Cowichan Valley’s Rocky Creek Winery Katherine’s Sparkle is a bubbly delight.

If sheer volume and variety of recent shipments are any indication, we are insatiable for bubble. Cheap bubble, preferably, from anywhere and everywhere, but also the French standards, few of which we get to see for under $50 a pop. No fewer than 20 different labels have announced themselves in B.C. in the last quarter, all timed for the holidays, it seems. Many of them—most, even—are very good wines, and even better value, poised to run the big guns out the door.

Not that there isn’t great pleasure to be found in a hundred-dollar bottle of true Champagne, but if I can show you six bottles of wonderful food sparklers that together cost as much as the costliest one on the list, will you follow me somewhere? Anywhere?

I will never give up Champagne, full stop. But I’ll slide by it these days, till the economy stabilizes.

Where do all these bountiful bubbles come from to crowd our shelves? Germany, Spain, Italy, California, the Okanagan, the Cowichan Valley, and darkest Champagne itself. So get popping: if you’ve got four bucks, you’re ready to start. If you’ve got 60, you’re laughing.

All are non-vintage, except where indicated.

Deinhard Sparkling Diamant ($3.99, 200 millilitres)
In the interest of full disclosure, “aerated semi-sparkling wine obtained by adding carbon dioxide” is what we have here, in an aluminum bottle with a crown cap. Maybe not the prettiest presentation, but if you need a glass of sparkle while waiting for a first-time dinner guest who may not even like the stuff… Fresh, bright, lemony-tart, clean, and crisp.

JG carrion Opera Prima Charmat Brut ($11.72)
A new Spanish sparkler that lays it right on the label. (Charmat means the bulk method of bubblification: instead of fermenting the wine in the bottle, it’s done in a giant tank.) This wine might take your mind off true Champagne, particularly at the price. Food-perfect.

Deinhard Lila Riesling Sekt ($13.49)
This one has been a consistent seller here forever, from Germany’s leading house. Sweeter than many of the above and below due to the all-Riesling aspect, but ideal for toasting or dessert.

Marquis de la Tour Brut ($13.70)
If you need it French, this is your best buy—tasty and rich and nice at nose, tongue, and palate. See, it can be done for under $100.

Cristalino Cava Brut ($13.99)
One of the newcomers in Spanish cava, this claims to be the second–best-selling cava in America. Crisp and ultra-dry, subtle to the point of short in the finish. We liked the pink version (above, right) better.

Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio Champagne ($13.99)
This California contender has to be one of the best buys of the (relatively short) year so far. Very full and bright, a flavourful surprise. (Unsurprisingly, it took a best-of-class award last year in the San Francisco Chronicle wine competition.) For the beach, for sure, come the time.

Henkell Trocken Dry Sekt Rose ($14.49)
If it says sekt it means German bubbles, and this has been a leading producer for decades. For big gulping: full, tart, and a little roasty (perhaps the 12-percent alcohol is a touch steep), but fine in a plastic tumbler, seriously iced, with a ripe strawberry—just try to find one of those this month.

Segura Viudas Brut Rose ($14.70)
Open this and let it fight it out with the Cristalino, and see what you think. It’s been a perpetual favourite on Vancouver dinner tables and shows no sign of letting up. At the under-$20 price point, it’s a consistent best buy.

Cristalino Cava Rosado Brut ($15.99)
Very dark in the glass, rich and round, and certainly food-focused, this coats the tongue with delicious fruit flavours and finishes clean and dry. Well worth the extra $2 over the “regular” one below, left.

Bastianich Valdobbiadene Flor Prosecco ($19.99)
Nowhere have we seen a bigger influx of new labels than in the Italian Prosecco section. This wants food—any kind of food—to come into its own. Very light and flyaway fresh.

Fazi Battaglia Vino Spumante Brut ($20)
Where Prosecco refers to both the wine and the grapes it’s made from, vino spumante just means sparkling wine. Short-lived bubbles but dead-clean taste and a bright finish. Five, six bucks less would be nicer…

Valdo Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Marca Oro Extra Dry ($21.31)
The Valdobbiadene region routinely produces some of Italy’s best Proseccos. This is one of them: green-grapey, hearty and herb-laden, delicious, and just the ticket for the over-indulged post-holiday tum.

Col de’ Salici Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Dry 2008 ($21.99)
Another gulper, it’s so full and round it just slides down effortlessly. Just what your nonna’s platter of gnocchi needs.

Rocky Creek Winery Katherine’s Sparkle Brut Vin Mousseux ($23.90)
A delightful surprise from a new winery in the Cowichan Valley with an ambitious portfolio. (I’ll survey the other wines in the upcoming weeks.) This is their first bubble, finished with a crown cap: lovely colour, big mousse, fresh peach-juice aromas; a beautifully made wine that belies the winemaker’s/winery’s first-time-out status. Named after one of the owners’ daughters (the other got a rosé), they suggest serving it with “dim sum, jerk chicken, or sushi”. I’m adding fresh fruit and Thomas Haas chocolates. Hard to find (available at the winery and select private stores), but Kitsilano Wine Cellar (2235 West 4th Avenue) has some.

Champagne Fleury ($59.99)
A Liberty Wine Merchants (various locations) exclusive, this is the first Demeter-certified Champagne, which means production is carried out according to organic and biodynamic principles. Very dry and very light, with a short finish; clean and agreeable, but ultimately too costly for the pleasure it brings to the palate.

Wait, don’t go. I have 10 more. Another time, then—it’ll probably take you a few weeks to meander through these ones…