The festive season is here! Time to head to your local wine merchant and stock up on holiday tipples. Before you panic about what to buy, check out my thrifty shopper’s guide to the best, affordable sparkling wines of 2019.
If you are a curious minded wine lover and would like to know how sparkling wines get their bubbles, how to tell a dry from sweet style, and why fizz makes us festive, check out my sparkling wine primer article here.
Alternatively, if you prefer to curl up with a nice glass of wine and video I’ve also got you covered. Simply scroll down below my recommendations to learn all about Cava, Crémant, and other great affordable sparkling wines.
Now let’s get down to my thrifty shopper favourites for 2019’s best affordable sparkling wines. These wines were selected from a series of recent industry tastings:
Villa Sandi Il Fresco Prosecco DOC (Italy)
Classic Prosecco aromas of pear drop and peach, mingle with subtle floral notes on this light, easy drinking bubbly. The palate is clean and fruity with large, smooth bubbles, and a subtly off-dry finish. Great lower alcohol option at 11% abv. Perfect for cocktails.
Where to buy: SAQ (15.25$), LCBO (15.95$)
Bodegas Sumarroca Brut Nature Gran Reserva 2015 Brut (Spain)
Seductive nose featuring toasty, biscuity nuances, roasted almond, and baked pear. Fine bubbles and moderate acidity give way to a broad, ample, creamy textured mid-palate fairly brimming with toasted, ripe fruited flavours. If you like a leesy, ripe, brut style of bubbly, this is a steal at under 20$.
Where to Buy: SAQ (17.15$)
Château Moncontour Cuvée Prédilection Vouvray Brut 2016, (France)
This Vouvray sparkling wine offers excellent Chenin Blanc typicity with its nervy, high acid and aromas of red apple, raw honey and beeswax. Really zesty and light on the palate, with vigorous bubbles and a bright, fruity finish.
Where to Buy: SAQ (19.80$), LCBO (try the Tête de Cuvée Brut Vouvray: 19.95$)
Bailly Lapierre Crémant de Bourgogne Réserve Brut (France)
Lovely orchard fruit, ripe lemon nuances on the nose underscored by delicate notes of brioche. Brisk acidity and vibrant bubbles lead into a medium-bodied, subtly creamy, moderately concentrated core. Quite a ripe fruited, rounded finish.
Where to Buy: SAQ (21.00$), LCBO (19.95$, also available in half bottles)
Juvé y Camps Reserva de la Familia 2016, Cava Gran Reserva (Spain)
This Gran Reserva Cava, aged 36 months on lees, is quite a serious bottle of bubbly for the price. Lovely patisserie notes, mingle with ripe pear and yellow apple notes on the nose. The palate is fresh, broad, and pleasingly textural with nutty, honeyed nuances, well delineated, persistent bubbles, and a very dry, lifted finish.
Where to Buy: SAQ (22.00$)
Bernard Massard Chardonnay Brut (Luxembourg)
A delicate, attractive nose offering hints of acacia, lemon, and apricot skins, with very subtle leesy undertones. Crisp, light and quite elegant on the palate with really vibrant pear and apple flavours, fine bubbles, and a touch of refreshing bitterness on the dry finish.
Where to Buy: SAQ (23.60$), LCBO (try Massard’s Cuvée de L’Écusson: 19.95$)
Patrick Piuze Non Dosé Méthode Traditionnelle (France)
Quite a complex aromatic array for the price, featuring notes of lemon curd, yellow apple, bread dough, and wet stone. Racy and taut, with a moderately concentrated core of oxidative honeyed, nutty flavours. Very harmonious, with ripe fruit providing a nice counterweight to the vigorous mousse, mouthwatering acidity and bone dry finish.
Where to Buy: SAQ (24.15$) – also available in magnums!
François Mikulski Crémant De Bourgogne 2016
Very elegant, Champagne drink-a-like bubbles from a fantastic Meursault producer. This blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and a dash of Aligoté is aged on its lees for 18 months. It has enticing lemon, yellow apple, biscuit aromas on the nose. The palate is really crisp and lively, with well delineated bubbles, a layered citrussy mid-palate and dry, lifted finish.
Where to buy: SAQ (27.35$)
Cave Spring Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling (Ontario, Canada)
This excellent Niagara cuvée regularly adorns my list of great value sparkling wines. Very elegant, with alluring toasty aromas, underscored by lemon, green apple, and floral hints. Mouthwatering acidity and fine, vigorous bubbles and an initially tightly knit structure give way to a smooth, creamy mid-palate. Lots of finesse on the finish.
