From prosecco to pet nat, Champagne to cremant, we’ve got you covered no matter how much you’re looking to spend.
Like a starter’s pistol, the sound of a cork popping from a bottle of sparkling wine signals the beginning of the holiday season. Blessed as we are in Australia with a warm, sunny summer (at least in theory, right Melbourne?), sparkling wine fits the bill for holiday drinking while remaining a special-occasion gift for wine lovers of all stripes.
Whether you’re picking up supplies for Christmas and New Year’s or sending out some fizzy gifts, there’s no one-size-fits-all, with a whole spectrum of styles, flavours and price points to sift through. Fortunately for you lot, we actually love that sort of thing, so we’ve put together a shortlist of bubbles that’ll suit everyone this holiday season.
Below, find our top picks for the best sparkling wine at every budget, including a few alternative styles that also offer excellent value. You’re so welcome.
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Wines under $20
1. De Bortoli King Valley Prosecco
These days, the sparkling of choice for casual summer-holiday sipping is so often prosecco, and this De Bortoli King Valley prosecco shows why. Coming from Australia’s unofficial home of prosecco – the King Valley in Victoria – this is a light, easy-drinking sparkling that’s a little zesty and full of bubbly, celebratory energy. A tip, though: if you’re buying for yourself, you’ll want one bottle for toasting and one for making Spritzes. Thank us later.
Price: $15.99
2. Sieur d'Arques Grande Cuvee 1531 de Aimery France
Champagne is the superstar of French sparkling wine and that is absolutely justified – we love Champagne in all its forms. There is, however, a secret French contender that flies under the radar, is every bit as delicious as Champagne and generally sits on the wallet-friendly side. We’re talking about cremant (which means ‘creamy’). This beauty from Sieur d’Arques is a serious example from the Limoux region, traditionally made with the local mauzac grape. It’s a little creamy, sure, but it’s also fresh, vibrant and the ideal pre-holiday dinner sipper.
Regular price: $23.99
My Dan’s member price: $20
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Wines under $30
3. OVATA By Oakridge Yarra Valley Sparkling NV
You don’t need us to tell you how good Oakridge wines are. The winery is always top of the list for sophisticated chardonnay and pinot noir, perfectly bottling everything we love about Yarra Valley wine year after year. Ovata, Oakridge’s foray into sparkling, picks up exactly where the winery left off, giving us a chardonnay pinot noir with apple-like freshness, a little brioche-style richness from extended time on lees – the dead yeast cells that form throughout the process – and complexity beyond its price tag. This is more than worthy of any excuse you can find to pop a bottle this season.
Price: $25.99
Wines under $40
4. Jansz Tasmania Special Release Vintage Rosé
Tasmanian sparkling is something truly special and Jansz is continually up there with our favourite producers. This Jansz Special Release Vintage Rosé is everything we love about Tassie sparkling – it’s pretty, packed with flavours like strawberries and raspberries, and rounded by just a little richness. This is definitely a gift-worthy bottle but, if you’re asking us, we’d be inclined to keep it all to ourselves and plonk a bottle in the ice bucket to go with that Christmas turkey.
Price: $39.99
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5. Clover Hill Tasmania Exceptionnelle
Oh Clover Hill, calling this wine Exceptionelle is almost an understatement. The Tassie sparkling producer has long been on our radar, but Clover Hill’s Exceptionnelle has to be one of its more intriguing (and downright delicious) releases. Here you’ll find a sparkling wine blended from multiple different vintages, building some next-level complexity while retaining freshness and elegance. A serious wine that is creamy, bright and packed with stone fruit and citrus flavours.
Regular price: $45.99
My Dan’s member price: $42
6. Joseph Perrier Cuvée Royale Champagne Brut Nature
Most Champagne gets a little shot of sugary liquor called dosage added during production – generally to provide a gentle, balancing sweetness in an otherwise bright and acidic wine. For cuvees like this Joseph Perrier Brut Nature, however, that sugar is eschewed in favour of a bracingly dry Champagne that is seriously crisp and fresh. A unique gift for a Champagne lover or – if you’re anything like us – a perfect partner for barbecued seafood at every party between now and Feb.
