For our part, we've found of late that it just doesn't pay to try and do Champagne on the cheap, that we're better off looking outside that jaded geography to find as fine if not finer sparkling wine indeed for the bubbles buck that needs to stretch on out a bit. The fine Crémant de Bourgogne sparkling wines of Louis Picamelot are just such a find. The House of Picamelot was founded in 1926 and is located in Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise in Burgundy. The winemaking facility is located at and makes good use of an old quarry site just outside the village, with the quite cool cellars dug into the solid rock there. This cuvée, the Louis Picamelot Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Les Terroirs, represents just over 2⁄3 of the production here and, as such, is thankfully most always available now here in beautiful downtown Austin! Produce of about 60% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay and 10% Aligoté, all hand-picked from the Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits. Really lovely slate of aromas suggestive of toast and orchard fruits, say pêche de vigne, apricot, green apple then, closer to the ground, fresh grapes on chalky limestone soils; full, vibrant, expansive mousse that then spreads itself richly on the tongue with flavors of toasted orchard fruits a most expressive and satisfying reprise of those first whiffs. This is ultra-satisfying and flavorful sparkling wine for a very attractive price. Champagne on the cheap? Nah! This is Crémant de Bourgogne that'll do you proud. Do come and get it!

And simply superb in pink as well. Produce of 100% Côte Chalonnaise Pinot Noir fruit. The color here is a lovely rose to sunset orange pink at the edges; aromas that define allure, you can almost smell the refreshment to come, with a pinch of spice and a kiss of red berry and a real sense of that wonderful stony Burgundian wine-growing soil underpinning; this one has both body and refreshingness as well as something that simply piques, perhaps pinches, but certainly imbues the imbiber with the feeling of having consumed ever so well with a nervy freshness and spiced red berry flavors that linger in most welcome reprise. This is like bottled joie de vivre. Get some!

Produce of fruit from vineyards in the Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits, the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and Hautes-Côtes de Nuits, the blending of which offers all the balance, generosity, and strength of character of the Burgundian terroir as demonstrated by its most noble vine, the Pinot noir. Lovely sunset peach-skin pink to rose red with glints of copper in color; aromas redolent of Pinot noir with typical red berry fruits, say strawberry, raspberry, and cherry all, a veritable cornucopia of baies rouges mélangées; fine, persistent yet delicate sparkle, fresh and easy on the palate, hyper-refreshing, so delicious and so just begging another pull. Fine, fine bubbles from Burgundy!

Maison Vitteaut‑Alberti was founded in 1951 in Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise by M. Lucien Vitteaut and his wife née Alberti, who chose to specialise in the production of sparkling white wines using the Méthode Champenoise. Today they are operating among the most highly‑regarded sparkling wine operations in Burgundy from Rully in the Côte Chalonnaise, about twenty minutes south of Beaune. The Cuvée Agnès (Agnès is the granddaughter of the founders, now active in the company) is a blend of a strict selection of 100% Chardonnay grapes coming from the Côte Chalonnaise and the Côte de Beaune. Brilliant yellow/gold in color with just a wealth of fine bubbles; ultra fresh aromas titillate the nostrils with suggestion of stone fruits, citrus blossom, ultra‑fine brioche just in the oven; ultra‑fine on the palate, too, with a delicate froth, poised, balanced, almost spherical in shape; then, a freshness of flavor that resonates long. Among the finest Crémants de Bourgogne that we've encountered. And we've encountered, mmmm, quite a few.

Le Château d’Avrillé has been a family domain for 4 generations now. Their 200 hectares of vineyards are located a few kilometers from Brissac‑Quincé, in the heart of the « Coteaux de l’Aubance » and just south/southeast of the city of Angers itself. The soils are of clay and limestone. Their Crémant de Loire is produced entirely from Pinot Noir fruit. Discreet on the nose (Henry noted that, although the cuvée is called platinum, its golden color and delicate golden apple fruit quality were upfront and on full display) with further notions of les fleurs blanches and a sense of minerality, too; vigourous froth really engages and refreshes the palate right from the get‑go; ultra‑flavorful, then, mouthwatering and persistent of flavor on the finish. This is, to get right to the point, bottled refreshment in sparkling wine.

Produce of 85% Vermentino and 15%% Chardonnay fruit grown in the sand/silt soils of Maremma at 150% metres above sea level above the Tuscan coast; shimmering pristine platinum/light yellow in color with fine, persistent bubbles; the nearby salt (Tyrrhenian) sea is evident from the first whiff along with suggestion of ginestra and, with some air, something fresh, green and herbal like fennel fronds; completely dry and bracingly mineral on the tongue, with impressive breadth and depth of almost saline/mineral influenced flavor. With a cold glass of this in hand, one might more easily imagine oneself at a restaurant on the Tuscan coast with a plate of fresh‑caught shellfish in front.

