Most sparkling wine (some retailers say as much as 80 percent) is sold in the last two months of the year.
No matter how the pundits protest that Champagne and other sparklers are all-occasion wines, consumers still associate holiday cheer with a glass of fizzy wine.
To help in this year’s selection, then, here’s a list of good, mainly dry, sparkling wines in price categories below $15. Most are widely available in the Chicago area, although prices may vary: The larger wine and spirits shops will usually sell at $1 to $5 less per bottle than supermarkets or drugstores.
$5 and less
This is the realm of Mssrs. Maumene and Charmat, two clever Frenchmen who decided that French Champagne was too expensive to sell to the masses and that someone had to do something about it. Jean-Christophe Maumene was a 19th Century chemist. He invented a crude form of large-format fermentation for sparkling wines. His invention was later refined by Eugene Charmat, whose name is forever tied to the bulk process of bubbly winemaking. (On bottles of American sparkling wine made this way, you’ll see the words “Charmat” or “bulk process” at the bottom of the label.)
To get a sparkling wine, you take a still base wine and add yeast and sugar to start a second fermentation. In this, the production of real Champagne or any other methode Champenoise wine is the same as bulk.
But for bulk bubbly, you can’t use expensive grape varieties. Chardonnay and pinot noir, the classic Champagne grapes, cost 5 to 10 times more than the chenin blanc, gray riesling, Thompson seedless and colombard that go into bulk varieties.
Also, the methode Champenoise involves putting the yeast and sugar mixture into the individual bottles of wine the consumer will actually buy; bulk bubblies are made in vats that hold several thousand gallons. The difference in the cost, handling and storage of individual bottles is staggering compared to one person making a tank of sparkling wine. Because of a century of treaties, the Europeans won’t allow any wine to call itself Champagne unless it is made in Champagne, France, by the methode Champenoise. But other countries, such as the United States, are not bound by any such restrictions and often do label their wines Champagne, much to the anger of the Champenois.
Americans have lots of Charmat’s fizz floating around. The two most widely seen and OK wines for the money are E&J Gallo’s Andre and Canandaigua’s J. Roget. For 50 cents to a buck more, try Cooks. These are perfect wines for large celebrations for the holidays or for weddings, graduations and the like.
$5 to $10
At this price you begin to see methode Champenoise or an equivalent on more labels. The Italian bubbly Rotari is the best value in the category if you like the slight yeastiness reminiscent of Champagnes in the $25 category. Gallo’s new Indigo Hills sparkling wine is a close second along with Mumm’s Napa Valley Brut. If you like them lean–crisp, good meal-starters as opposed to fizzies meant to be pondered over–go for the cavas (methode Champenoise wines from Spain) from Paul Cheneau, Aria, Cristolino and especially the Segura Viudas and Mont Marcal. Korbel Brut is getting better and better. From France, the Bouvet Brut from the Loire is a good, slightly off-dry alternative to Champagne.
$10 to $15
This is a great category for the French Champagne-loving bargain hunter as more countries, including the U.S., are producing better methode Champenoise fizz. Korbel shines with its Natural and Blanc de Noirs. Domaine Chandon’s version of blanc de noir is a delicious sipper as well.
But many other U.S. producers have made great strides in the production of good, dry bubbly. Mendocino County’s Roederer Estate is the clear winner but Argyle (from Oregon), Gruet (from New Mexico) and Domaine Carneros, Scharffenberger, Handley and Maison Deutz, all from California, also are classy fizzies. (Sadly, Deutz has decided not to produce sparkling wine for nationwide distribution anymore and will concentrate instead on making still wines, so buy up whatever you find.)
Other than U.S. methode Champenoise wines, the most widely available area represented in this category is the Loire. The Foreau Vouvray Brut is interesting: creamy, soft and complex. Australia has just released its new Seaview Pinot Noir/Chardonnay blend, not so complex but very pleasing and Champagne-like. And from Italy comes an unexpected red: Brachetto d’Acqui by Banfi. It’s a red sparkling wine that on paper doesn’t make sense, but on the palate it’s a delicious, soft and very fruity charmer.
Speaking of Italy, the most imported sparkling wine of them all is Asti (formerly Asti Spumante). Yes, it is moderately sweet and probably would not fit a classic Champagne-lover’s Christmas stocking. But Asti has two very good things going for it. First, it makes a delicious and very simple dessert, either by itself or over sliced peaches or other fresh fruit or ice cream. In this season of overindulgence, such a simple dish might just be preferred over something ornate or rich. Second, the way Asti is made, like a bulk bubbly, and the fact that not all the grape’s natural sugar is fermented out, leaves the wine not only fresh and fruity but also with an alcohol content of only 7 percent or 8 percent compared to a typical level of 11 percent to 13 percent. Asti will cost about $8 on sale to $15 or so. Reliable brands include Fontanafredda (about the driest), Gancia, Martini & Rossi and Mondoro.