Regular price: $84.99
My Dan’s member price: $78
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Wines under $100
7. Daosa Piccadilly Valley Blanc De Blancs
The Adelaide Hills gets plenty of attention these days for its progressive winemakers producing palate-bending, technicolour natural and minimal intervention styles. But this Daosa Blanc de Blancs shows that the region is also full of winemakers who are focused on producing wines in exceptional classic, traditional styles. This 100% chardonnay sparkling (‘blanc de blancs’ refers to sparkling made from only white grapes) is a study in refinement, blending ripe stone fruit flavours, a little richness and a long finish. Serious business.
Price: $89.99
8. House of Arras Grand Vintage 2016
Ed Carr, the head honcho at House of Arras, is Australia’s most-awarded sparkling winemaker and something of a local legend. Through Arras, Ed has repeatedly taken the fight to the big names in Champagne and come out on top, with his top wines winning gongs like Decanter’s worldwide Top Sparkling Wine award. That should be reason enough to explore wines like this sublime House of Arras Grand Vintage, which is on the drier side, backed with zippy acidity and flavours of citrus desserts and summer stonefruit. Absolutely as good as any Champagne for the money – perhaps even better.
Price: $125.99
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Wines under $200
9. Lanson Black Label Champagne Brut Magnum
What’s a party without a magnum of Champagne? That’s right – this is the time of year to go big. Literally. These 1.5L bottles just make sense in the centre of the festive table, pouring out glasses for everyone in the room. With that in mind, they also make a pretty impressive gift. If you’re buying in this price point – or pooling together with siblings or friends, perhaps – you can’t go past the Lanson Black Label Champagne Brut. It’s fresh, elegant and lightly toasty, working with everything from salty snacks to seafood platters – and every festive occasion.
Price: $164.99
10. Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition NV
When you get to Champagne at this level, everything is very deliberate and considered. Winemaker Michel Egly has dedicated his life to a painstaking, traditional approach to Champagne production, focusing on hand-picked grapes, long ageing, organic farming and an overarching desire to capture the unique character of each vintage and vineyard. The result is refined Champagne like the Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition that is truly of a time and place, packed as it is with texture, spices, minerality and serious complexity. This is a sip you and your guests will remember for life.
Price: $299.99
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11. Wildman Wines Piggy Pop Pet Nat
UK Master of Wine Tim Wildman makes an annual trek from his homeland to South Australia just to make pet nat. And good thing for us he does because his eye-popping wines like this nero d’Avola-based example are everything we love in a pet nat – fun, fizzy and full of mouthwatering red berry flavours. If you’re not keeping it for yourself, this is the sort of bottle that would convert a craft beer drinker or make a traditionalist strongly reconsider their position on modern sparkling.
Price: $29.99
12. Zoncello Limoncello Spritz Cans
The past few years have been limoncello-heavy and we are absolutely here for it. With Zoncello Limoncello Spritz, Yarra Valley winery Zonzo offered up its take, blending the sweet, zesty lemon liqueur from Italy with local prosecco to create a picture-perfect summer sipper. And while we bloody loved the wine bottle version, Zonzo has upped its game again and made a party-ready version in 200ml cans, destined to take pride of place in summer eskies and Kris Kringle stockings everywhere.
Price: $25.99
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13. Cipriani White Peach & Prosecco Bellini
Excuse us a moment while we drift off with some memories of sunny afternoons in Venice. The Bellini cocktail – a blend of white peach and prosecco – is one of the canal city’s greatest exports, and this batch-made version from Cipriani makes a simple drink even easier, packing its signature sweet-and-zesty into a sparkling wine bottle. Consider for Christmas mornings, summer sunsets and any time a fresh hit of peachy prosecco would be welcome.
Price: $33.99
14. Tread Softly Everything Except Zero Alc Prosecco
It’s fair to say that sparkling wine has not traditionally been the domain of non-drinkers but, with the recent wave of high-quality, alcohol-free wine, that’s no longer the case. This Everything Except prosecco ticks all the boxes you’d want in a non-alc sparkling, avoiding the overt sweetness of so many others while offering up plenty of texture, bubbles and subtle fruit flavours. When it comes to raising a glass this year, we’re not leaving anyone behind.
Price: $15.99
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15. Altina La Vie En Rose Cans
Non-alcoholic options can sometimes fall down at the flavour hurdle, seeming to lack a little of the oomph we’d like. That could not be further from the truth when it comes to Altina La Vie En Rose, a rosé-like sparkling cocktail that blends flavours like pink rose petals, tart rosella, apple, cayenne and citrus. There’s so much going on here you’d hardly even notice that it’s completely alcohol-free.
Price: $19.99 per four-pack
