We thought this would be helpful to share. It is the season for bubbles after all. If you want, please continue enjoying your lovely Champagnes. However, we would highly recommend trying out some of these alternatives, or both! Champagne vs Franciacorta tasting anyone?
Champagne is lovely. No doubt about that, however it is expensive enough that Champagne isn’t always in the budget. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. There are a lot of sparkling alternatives on the market that you could end up enjoying even more. For many, Champagne is not actually their preferred style either.
So what other options do you have? Plenty of them. We will go through some great options and we highly recommend trying a few to see what you think. The options below we’ve tried and personally recommend. Lastly no one paid us to write about these so there has been no play for play. We are recommending them because we want you to have yummy bubbles.
We’ll break this list into groups by country because that's easy. However we will cover the styles of sparkling wines because there are only a few main winemaking techniques to make sparkling wine. Therefore you have some general styles based on how the wine was made. Within each style, you can then have a range within each.
Winemaking Options
Traditional Method:
This is how Champagne is made and it has been copied around the world. It is not always to the same quality as Champagne but follows the same winemaking steps. For a lot of people, other Traditional Method sparkling wines for the price point end up being a much better value. You can get a sparkling wine made with the same methods, grape varieties and even potentially made locally where you are. Moreover, with vineyards being planted in similar climates to Champagne, these Traditional Method sparkling wines are now harder to differentiate from Champagne.
The Traditional Method allows the wine to have some lees character (known as autolytic character, notes of biscuit, bread, brioche, cream et al). Once you make the base wine, the second fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is what creates the bubbles in the wine. The yeast from the second fermentation stays in contact with the wine in the bottle. The intensity of the autolytic and aged characteristics will depend on how long the wine stays on its lees. The longer it does, the more intense the autolytic notes. Furthermore, the longer the wine stays on its lees, the older the wine becomes. The wine can develop some aged tertiary notes (nutty, honey, ginger, smokey et al depending on grapes used). Therefore intensity of the autolytic and aged characteristics will depend on the time the wine stays on its lees before it is sold. Some producers can also disgorge the sparkling wine (remove the lees) and then age the wine before it goes to market for further complexity.
Pet Nat:
Pet Nat stands for Pétillant Naturel and is similar to how sparkling wine would have been made back in the day (before they developed the second fermentation in bottle). The first fermentation that creates the alcohol releases carbon dioxide. Normally the gas is allowed to escape when making the base wine. For a Pet Nat, the fermenting base wine is bottled while it is still fermenting. Therefore, some of the gas is trapped in the wine when it is bottled.
Tank Method:
Prosecco is made using what is known as the tank method. It is a good option if you want to avoid autolytic notes (none of that bread, biscuit notes). They are made to highlight the fruit aromas and fresh acidity of the grape variety used for Prosecco, Glera. The tank method is a simpler method and less expensive to complete than the Traditional Method. After you make the base wine, the second fermentation is done in large stainless steel tanks instead of in the bottle. The wine usually will not have much time on lees, therefore none of the aromas/flavours from lees contact.
You can get more serious Prosecco that has lees character and aged notes however these are not typical. We will not highlight them here as most Prosecco you’ll find are aiming for the usually more fresh style. If you want us to go over these, please get in touch!
Prosecco can be exactly what the doctor ordered. It is important to note that just because it will not be as complex as Champagne and other Traditional Method wines, doesn’t mean they can’t bring people the same pleasure. Some people do not enjoy the autolytic notes and a heavier style of sparkling wine.
Now that we have those bases covered, let’s see some of the options out there. Somm Advantage is based in Perth, Australia so these options and prices are based on the market here.
Australian Sparkling
Jansz’s Vintage Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) is a lovely Australian option. The regular NV offering from Jansz is an acceptable option too. But this Blanc de Blancs is a good alternative if you are kicking things up a notch or having to impress someone who “only drinks Champagne.” It is well-made and ticks all the boxes. At roughly $75 (Jansz Website) at time of posting, it is not breaking the bank like a Blanc de Blancs Champagne would. It has noticeable autolytic notes after more than three years on lees but is still refreshing from the 100% Chardonnay base wine. Very good option.
Idée Fixe is a good Traditional Method sparkling from WA and one that will please a lot of people. Vasse Felix has done a very good job producing this wine and marketing it. Because of this, if you brought it around to a dinner party, people would definitely appreciate it. It is a lighter style, is also a Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) and is not overly autolytic in nature. If someone enjoys a richer style of wine, this may not be for them, but for local WA sparkling, it’s usually my recommendation.
Chalari Chenin Blanc Pet Nat deserves to be on this list. Small disclaimer, Pet Nats in general are not for everyone. However, with that said, if someone doesn’t like this Chalari Pet Nat, you can confidently say they will not like any Pet Nat. It has beautiful acidity, lovely fruit and only a hint of the Pet Nat funkiness. For any crowd, it’s definitely worth trying. For us, this Pet Nat has no equal from WA.
