldn't even have in the house for cooking. i once had a $100 bottle of champ. it was wonderful but not sure that it was worth the price.
 
Freeze whole strawberries. Pop one into your glass of sparkling and it will keep it cold AND be good to eat afterwards! Grapes work nicely too, but, they don't absorb like strawberries...and it might be redundant! :ermm:
 
Take halved or quartered strawberries and roll them in sugar...Put the sugared strawberries into the champagne flutes/glasses and fill with ANY, including CHEAP champagne. It's a knock out presentation and makes the champagne much more enjoyable for even the anti-champagne person... :)

I set up a Christmas dinner party at our local Country Club for my solos group in early December. Fifty-six women showed up and the caterers gave us all champagne cocktails with the sugared strawberries floating in the glass. It was very impressive. Such a simple thing and it was a hit with everyone. It added an interesting touch of class.
 
Take halved or quartered strawberries and roll them in sugar...Put the sugared strawberries into the champagne flutes/glasses and fill with ANY, including CHEAP champagne. It's a knock out presentation and makes the champagne much more enjoyable for even the anti-champagne person... :)

I'll have to remember that - it would definitely help those who don't really like the dryness.
 
I like Dom Perignon '96, especially if someone els brings it!

OH OH OH OH - '96 was a GREAT vintage for sure for Dom! Unfortunately, unless it's in a private cellar, your basic distributors don't have it anymore :(
The latest vintage is still good - but not like '96!
 
LOL...My Mom and DW love Ballatore spumante. lol....waaay too sweet for me, plus I'm not into bubbly stuff. At $7 you can't go wrong....if you like that sort of thing. They can't get enough of it.
 
I so, so, so, SO miss "Paul Cheneau", which was a cava from either Spain or Portugal. Lovely sparkle, fabulous flavor (neither too sweet nor too dry), & priced more than right at around $8.99 bottle before it disappeared several years ago. I used to buy it year-round by the case. While I've heard that it's still being produced, unfortunately it's apparently no longer being exported to the U.S. So I'm stuck with Freixenet.

I saw Paul Cheneau in a wine store in Jersey City last week. It's still around. Have your retailer check his distributor's book. You might be surprised.

There are lots of better options than Freixenet, imho. It's only marginally better than André. :wacko:
 
Thanks for that heads up June. Several years ago when it first disappeared from stores here in VA, we did have one place look into getting us a few cases & they said that while it was still being produced, it was no longer available from whatever distributor(s) they used. I'm definitely going to have to try again as, New Year's aside, there was nothing like an ice cold glass of Paul Cheneau with some nice fruit & cheese on a warm summer evening. Or paired with some wonderful seafood dinner. Or, or, or. . . . - lol!!

As far as Freixenet, I don't think it's close to being as bad as Andre (or Cook's), but it certainly isn't Paul Cheneau.:)
 
Breezy, if your retailer gets Freixenet, they can also get Segura Viudas Aria, which is head and shoulders better a Cava. The Freixenet company also imports Segura Viudas. Ask them for it.
 
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