Bubbles are synonym with festive times and while Champagne is often the go-to fizz for celebrating, there are many delightful alternatives for all palates and budgets.
Tip: When choosing a bottle, it is helpful to look for the words “Traditional Method”, which means the bubbly is made following a similar process as Champagne, acknowledged as the finest.
Here are seven sparkling wine ideas including Champagne, as well as fizz from different parts of the world, ideal to raise your glass and celebrate the new year.
Gosset Excellence Brut NV
€54 – Available at Baggot Street Wines, Martin’s Off Licence
Crisp and balanced, this Champagne combines 30% Chardonnay, 45% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier into a toasted and limoncello-like parade of flavours and aromas with the complexity that spending a minimum of 30 months in the cellars before disgorging confers it.
Rizzardi Prosecco Spumante
€17.95 (on offer from €20.95) – Available at O’Briens Wine
The popular Italian fizz is one of the most affordable options.
This delightful exemplar has very lively bubbles, pleasant citrus and ripe pear aromas.
Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut
€20 – Available at Tesco
This Spanish sparkler is made in the same style as Champagne but with different grapes.
It treats you to elegant and fresh green apple and ripe lemon notes.
Scharmberg Blanc de Blancs 2014
€40 – Available at O’Briens Wine
This Californian sparkling wine is made with the Méthode Traditionelle and it offers a fresh and electrifyingly fizzy palate.
Zesty limes, green apples and nectarines take over in this elegant and fresh bubbly.
Bellavista Franciacorta
€52.99 – Independent off-licences including Terroirs, Donnybrook Fair, The Wine Centre (Kilkenny) and Searsons Wine Merchants
A sophisticated Italian fizz that is closer to Champagne than to Prosecco. It’s complex, with zesty notes and a toasted character. Long lasting, vibrant bubbles.
Aldi Crémant du Jura
€11.99 – Aldi
This Traditional Method French bubbly is one of the best value sparkling wines out there.
Light, floral and very fizzy, it is a secret weapon and a sparkling wine which absolutely punches above its weight.
Fritz Müller Müller-Thurgau Perlwein
€16.95 – Donnybrook Fair and selected independents
Prosecco’s German doppelgänger is a floral surprise. This peachy German Perlwein is an unexpected crowd pleaser.
Lovely mix of apple blossom, nectarines and a delicate mineral note. Fresh and delicate, one to drink outside of the box.
Gabriela’s passion for writing is only matched by her love for food and wine. Journalist, confectioner and sommelier, she fell in love with Ireland years ago and moved from Venezuela to Dublin in 2014.
Since then, she has written about and worked in the local food scene, and she’s determined to discover and share the different traditions, flavours and places that have led Irish food and drink to fascinate her.
Gabriela Guédez Gabriela Guédez