Produce of 100% Chardonnay fruit handpicked from vineyards in various communes in the Val d'Adige, Val di Cembra and Valle dei Laghi with southeastern and southwestern exposures on the slopes of the mountains of Trentino in the Trento DOC, northeastern Italia. Giulio Ferrari himself, having gained winemaking experience in Epernay in Champagne, was the first to bring Chardonnay from France around the year 1900 when Trento was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. And, with today's Ferrari Brut Trento, if one didn't know one was not drinking Champagne, well, one just wouldn't know. Vivid platinum gold in color with gentle but persistent perlage and aromas suggesting orchard fruits (Ferrari themselves note golden delicious apple and wildflowers), lemon curd and toasted baguette; just ample, gently toasty, gently and refreshingly effervescent on the tongue with subtle length and persistence of flavor. Henry found it leaner and racier, yes racier than your average Italian sparkling wine, noting that one can almost taste the elevation.

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 six and find out why!

Produce of 100% Cabernet Franc fruit from the Entre‑Deux‑Mers, a bucolic region to the east of the city of Bordeaux, south of Saint‑Émilion and between the rivers Garonne and Dordogne. The wine is produced in the catacomb‑like caves beneath the town of Saint‑Émilion; lovely platinum to light gold in color with a wealth of fine bubbles, fresh aromas suggestive of just‑ripened orchard fruits, strawberry and cherry blossom; fresh and delicate on the palate with a gentle, mouthfilling and refreshing froth. Simply splendid value in sparkling wine, too!

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.

Dedicated to Jeanne Thomas Picamelot, Louis' wife, this cuvée is said to combine a feminine elegance and strong personality. We can but smile and nod in complete and utter agreement. 'Happy wife, happy life' comes to mind. This is a vintage-dated sparkling wine, but we tend not to focus on that. Produce of mostly Chardonnay with a slight admixture of Aligoté, all hand-harvested from the Côte Chalonnaise, Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits (the best addresses for white grapes from this part of Burgundy). Vivid green-gold in color with generous and persistent tiny bubbles and aromas ever so fresh and inviting, suggesting white flower, citrus zest and fine wine-friendly limestone rich soils; full and round, powerful, yes, and eventually sumptuous on the palate, this wine both refreshes and satisfies. Picamelot themselves recommend it as a perfect Crémant pour le gastronome (it works especially well at the dinner table, that is). Our wine buyer simply adores this Crémant with the dim sum (everything, really) at Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum.

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 oft 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 ⅔ 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!

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.

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!

The Loire Valley is also known as the garden of France. For those of us keen on the best in bubbles but not always wanting to spend the bucks for Champagne, the Loire Valley also represents among the best places to seek high quality suds. Domaine d'Orfeuilles Vouvray Brut is a luminous yellow-gold with reflections of silver in color with a bevy of fine persistent bubbles; classic aromas suggestive of toast, brioche, citrus preserve and freshly dew-moistened chalky limestone; at once vivid and crisp and full and round on the tongue, with depth and length of flavor that belies its friendly price.

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 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.