Champagne is full of romance, poetry, and brilliance. Dom Pérignon, the famous cellarmaster and monk, was mistakenly quoted as saying he was tasting stars when he drank it. He didn’t say that and didn’t want to taste stars; he was trying to make a red wine without bubbles. Nonetheless, his improvements in Champagne led to breakthroughs in quality.
All Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne. Champagne is a region in France and a style of wine; the name is protected by the European Union. Sparkling wine is, however, made in every wine-producing country in the world under various names.
Robust Wine Bar features an entire page of sparkling wines on its wine list, including such classic Champagnes as Taittinger Brut and Moët & Chandon’s Dom Pérignon, plus interesting Italian and Spanish sparklers.
Spain produces a sparkling wine known as Cava. One of my favorites is Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad; it’s available at Friar Tuck for $22. The Italians make a sparkling wine called Prosecco. Lamarca Prosecco and Santa Margherita Prosecco, also found at Friar Tuck, are nice choices for less than $20.
French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne region is often referred to as Crémant. Two standout examples—Lucien Albrecht Brut Rosé and Saint-Hilaire Blanquette de Limoux—are available at Straub’s for less than $20 each.
Sparkling wine has been made in the U.S for centuries. Domestic producers—such as J Vineyards and Schramsberg in California, Argyle in Oregon, and Gruet in New Mexico—offer world-class sparklers available at most local retailers.
Dom Pérignon may not have tasted stars, but he paved the way for the rest of the world to taste them
