Joel Goldberg

Do the current economic travails rule out Dom Perignon’s $150 price tag at your holiday party? Does it seem churlish to pour Cristal at Christmas for brother-in-law Bob, whose job disappeared when Pfizer pfled town?

Not to worry. Unless you’re after bragging rights among the neighborhood hoi polloi, you needn’t eviscerate your budget to serve good sparkling wine at holiday time. In fact, you may taste less quality difference between what $15 versus $100 buys on the bubbly shelf than most other places in the wine store.

At lower price points, of course, you’re not buying “Champagne,” which is French for “please pay me a premium.” There’s no denying that northern France’s Champagne region makes the world’s best high-end sparkling wine. But glom onto the qualifier: high-end. Too much mass-produced, opening-price Champagne at $30 or thereabouts skates by on the region’s name and heavy advertising in order to extract significantly more shekels from your wallet than a comparable quality bubbly fermented elsewhere.

Our French friends understand the market clout behind the C-word, and go to great lengths to assert exclusive worldwide rights over its use. But their efforts enjoy mixed success beyond the European community, so ignore the meaningless word “Champagne” on any non-French wine label. The only information it provides with certainty is that you’ll find bubbles inside.

And before you head to the store, take a minute to rejigger your mindset. Sparkling wine isn’t synonymous with Champagne, so what you’re shopping for is a good sparkling wine. That $35 bottle from France with “Champagne” on the label tells you where the grapes grew, but it’s likely not a better value – and may not even contain better juice – than an $18 bubbly with a label that says “Spain” or “Sonoma” or “Leelanau Peninsula.”

But do pay attention to how they made the wine. The best Champagne-style bubblies come by their flavors and carbonation naturally, from fermenting and aging in the bottle. In Champagne, that lasts a minimum of two years by law. Other routes to sparkling wine – tank fermentation or ultra-low-rent injection of carbon dioxide gas (think: Coca Cola) – cost less to make, but the wines don’t acquire the same flavors or tiny, long-lasting bubbles.

Some sparkling wines bypass in-the-bottle fermentation as a style choice, trading off depth and subtlety in favor of a fresh, bright bubbly that shows off more fruit character and often some sweetness. If that flavor profile tickles your palate, hunt down a high-quality Italian Prosecco – where the law requires tank fermentation – or Michigan’s own Shady Lane Sparkling Riesling.

Needless to say, the French also claim ownership of the phrase “Méthode Champenoise” (Champagne method) to describe the bottle-fermentation process. Again, many non-Europeans simply roll their eyes and continue to print it on their labels. You’ll see variations on the theme that mean essentially the same thing, such as “Méthode Traditionelle” or “Méthode Classique.” A very few intelligent winemakers have decided not to pretend they’re French, but simply tell it like it is: “Fermented in the Bottle,” or something similar.

Other words you’re likely to see on a bubbly label:

BRUT – the driest (least-sweet) sparkling wines you’ll find in widespread distribution. With no common worldwide definition, “brut” can vary significantly from producer to producer and region to region.

SEC – means “dry” in French, but “sec” bubblies are actually sweeter than “brut.” See why we have a hard time dealing with the French?

EXTRA-DRY – alternate term for bubblies one notch sweeter than “brut.” See why we have a hard time expressing ourselves in English?

DEMI-SEC – literally “half-dry,” but you’ll do better to think of them as “pretty damn sweet.”

BLANC DE BLANCS – “white from whites,” bubblies made exclusively from white grapes, such as Chardonnay. Typically a little lighter in color and crisper in style.

BLANC DE NOIRS – “white from darks,” bubblies made exclusively from red grapes, such as Pinot Noir. Typically a little darker in color and deeper in style.

ROSÉ – bubblies with distinctly pink casts, ranging from very pale to salmon-color, arrived at either by blending in a bit of red wine, or through brief contact with skins of the red grapes used to make them. They often show aromas or flavors reminiscent of red fruits or berries.

CAVA – bottle-fermented sparkling wine made in Spain.

PROSECCO – tank-fermented sparkling wine made near Venice, usually slightly sweet.

One insider tip: If you’d like to pour a French-label Champagne look-alike without the price premium, track down “Crémant de Bourgogne” (Creamy Burgundy). Various brands are available around town at prices 30% to 70% less than low-end Champagne. It’s made in the nearby Burgundy region, sharing many of the same grapes – i.e. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir – and production techniques.

Is it on a par with well-made Champagne? Nah. Will most casual sippers detect the difference? Nah.

And a final warning: Sparkling wine contains carbon dioxide gas, which assists your body in absorbing alcohol. In other words, you’ll flunk a Breathalyzer more quickly drinking bubbly than still wine. Happy holidays!

