Best Buys For Entertaining

Whether it's an American sparkler, a cava from Spain, a German sekt or an Italian spumante, wine with effervescence is a universal symbol for good times.

When it comes to sparkling wine, the good news is there's something for every budget. It's versatile too, no matter what the challenge: brunch, lunch, as a pre-dinner aperitif or for desserts at the meal's end.

Over the past 15 years, no single wine style has improved more than sparkling wine -- especially that group which undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle. The "fermented in this bottle" technique, which bears any number of monikers including methode champenoise, methode traditionnelle and methode classique to name but a few, is in fact the same process perfected by the Champenoise to produce the much-sought-after tiny bubbles in every bottle of Champagne.

If quality is not enough to entice you to celebrate with sparkling wine, you might consider the price. At half the cost of champagne (or more), top-rated sparkling wine is simply a bargain.

Today's picks feature some of the best value fizz money can buy. A bottle or two in the refrigerator will help you pull together any last minute soirees or breakfasts in style.

For those who prefer to spend their money on Champagne, I promise to review the ultimate sparkling wine closer to New Year's, but for today it's fun fizz at an affordable price.

Don't forget, the easiest way to open a bottle of sparkling wine is to hold the cork firmly in one hand and rotate the bottle (not the cork) with your other hand. After that, you're on your own.

Spain is a great place to start your sparkling wine (or cava) adventure and pink bubble like Freixenet Brut de Noirs Cava, made from a blend of two red grapes -- garnacha (grenache) and monastrell (mourvedre) -- is particularly popular today.

Look for candied cherry peach aromas with raspberry floral characters. It has a round, creamy soft mousse that lends it an easy-drinking, appealing style. Quite dry, but balanced with creamy, raspberry, citrus, nutty flavours. Perfect for assorted tapas or even Peking duck or pork dishes. Good value.

Normally I would recommend the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva ($14.99) in this spot, and I still do, but this year there's a new kid on the block from Segura and it's pink. The Segura Viudas Lavit Rosado Brut Cava has an attractive pale raspberry colour and small stylish mousse.

Expect a delicate cherry, baked red apple, mineral and lime rind notes with just a hint of toasted earth. This is crisp and fresh with more cherry, mineral, citrus rind, nutty, toasted flavours. As you would expect, it is a bit fruitier, creamier and dryer than the Brut Reserva. It offers fine value and quality for a sparkler that can be served at most any occasion.

From the first time I tasted the Codorniu Cuvee Raventos Brut Chardonnay over a decade ago, I decided this was the kind of sparkling wine that sets a standard. I love the spicy baked apple nose with the nutty undercurrent. It has a refined Champagne-like mousse in the mouth that surprises for the price. It has an elegant, nutty, toasted floral character and it's wound up a little tighter than its non-chardonnay competitors. That said, it still has Cava written all over it. It's great value and sure to be a hit at any dinner party.

I have a similar weakness for the firm-bodied Chandon Carneros Blanc de Noirs made with pinot meunier, pinot noir and chardonnay grapes from Napa Valley, California. You'll love its showy delicate salmon roe colour and the bright cherry and strawberry fruit. There is an attractive spicy cream lees aroma that draws your senses toward the glass. There is plenty of toasted mineral, earthy, cherry, nutty cream flavours and a dry finish. The structure of the red grapes give it slightly more richness and power in the mouth and more versatility with food.

Another new Codorniu pick that follows in the richer, more full-bodied, made-for-food mould is the Codorniu Pinot Noir Brut. Expect fine toasty mineral, raspberry, red currant, earthy nose. The flavours are a mix of earthy, mineral, citrus, raspberry flavours with a clean, dry, creamy finish. A perfect wine to serve with the bird on Christmas Day.

The new kid on the block for the holiday season is the Graham Beck Brut, a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir from South Africa. Graham Beck has given the unremarkable local selection of South African wines a real boost.

This sipper is crisp and dry on entry but elegant with good citrus, green apple, honey nut and baked apple flavours. It remains crisp and tight throughout its well-balanced finished. An impressive 48-month aging process before release makes this a hip, creamy complex sparkler that should be the star of the holiday season.

Weekend Wine Tasting: Festive Fizz
 
Wine   Freixenet Brut de Noirs Cava, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Penedès, Spain
Price   $13.95
UPC    088601002005
Score  87/100
Remarks        Creamy, citrus, nutty flavours. Perfect for assorted tapas.

Wine   Segura Viudas Lavit Rosado Brut Cava, Penedès, Spain
Price   $15.99
UPC    33293641001
Score  87/100
Remarks        Good value and quality for an all-occasion sparkler.

Wine   Codorníu Cuvée Raventos Brut, Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, Penedès, Spain
Price   $19.99
UPC    8410013990571
Score  89/100
Remarks        Great value and sure to be a hit before most any dinner party.

Wine   Chandon Carneros Blanc de Noirs, Carneros, California
Price   $29.95
UPC    085155000037
Score  88/100
Remarks        Delicate salmon roe colour; earthy, cherry, nutty flavours.

Wine   Codorníu Pinot Noir Brut N/V, Penedès, Spain
Price   $20.99
UPC    8410013993626
Score  88/100
Remarks        Toasty, mineral, citrus, raspberry flavours. Perfect with turkey.

Wine   Graham Beck Brut, Brede River Valley, South Africa
Price   $24.99
UPC    6004867000030
Score  88/100
Remarks        A creamy complex sparkler that should be the star of the holiday season.