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Simply put, sparkling wine is a type of wine with a high amount of carbon dioxide, which makes it bubbly. It is produced in regions across the world from all types of grapes in a number of different ways, giving rise to a vast array of styles and making it a popular choice for drinkers because of its versatile nature.

Luigi Cavalli Lambrusco dell’Emilia, 2019, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), $8.99

Lambrusco is the signature sparkling red wine from Emilia-Romagna, in Italy’s central north. Spritzy, deep purple and typically packed with flavours of dark berries, violets, sweet balsamic and rhubarb, it’s a widely embraced party starter that’s nothing if not fun. Luigi Cavalli makes a textbook example – appealingly bright and refreshing, with top notes of sweet red berries and frisky acidity that keeps you reaching for the glass. It’s an anytime-of-day drink, as fitting at the start of a meal as it is at dessert, but traditionally served alongside antipasti like cured meats and nutty hard cheeses.

Isabel Estate Native & Ancient Pétillant Naturel, 2020, Marlborough (NZ), $29.99

Sauvignon blanc is Marlborough’s calling card, but Isabel Estate puts a spin on the New Zealand staple with the release of this cracking pet-nat. Short for ‘pétillant naturel’ – French for ‘naturally sparkling’ – pet-nat is a type of sparkling wine that, unlike most, undergoes one extended fermentation that finishes in bottle, as opposed to two. It is the most ancient method of sparkling production and yields fizz that’s frequently playful and wild-edged. The Native & Ancient pet-nat is as natural as it gets: organically farmed and made with no fining, filtration or additions at all. Tropical, textural and tart.

Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut Cava, NV, Penedès (Spain), $13.99

Spain’s premier sparkling wine, Cava, is often considered to be on par with French Champagne – and usually costs a fraction of the price. It’s no mystery, then, why it has become one of the most sought-after sparklers on the planet, with global sales continuing to grow year on year. Freixenet is a fifth-generation family-owned powerhouse producer, exporting 80 per cent of all Cava in Spain, and its Cordon Negro is a solid introduction to the style. Pale gold, with a vigorous bead and powerful hits of green apples, lemon peel and toasted almonds, it’s a classic crowd pleaser.

House of Arras Grand Vintage, 2008, Tasmania, $64.99

Ed Carr is Australia’s most awarded maker of bubbly, routinely credited with producing wines of unrivalled intricacy and detail that compete with the world’s finest. Grand Vintage is his crowning achievement, unmistakably rich and overflowing with layers of pear, biscuits, marzipan, honeycomb, peaches, vanilla and truffle. It skates across the tongue with a lightness that belies its deeper character, guided by compact and energetic bubbles, as well as waves of freshly squeezed lemon and salty seashells. Maturity, poise and almost architectural structure make it a true standout, worthy of setting aside for a special celebration.

Sieur d’Arques Crémant de Limoux, NV, Languedoc (France), $19.99

Limoux, in France’s deep south, gave birth to the world’s first sparkling wine in the sixteenth century. Since then, it has been synonymous with high-quality bubbles at exceptional value. This pours a brilliant yellow-gold, with tinges of green, and offers up whiffs of acacia blossom, white stone fruits, citrus and yeast. All these things carry on to the palate, which is delicate and soft thanks to a gentle perlage, and conclude with a clean and slightly off-dry finish. It’s a perfect primer and an absolute bargain, ideal with fresh prawns, sashimi or cured fish.

Cavedon Wines Prosecco Col Fondo, 2019, King Valley, $33

Bottle shops are flooded with cheap industrial prosecco these days, so finding points of difference can prove to be a challenge. Cavedon, a newish boutique outfit out of Victoria’s King Valley, breaks the mould with this single-vineyard col fondo. ‘Col fondo’ is the traditional way of making prosecco, where second fermentation comes to a close in the bottle rather than a pressurised tank and the wine gets aged on lees. There’s a far more savoury tone here thanks to this rustic technique and accents of sourdough, Granny Smith apples and lemon, along with the yeasty tang make for a real eye-opener.

Petaluma Croser, NV, Adelaide Hills, $22.95

Petaluma’s Croser has been flying the flag for affordable Australian non-vintage sparkling wine since 1985, and it shows no signs of slowing down. All the work in the Adelaide Hills vineyards is done by hand, and much of the fruit is whole-bunch pressed, ensuring mouth-filling texture and purity of fruit. It’s a blend of chardonnay and pinot noir that captures the best of both varieties – nectarine, buttered toast and a lick of strawberry – and packs quite the punch. The mousse is fine yet forward, and persists right through to the end, where mineral zing sends things out on a high.

Nicolas Feuillatte Sélection Brut, NV, Champagne (France), $49.99

Champagne in the ‘$50 and under’ bracket can be a roll of the dice, but you can always rest assured you’re in good hands with Nicolas Feuillatte, the region’s largest co-op and a go-to label when it comes to approachability. The Sélection Brut is fruit-driven, intense and – despite being a ‘brut’ style – somewhat sweet on the palate. Pinot noir and pinot meunier grapes dominate the blend, which makes it ripe and racy. Apples, pears, squirts of raspberry and crunchy amaretti abound, but they’re brought into balance by two to three years of cellar-ageing. Smart and stylish.

Is sparkling wine Champagne?

Sparkling wine is not the same as Champagne. Champagne is a class of sparkling wines made with pinot noir, pinot meunier and/or chardonnay grapes in the traditional method from the Champagne region of France. 

Is brut a sparkling wine?

‘Brut’ is a French term for ‘dry’ and used on sparkling-wine labels to denote a dry wine, with roughly 12 grams per litre or less of residual sugar. It is not the driest type of sparkling wine, but certainly the most common and the most popular amongst consumers.

What is Italian sparkling wine called?

Loosely speaking, Italian sparkling wine is referred to as ‘spumante’. More specifically, there are five types of Italian wine – Franciacorta, Lambrusco, spumante d’Asti, metodo classico and, of course, prosecco – all of which are stylistically distinct and produced in different areas of the country.

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