Category Archives: Best Champagne and Sparkling Wines

The Best Franciacorta Wines | Italy Gets Serious About Sparkling

The Best Franciacorta Wines | Italy Gets Serious About Sparkling Wine

Franciacorta Wine

When you’re deciding which sparkling wine to purchase, it’s not uncommon to consider the gold standards of Champagne or the similarly reliable, yet significantly more affable Prosecco options from Italy’s Veneto region. Many savor the former, while the latter is often relegated to mimosa duty. But look a little harder and you’ll not only discover Italy’s best kept secret, but one of the best-kept secrets in the world of wine: Franciacorta.

What this relatively young yet fiercely dynamic wine region lacks in sheer size and history it more than makes up for in quality, consistently producing distinctive sparkling wines that rival the quality of those in Champagne, yet are produced in their own unique style. Consider the fact that they’re often less expensive than their expertly-branded French counterparts an added bonus.

Franciacorta is the only region in Italy where all of the wines are made in the costly and significantly more time consuming Méthode Traditionelle, whereby the wines undergo their secondary fermentation and aging in bottle, resulting in more complex, finessed sparklers.

If you’re wondering why you might not be familiar with Franciacorta’s wines, the numbers offer an explanation. Champagne boasts a towering production of roughly 300 million bottles per year from 75,000 vineyard acres, while Franciacorta spans merely 10% of that size, measuring just 7,800 acres. With demand for bottle production being so high, manufacturers may want to make sure they have effective printing technology for the labeling process of the products. See here for more information on this – https://www.pharma-food.de/drinktec2017-inkjet-drucker-jet-3-up-pro/.

Champagne has also been in the business since as early as the 17th century, while Franciacorta has only been producing wine since 1961. But such a stark contrast highlights what might just be most impressive about this little region in Northern Italy: how far and how quickly it has come in barely 50 years.

Franciacorta Wine

Understanding Franciacorta | An Area, Production Method and a Wine

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Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values

– Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values

With the holidays and the New Year rapidly approaching, everyone is looking for the Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values and you’ve come to the right place! This list represents the best champagne and sparkling wines I’ve recently tasted. Plus, you can actually find these in stores – and they all cost under $50.

The following wines run the gamut from a prestigious yet under-the-radar Champagne to inexpensive, more easy going bubblies from Italy and Spain. Whatever Champagne or Sparkling wine value you choose to celebrate with, it should offer depth, complexity and nuance with a touch of elegance and the wines on this list do just that and are the Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values I’ve come across!

Number One – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

best champagne

Champagne Delamotte Brut – At under $45, Champagne Delamotte is the insiders Champagne you haven’t heard about but need to know about. The sister wine of the vaunted and incredibly expensive Salon Champagne, it offers salon quality at a Hair Cuttery price!

Number Two – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

Costco Champagne – Real Champagne, made by a reputable and well-known Champagne producer. At under $20 Costco Champagne is a Must Buy and potentially one of the best champagne values around.

Number Three – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

Roederer Estate Brut – You’ll think it’s Champagne until you find out how little the Roederer Estate Brut costs! The Roederer Estate Brut is one of my perennial favorite sparkling wine values, made in California by the folks who make the prestigious and widely recognized Cristal Champagne.

Number Four – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

La Marca Prosecco – At under $11 the elegant La Marca Prosecco is easy to open and even easier to enjoy! It’s elegant and understated in it’s approach and would make an excellent aperitif or could be enjoyed throughout the day.

Number Five – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

Lunetta Prosecco – Ringing in at under $10 this refreshing, fun and fruity Italian sparkler is as big on value as it is on personality!

Number Six – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

Rondel Brut Cava – Widely available for under $9, this Spanish Cava is likely to become your go-to Champagne alternative. I was pretty surprised by the low price point on this one and if you’re looking for a well-made bargain, this is one of the Best Champagne alternatives around.

Number Seven – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

La Granja 360 Brut Cava – At under $7 this Spanish Cava is one of the finest sparkling wine values I’ve discovered. It easily tastes like it costs twice as much as it actually does. Find the La Granja Cava in your local Trader Joe’s Wine Section.

Number Eight – Best Champagne and Sparkling Wine Values –

Best Champagne

Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava – Widely distributed and highly-acclaimed, the Jaume Serra Cristalino has been named the top value brand by Wine & Spirits Magazine for three consecutive years! And did I mention that you can find it under $7? It’s the perfect pour for toasts & parties, or for making the perfect mimosa.


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