Sparkling wines are often reserved for special occasions, but we say, “Why wait?” There are plenty of things to celebrate in life, no matter the occasion. Maybe you’re spending a nice day out at the pool with the family, enjoying some oysters on the half shell, or just celebrating the end of a long summer day. Whatever the vibe may be, it could always be made a little better with some bubbles. There are a variety of styles and price points to fit any budget and help you beat the heat. Below, we have picked some of our personal favorites: some new and exciting, others tried and true.

L. Aubry Fils Brut 1er Cru NV Brought to us by: Skurnik Wines | Prestige-Ledroit Distributing Co. Regular: $49.99 TWS Sale: $39.99 Champagne is suited for all seasons - whether paired with freshly shucked, plump, salty oysters from cold waters in winter or with juicy, sweet grilled peaches and mascarpone in summertime, it is always welcome in the glass. With that in mind, I am going with Grower Champagne as my selection for a fizzy summer wine, and I intend to still be drinking Grower Champagne in December. When it comes to Champagne, the grape varieties of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier are the featured trio; however, there are other voices as well: Fromenteau (aka Pinot Gris), Pinot Blanc, Petit Meslier, and Arbanne. While sparsely planted compared to the main three, they can still be found where growers and producers choose to tend to these indigenous varieties and weave them into their wines. One such grower producer is L. Aubry Fils. 5% Arbanne, Petit Meslier, and Fromenteau is blended in with 35% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Meunier, and 30% Pinot Noir for their non-vintage Brut 1er Cru bottling, all sourced from vines throughout the Montagne de Reims. The Chardonnay is aged in old oak barrique, while the other five see stainless steel, and the wine spends at least 24 months on the lees. Dosage is minimal.  The nose shows poached pears, honeycrisp apple, lemon zest, crushed stone, brioche, and spicy ginger. The palate is medium bodied with plenty of teeny-tiny bubbles combining to create a soft, pillowy texture. Refreshing acidity balances the creamy mousse, making this wine incredibly friendly and thirst quenching - a perfect summer bubble!  -Lauren Loeffler Avinyó Brut Cava Brought to us by: De Maison Selections | Prestige-Ledroit Distributing Co. Regular: $16.99 TWS Sale: $12.99 Whenever I want an affordable and tasty bubbly, I reach for Avinyo Brut. It's an excellent example of Spain's popular sparkling wine- Cava. Cava is actually the name of the areas approved to make the wine, which is made mostly from Macabeu, Parallada, and Xarel-lo grapes. Chardonnay is also permitted, and there are also rose Cava wines made from Pinot Noir, Garnacha, and Monastrell. Unlike Prosecco, Cava is made using the Champagne method where the wines are aged on their Lees (basically dead yeast cells)- sounds kinda gross but those yeast cells give the wine a rich toastiness or biscuit- like flavor (like Champagne, unsurprisingly). Avinyo Cava Brut offers flavors/aromas of apple and pear with some of the aforementioned toastiness. We served this wine at my wedding a couple years ago and it was a hit! For $12.99 sale price I really think this wine is a steal. -Dan Zetlmeisl

Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale Brought to us by: Oenos Imports | Prestige-Ledroit Distributing Co. Regular: $35.99 TWS Sale: $29.99 Champagne is expensive. Hundreds of years of prestigious history and marketing, combined with the region's geographical limitations, make it very difficult to find good sparkling wine from Champagne for under $40. Bad news for wine lovers. However, Champagne is more than just a region. It is the name given to a method, a specific way of making the very best and most delicious bubbly wine. Good news for wine lovers: All over the world there are talented wine-makers applying the Champagne method to their own native grapes, often with results that offer incredible value when compared to Champagne. For quite a while now my favorite example of this phenomenon has been the wines of Domaine Karanika, from the cold mountains of north central Greece, bordering North Macedonia. Lest the though of Greek sparkling wine terrify you, trust me. It is objectively excellent. (And if you don't trust me, Tom Stevenson, arguably the world's leading Champagne authority, is a big fan of Karanika). Because Karanika does things the old Champagne way: Whole bunches of grapes are pressed in a traditional basket press. The wine is unfiltered and aged for at least 12 months on the lees with minimal intervention and use of sulphur. Divergences from Champagne include grape variety and land. The primary grape used is Xinomavro, the most gorgeously complex red grape of Greece (this bottling also includes a small amount of native Assyrtiko), and the land is very different: The wind-swept shores of Lake Vegoritida in Amynteo lie at more than twice the elevation of Champagne. It is a beautiful thing to taste the result of hundreds of years of French technique through the lens of an entirely new terroir and grape. All over the world this is occuring! Please explore. The Domaine Karanika Brut Cuvee Speciale shows powerful flavors of red berry fruit, (raspberry, strawberry, cranberry) with an intense stoney minerality and some slight but very interesting herbal notes. The palate is lean and delicate, but all the crisp precision is balanced by the traditional yeasty round toastiness that one would expect from the classic Champagne method. Grand Cru Champagne quality for a fraction of the price. :) -Kasimir Bujak

Catherine et Patrick Bottex “La Cueille” Bugey-Cerdon Brought to us by: Kermit Lynch | Prestige-Ledroit Distributing Co. Regular: $24.99 TWS Sale: $19.99 Bugey is a hidden gem tucked away between the foothills of the Jura and the nearby Rhone river. The climate and geography are so unique here that you can see palm trees and snowcapped mountains in the same vista. This region is surrounded by some of the most famed regions in France: Rhone, Burgundy, Savoie and Jura. In fact, at their closest point, the vineyards of Bugey and Savoie are only separated by a handful of kilometers. It comes as something of a surprise then that this region was only awarded AOC status as recently as 2009. In fact, Kermit Lynch didn’t know of Bugey until Marcel Lapierre, famed Beaujolais producer, opened a bottle of the Bottex Bugey-Cerdon for Kermit Lynch at a tasting after-party. Kermit Lynch was so stunned at its uniqueness that he was determined to bring the wine to the States and spread the word! Bugey wines tend to fall somewhere between Savoie and Burgundy in style, unsurprising given their geographical and cultural proximity. Cerdon itself is unique in that it specializes in Ancestral Method, aka Petillant Naturel, rosé wine. This methodology actually predates the Champagne method, and involves bottling the wine before primary fermentation completes. This fermentation then continues in the bottle, imbuing the wine with its characteristic fizz. Bottex use only naturally occurring yeasts and press directly after harvesting by hand. Basically, they’ve been making funky, fizzy wine with minimal intervention long before the natural wine craze popularized the style. The Bottex “La Cueille” Bugey-Cerdon is certain to impress from the moment you pop the cork. Immediately, aromas of rose petals, violets, and wild berries pour forth from the bottle. The palette is juicy but not cloying due to its tart acidity and pleasing effervescence. The finish has subtle earthy and savory undertones. Juicy, funky, fizzy, and naturally low in alcohol at only 8% after fermentation completes. Simply put, you’ve likely never had a wine quite like this Bottex bottling, and you’re missing out! This wine is downright crushable and quaffable when chilled down on a hot summer day. Don’t just take my word for it: Kermit Lynch prefers to have this wine chilled down and paired with burgers on hot summer nights in Hawaii. -Andrew Sayers

Bridge Lane Bubbles Brought to us by: Free Run Wine Merchants Regular: $8.99 TWS Sale: $6.99 I was very skeptical of canned wine at first, but now I am hooked! The Bridge Lane Bubbles is a great example of a wine that is meant to be drank fresh and on-the-go. It’s the perfect canned wine. This wine is very accessible, with intense aromas of tropical fruits. The three grapes used (Riesling 65%, Muscat 22%, and Seyval Blanc 13%) are all known for their great aromatic qualities. The can has preserved the super flavorful and fresh palate of lemon meringue, green apple, and mangos. There is a backbone of medium acidity and a long, citrusy finish. On a hot day, there is nothing better than this ice-cold bubbly to cool off and relax. Canned packaging is continuing to become more and more important to the wine industry. Five years ago, it was almost unheard of, but now we are struggling to find enough space on the shelves for all the options that we want to carry! Canned wine is the perfect option for you to bring on-the-go to all your post isolation cookouts, pool parties, and hikes. Don’t be fooled by its size…each can is equal to a half a bottle of wine. Now get out there and enjoy your on-the-go sparkler! -Jake Groenke

