Whether it’s during Chinese New Year or Valentine’s Day, many people like to enjoy a more celebratory wine like Champagne. Technically, only a sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region may be labelled as Champagne and because of this, you generally won’t see a bottle of real Champagne priced below $50 in liquor stores. However, there are many affordable alternatives to Champagne.
Don’t get me wrong…I love Champagne and if you have the money to splurge on Champagne, please invite me over to help you enjoy a bottle! But for most people, they won’t really realize or even care about the subtle differences between Champagne and other sparkling wines.
The first alternative that I can recommend is B.C. sparkling wines. Most B.C. sparkling wines are made with the same grape types and the same methods as Champagnes. They just can’t call themselves Champagnes since they do not come from the Champagne region. So you get a similar taste profile at a fraction of the price. One of my favourite B.C sparkling wines to serve is Stellar’s Jay Brut, which is priced at $22.99. It is not too fruity and not too dry, so it is a sparkling wine that is very easy to accept.
If you want to stay with a French product, try Cremant sparkling wines. Cremant is essentially sparkling wine made in France but not in the Champagne region. Cremant sparkling wines are also generally made with the same or similar grape types used in Champagnes and use the same production methods as Champagnes. So you get a very similar product at a better price. Try Aguila Cremant de Limoux Brut at $25.99. I find this sparkling wine on the dry side on the spectrum of sparkling wines. It is a bit more yeasty and doughy than Stellar Jays Brut.
Finally, a very popular alternative to Champagne is Spanish Cava. Cavas are made using the same method used to produce Champagne but different grape varietals are used. So normally, you won’t get as much fruitiness in Cavas compared to Champagnes; instead, you will get more mushroom flavours. For me, I tend to like my sparking wines on the less fruity side so I would suggest Codorniu Cava Brut at $14.99.
All of these wines look like Champagnes and because they are sparkling wines, you get the same thrill of popping off the cork as you would with Champagne. I just love celebrating special occasions with these types of sparkling wines and it always brings a smile to someone’s face when you pop a bottle of sparkling wine.
However, if you insist on buying Champagne, then my current favourite is Louis Roederer Cristal. Cristal is a vintage Champagne (meaning it specifies the year that the Champagne is produced) and has a taste profile that I really enjoy. It is very creamy and the taste is very light and refined. It gives you a very luxurious feeling in the mouth. But at $295.00 a bottle, it is not really an everyday wine!
Until next time, happy drinking!
Tony Kwan is a lawyer by day, food and wine lover by night. Kwan is an epicurean who writes about wine, food and enjoying all that life has to offer.