Arras Grand Vintage is an expensive alternative, but still cheaper than its Champagne counterpart. It makes this list because it is still less expensive than a comparable Champagne. It will have more autolytic and aged notes than most sparkling wines with quite a bold complex palate. It spends 12 years in the winemaking process (did not specify how long on less) which is impressive. The $125 demonstrates this time and labour input. However, it is still good value for a wine that is very similar in style and quality to Champagne. A Champagne that spends 12 years ageing would cost significantly more. If you want one of the top bubbles made in Australia, this definitely one of them.
Bird In Hand Sparkling is only ~$26 and is my counter after pitching a $125 option with the Arras. This wine is a cheeky sparkling rosé. Has simple notes of strawberries and cream. As a sparkling rosé, it’s everything you’d want it to be at this price point. It is not a wine that will win best sparkling rosé but for its quality and price, it is great value. The Bird in Hand Sparkling will win over a table of girlfriends in a heartbeat.
Of course there are more options from Aus you could add here. But if we have to pick five that cover the range of styles while still highlighting great value, these are them.
Italy
Franciacorta is made by Traditional Method and is a lovely middle ground between Prosecco and Champagne. They have autolytic notes but feel less intense usually because of their slightly riper fruit profile than Champagne. This gives it a beautiful balance between the two. Personally, we are not always fans of the heavy autolytic style of some less expensive Champagnes. Franciacorta on the other hand, great value and delicious.
Lantieri Extra Brut DOCG is a beautiful example of the style and is a very good quality sparkling. We’ve had a few of their different wines, all are excellent wines and very good value. Of all the wines on the list, if you are after a Champagne but want better value, this is it. That is a strong statement but one we stand by it. Once you try it, we are confident you’ll understand why. A lovely balance of orchard fruit, white stone fruit, autolytic notes, and demonstrates excellent winemaking. If it wasn’t obvious, we highly recommended it.
Guerrieri Rizzardi DOC Prosecco and Calneggia DOCG Prosecco are our easy Prosecco options for a well-made Prosecco. They are easy to find at most bottle shops and won’t break the bank. They are nothing you might write home about but they are what a regular Prosecco should be. On a hot summer's day, either of these will hit the mark. The Rizzardi is more lemon zest, and the Calneggia is more mellow and broad. To help you decide, the Rizzardi would be better with food and the Calneggia to enjoy as an aperitif. But again, either are lovely options.
Contratto Millesimato Pas Dose is a really exceptionally valued wine. It is very well made and has been aged for at least 36 months on lees. Each vintage varies in time on lees. If you see one on the shelf you can check their website to look at the data sheet for the vintage. The data sheet will lay out how the wine was made, including time on lees. Very similar to a Champagne in an autolytic style and again, beautifully made. Also comes in at around $100 so it is a much better value proposition than its Champagne equivalent.
France
Not all sparkling wine from France is Champagne. And recently there have been some really lovely Crémants coming out of France (sparkling wine from France that isn’t Champagne).
Pierre-Marie Chermette Crémant de Bourgogne is a lovely and easy going sparkling wine. It is a very well priced option for a Traditional Method wine. It is from Beaujolais and made by a very good producer. Brought this to Sunday lunch recently with the In-Laws and it was very well-received. It is not a very intense wine, but one that is beautifully balanced. It was your typical medium intensity of apple, pear, and lemon custard with balanced autolytic notes. Lovely stuff, and for around the $50 mark, it is great value for a very well-made French Crémant.
Patrick Bottex Cerdon is beautiful. It is however cheeky and something different. We first had this in Brisbane and loved it. The good news is Heritage’s bottle shop in Perth’s CBD brought it in a week after we got back from our trip. It is a Pet Nat from Bugey, France which is located east of Lyon. It is a lovely shade of pink and is dangerously easy to drink. If you like Pet Nat or craft beers, this is a lovely drop for you. Definitely one of the most interesting wines we’ve had lately.
Spain
Recaredo Subtil 2018 Brut Nature Corpinnat is a stunning drop. But first we need to briefly touch on Spain and their somewhat confusing sparkling wine scene. But this wine is stunning. So if you don’t want to read about Corpinnat, just know this is stunning and worth the price tag. It is going to be slightly expensive (~$150) but after trying it, it will definitely be worth it. If you have never heard of Corpinnat, you shouldn’t feel bad. Corpinnat is a group of producers making sparkling wine in the region of Penedès (near Barcelona). They broke away from making Cava to craft an artisanal sparkling wine that adheres to more rigorous, high-quality production standards. This was a beautiful wine, and something definitely different from your standard Chardonnay/Pinot Noir/Meunier flavours in a Traditional Method sparkling wine. It is made from the grape variety Xarel·lo (zah-rell-lo), a native grape from Penedès. It gives you stone fruit, herbal notes, lovely acid along with some smokey notes. If you want to impress a tough crowd with something delicious and different. This is it.
That’s a great start on some options for you to try. Please let us know what you think if you try any of these. We’d recommend you try the different styles of sparkling wine to find what style suits you or the occasion best. Again, some people try to force themselves to like Champagne when really they just want a lovely Prosecco. Ain’t nothing wrong with that.
As always, if you have questions or other topics you want covered, please reach out and let us know in the comments down below!