Franciacorta is Italy's liltingly delicious answer to Champagne itself. These fine northern Italian sparkling wines were not called Franciacorta until 1957 when Guido Berlucchi released a white wine named Pinot di Franciacorta. The appellation achieved DOC status in 1967 and the rest as they say è storia. Produce of 85% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Noir, from top vineyards in the 19 municipal areas of Franciacorta. Vivid platinum/yellow in color with emerald reflections and aromas that suggest a gently toasted Ciabatta and a just sub-alpine minerality, delicate on entry then building in volume and presence to downright potent on the palate, compellingly dry with a pleasing flesh of green apple-like tartness that oh so refreshes the palate.

Produce of 75% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Nero and 10% Pinot Bianco from 134 vineyards in the Franciacorta area of Lombardia in northern Italy. In our humble opinion, the bubblies of Franciacorta are among the few sparkling wines on the planet to give Champagne a real run for its money. Bright, lustrous, straw golden in color with the finest of tiny bubbles, delicate aromas that subtly suggest brioche dough and lemon curd on lightly toasted baguette; fine light creamy textured, round and supple on the tongue with a delicate and refined sparkle and subtle citrus and toast flavors that last long.

Franciacorta is located in the province of Brescia within the region of Lombardia in northern Italy. Its special location south of the Alpine foothills and in the presence of large lakes make for a mild climate and, together with its glacially formed soils and rolling hills, make it an area ideal for winegrowing, particularly for sparkling wines. In our humble estimation, Franciacorta is Italy's most elegant answer to Champagne — around here, Contadi Castaldi Franciacorta has come to resonate as among the best answers to high‑quality bubbles without the attendant high price tag. Produce of 65% Chardonnay and 35% Pinot Nero, Contadi Castaldi Brut Rosé is a pale coppery‑pink in color, pre‑alpine fresh and cool on the nose with suggestion of fresh Alpine herb, tart red berry and spice, foccacia biga and hazelnut (or is it bitter almond?); firm and frothy (Andrea found it racy) on the tongue, ultra‑light and airy with refreshing taut berry flavors that seem almost to melt, slow, cool and mouthwateringly into the tongue. We simply adore this sparkling wine. Come grab a bottle or two or twelve and find out why!

Raventós i Blanc are part of a movement in Spain to further quality in the category of sparkling wines. And, as have a number of other fine producers there, they have chosen not to use the DOC 'Cava' for their fine sparkling wines. Their excellent Blanc de Blancs is produce of a typical mix of Xarel·lo, Macabeu and Parellada fruit planted to the clay and limestone soils of the Conca del Riu Anoia in the Penedès in northeastern Spain. Ultra-fresh aromas that suggest stone and orchard fruits and the wonderful work of the yeast genus Saccharomyces that gives a kind of toasty quality on the nose; fresh on the palate, too, with a wealth of fine bubbles, a building power and a kind of stony underpinning melded with a freshness of flavor. While discussion of the source(s) of the best sparkling wine in the world can be spirited and devolve into a mere accounting of so many opinions, it is safe to say that if a wine of this quality were produced in Champagne, it would cost at least twice as much.

Roederer Estate was founded in 1981 by France's Champagne Louis Roederer in Mendocino County's cool, fog-shrouded Anderson Valley. The "multi-vintage" Anderson Valley Brut debuted in 1988 to great acclaim. A favorite 'round here among California bubblies, Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut well reflects its Champagne origins, too. This is a new world wine to be sure, but mirroring the style of its sister house in Champagne with its use of oak-aged reserve wines, Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut strikes an elegant balance between fresh and vivacious and bold and richly flavorful.

Garbèl, which in ancient local dialect means a dry, crisp, pleasantly tart wine, is produced from the hilly vineyards in the Colli Trevigiani area, where the cool nights and hot days are ideal for expressing the typical fruit notes of the Prosecco (aka, Glera) grape. A wonderfully versatile sparkler, Garbèl’s 13 grams of residual sugar place it between the Brut and Extra Dry styles: lucid, platinum in color; vibrant and fresh aromas pull one in with suggestion of orchard fruits like yellow plum and pear (it is, of course, the Prosecco grape); vivid, frothy, crisp and mouthwatering on the tongue with just a hint of minerality; leaves the palate fully refreshed and ready. Unpretentious, unaffected, engaging and refreshing, Adami Garbèl is our go‑to Prosecco.