The Vinous Posse: They taste bad wines so you don't have to.

What’s to drink?

But enough with the talk. What’s to drink?

The Vinous Posse happily popped corks on 18 bubblies procured in and around Ann Arbor for $25 and under – in some cases, way under. We mixed widely available brands with less-well-known producers you’ll probably locate only where we did.

To keep the proceedings fair and balanced, we bagged all the bottles, then tasted and rated them on a scale from (Only mix with orange juice) up to (Who needs Dom Perignon, anyway?). Have a look at the notes, along with the ratings – since sparkling wine styles vary greatly, they’ll help you select one to suit your taste. Unless otherwise mentioned, all have brut levels of sweetness.

GLORIA FERRER Sonoma Brut, California (Costco, $14). California bubbly from the makers of Spain’s Freixenet. Tiny, tight bubbles, yeasty aromas and flavors, feels great in the mouth with a long finish. Wine Spectator 90 points.

MONTESSEL “Vigna Del Paradiso” Prosecco Extra Dry, Italy (Village Corner, $22). Expensive for Prosecco – but a quality standout that’s well-balanced and easy to drink. Off-dry, frothy bubbles, apple flavors, good depth.

BLASSON DE BOURGOGNE Crémant de Bourgogne Brut, France (Trader Joe’s, $10) TOP VALUE! Bone dry, with a Champagne-like character. Nutty and slightly steely flavors, with a nice feel in the mouth.

Best Buy: 4 stars for $7

CRISTALINO Cava Brut, Spain (Plum Market, $7). TOP VALUE! Extremely pale color and very Champagne-like, biscuit aromas and tart apple flavors. Amazing for the price.

GRUET Rosé Brut (Whole Foods, $15). New Mexico (!) bubbly from U.S. branch of France’s Gruet Champagne house. Deep-colored rosé with red berry aromas and flavors, good acidity and a soft mouthfeel. Yum!

SIMMONNET-FEBVRE Crémant de Bourgogne Pinot Noir, France (Bello Vino, $20). Nutty and toasty aromas, Champagne-like, but not too hefty. Wine Spectator 90 points.

CHANDON Brut Classic, California (Plum Market, $13). Bright fruit aromas and flavors and highly fizzed. Slightly off-dry, despite the “brut” on the label.

LE GRAND CROS “La Maitresse” Rosé Brut, France (Everyday Wines, $25). Provence. Something different – Grenache, Syrah, Chardonnay, & Semillon from France’s Provence. Salmon-pink, very dry, pleasant strawberry flavors.

JAILLANCE Crémant de Bourgogne Brut, France (Everyday Wines, $19). Toasty aromas, effervescent. Slightly off-dry, full-bodied and well-balanced, if a little one-dimensional.

SEGURA VIUDAS Cava “Aria” Extra Dry, Spain (Morgan & York, $11). Lemony-bright aromas, off-dry, slight tartness but overall well-balanced, long finish.

MEYER-FONNE Crémant d’Alsace Brut Extra, France (Morgan & York, $23). Pinot blanc and Riesling blend from Alsace. Pale gold color, lots of very fine bubbles, apple and sweet fruit notes in a drinkable dry wine.

GRUET Brut, New Mexico (Trader Joe’s, $15.50). Another from New Mexico, this one white. French in style, fine bubbles, high in acidity.

KRITER Blanc de Blancs Brut, France (Village Corner, $13). Frothy, slightly off-dry, fairly light body and flavors, one dimensional.

M. LAWRENCE “Sex”, by L. Mawby, Michigan (Plum Market, $14). Very pale rosé color – “eye of partridge” in wine geek-speak. Effervescent, slightly off-dry, strawberry aromas, nice flavor intensity.

VILLA JAIME Prosecco Brut (Plum Market, $11). Light, perfumed, effervescent, off-dry. Pleasant if one-dimensional flavors, typical Prosecco style.

JULES BERTIER Blanc de Blancs Brut, France (Whole Foods, $10). Lots of very fine bubbles, light aroma and flavors with some mushroomy funkiness.

DOMAINE STE. MICHELLE Brut, Columbia River (Meijer, $12). “Bubbles that blow up in your mouth,” said one taster; harsh, high acidity with apple flavors.

L. MAWBY Cremant, Leelanau Peninsula (Plum Market, $21). Brown apple flavors with very tart acidity. Fairly flat, traditional Cremant style. Disappointing bottle; we’ve all tasted far better samples of this medal-winning Michigan classic.

About the author: Joel Goldberg, an Ann Arbor area resident, is editor of the MichWine website. His Arbor Vinous column for The Chronicle is published on the first Saturday of the month.