Think of this as hardship detail. Starting this weekend, you do one of the following every weekend till you get to the bottom of the list. That will keep you in bubble until the end of September. It will also cost you $482.32. But wait (as the TV commercials for those odd gadgets always say)—it’s actually less, because you’ll get $1.60 back when you bring in the empties.

Imagine, oceans of bubbly for under 500 bucks. Cheaper than a pair of Canucks playoff tickets. More satisfying, too.

Bubble is my best generic term for Champagne and its cousins: sparkling wine, vin mousseux, crémant, cava, sekt, spumante, Prosecco, méthode champenoise, méthode traditionnelle, or the cool name the South Africans came up with for their southernmost version, cap classique. There are others, but these will cover the wines tasted here. Here they go, in ascending order of price. All are nonvintage, except for Elephant Island (2008), Antech (2004), and St. Hubertus (2006).

Yellow Tail Bubbles ($13.79)
Good enough at the price, and fine for picnics, spritzers, punches, and barbecue. Nothing here to inspire the purple prose, but it goes down hearty with food and is easy on the wallet.

Wolf Blass Yellow Label Sparkling Brut ($14.70)
Hot on the heels of the Yellow Tail but with a cork cork instead of a plastic one (which are often tough to get off). Light and lively, with lots of effervescence, if not a huge lot of flavour.

Jacob’s Creek Sparkling Chardonnay/Pinot Noir ($16.99)
Best buy at this low end of the spectrum and one of the best in the Aussie contingent. Creamy and soft, not so brutally tart as some, it really is the deal for parties, especially when you’re getting it by the case lot. (Note: I got it for $16.99, but I see it listed in last month’s LDB guide at $14.99, which would make it an even better buy.)

Luna Argenta Prosecco Brut ($16.99)
Sixteen to $25 is the middle price bracket where most of these wines live. This stylish Italian tastes pretty good, with plenty of weight. Fresh and spritzy, it’s hearty enough for food. Somewhere I read an evocation of “delicate flowers, talc, bee pollen and fleur de sel”. Oh yeah? Not having previously ingested any, I can’t imagine the taste of talc. You learn something every day, eh?

Moreson Cap Classique Blanc de Blancs ($21.99)
This is a reasonable price for one of the best of the South Africans: crisp and sprightly, loaded with lovely fruit. Your cousin Albert would have a tough time differentiating it from a real French model without looking at the label.

Primo’V Prosecco (Mevushal Kosher) ($22.99)
Sweeter than all of the wines tasted here today, very full and rich. For this palate, it would be a “dessert” Prosecco; with or as. Excellent all around.

Domaine Chandon California Brut Classic ($23.99)
It’s been in our market for decades and still has wide appeal. But take note that these guys take brut seriously: while it starts off spicy, it’s also very, very dry. Eat something with it—something rich or oily (smoked salmon, bacon-wrapped scallops).

Graham Beck Brut Pinot Noir/Chardonnay ($24.99)
Three bucks more than the other South African here (Moreson, above), with the rich, deep flavours of two of the three main grapes that go into Champagne. They make it very nicely down there. Solid food wine, great party starter.

Elephant Island Pink Elephant Sparkling ($24.99)
Love this Naramata wine, and have since it first appeared a few harvests ago. See, you don’t even need grapes to make a delightful sparkler—it’s mostly apples and it’s totally delicious. And pairs with hundreds of tasty treats, from appies to mains to fruit-and-cream-based desserts.

Antech Cremant de Limoux Cuvee Expression Brut ($24.99)
French bubble makers beyond the Champagne region like to use the term crémant, often to mean a wine has been made with about half the pressure of Champagne. Alas, this one was over the hill, tasting hard and edgy. Should have looked at it a few years ago.

Lucien Albrecht Cremant Rose ($24.99)
Very tasty bubble with lots of hearty fruit, making it—as is the case with so many rosés—a great companion for picnics and alfresco lunches. Bring on the grilled seasonal veggies, the grilled halibut.

St. Hubertus Oak Bay Northern Light Sparkling (Family Barrel Reserve) ($28)
One of B.C.’s best—and most underrated—bubbles, it’s the classic Champagne blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, made the traditional way but, given the two red varieties, fashioned into a dark red. Bright and hearty and gorgeous. Case lots are called for if you’ve got the wherewithal.

Summerhill Cipes Brut Rose Pinot Noir ($29.95)
From the pyramid winery in the Okanagan, it’s one of their dozen different bubbles. Beautiful in pink, big and fresh, lively little bubbles, solid Pinot flavours.

Lanson Black Label Brut ($59.99)
So is this French pink wine worth double the price of the previous? I think so. It has finesse, harmony, intense fruit, and elegance in spades. A true classic. For special occasions.

Nicolas Feuillatte Reserve Particuliere ($59.99)
Tough call between this and the Lanson; well, one is pink, this one isn’t. Feuillatte’s range of sparklers is probably my favourite in the market. Here’s a fresh, big-gulp Champagne, full of fruit and grand harmony. There are many French Champagnes in our market at twice the price that aren’t half so satisfying.

Champagne Jacquart Brut Rose ($72.99)
This is the stopping price for now. Again, the classic three-grapes mix, with Pinot Noir predominant. Great gift for someone who appreciates the real stuff; as the label says, a “vin avec volailles ou homards”¦ou les salades de fruits rouges”. Especially nice with one of those red fruit salads sprinkled with a little Cointreau.