Raventos i Blanc Rose de Nit Cava Brought to us by: Skurnik Wine & Spirits | Potomac Selections Regular: $29.99 TWS Sale: $23.99 Stop everything you’re doing right now and sit down because there might just be Spanish sparkling rose that not only tastes like champagne, but is: made by the inventor of Cava, comes from a winery dating back to the 1400’s, is biodynamically farmed, and only costs 23.99. Ok, good, you’re still sitting down, because this is Raventos i Blanc’s Cava Rose de Nit. Cava’s forefather, Josep Raventos, started making sparkling wines after visiting champagne during his European travels.  After phylloxera had devastated most of the vineyards of Penedes, Raventos started to grow resistant white wines rather than the traditional reds.  De Nit is a blend of the classic Cava varietals (Xarel-lo, Macabeo, and Parellada) with a touch of Monastrell, giving it its pale pink color.  Raventos, like other Cava producers, has really been experimenting with what it means to be Cava, eventually breaking out of the legally designated DO and creating his own new appellation, Conca del Riu Anoia, where most of his plantings come from. De Nit is a pale pink with very fine bubbles.  The nose is delicate with fresh rose petals, vanilla and light citrus.  The palette is light as well with notes of ripe apple and pear, blackberry, honeysuckle, raspberry and a beautiful minerality with just hints of smoke and toast.  De Nit is Catalonian for “of the night”, so I recommend drinking this at dusk (preferably with a view of the sunset).  This rosé pairs well with charcuterie, arugula strawberry salads, first dates, and days off from work. -Andrew Thorp

Raza Vinho Verde Brought to us by: Regal Wine Imports | Free Run Wine Merchants Regular: $12.99 TWS Sale: $9.99 Vinho Verde, meaning green wine or young wine, comes the Minho region of northern Portugal. This fresh wine is generally released just months after harvesting and is known to have a bit of effervescence. While effervescence was originally the result of in bottle fermentation during earlier productions, this characteristic is achieved with carbonation in contemporary production. While vinho verde can be found as white, red or rosé, white is the most common style. The Raza White from Quinta de Raza is a blend of the Arinto, Azal and Trajadura grapes, which give the wine a bright lemon and lime acidity. Light body, light fizz and lighter alcohol (11.5%) tick all my boxes for a summer wine. Vinho Verde makes a great accompaniment to picnics, crab feasts, or just friends and sunshine. With its great price point, it would be hard to grab just one! -Sheena Callage

Melanie Pfister “Breit” Extra-Brut Brought to us by: Vintage '59 Imports | Winebow Regular: $34.99 TWS Sale: $27.99 Domain Pfister located by the village Dahlenheim in the far north of the Bas Rhin of Alsace with limestone soils and exposure to a cooler climate they produce beautiful dry whites. This Crémant d’Alsace Blanc de bBlanc consists of Chardonnay 50%, Pinot Blanc 25%, and 25% Auxerrois, though only Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc are only mentioned on the label, spending 28 months on lees in bottle. The wine carries a delicate nose of golden apple and a hint of stone. On the palate the tart stone fruit comes forth with bright acidity and whispers of honeysuckle as well as light notes of oxidation giving the wine a small amount of toasty almond quality. The bubble is quite lively and can bring a light creaminess once the wine has opened up. Enjoyed great on its own or with a bloomy rind soft cheese, charcuterie, or fresh oysters. I personally enjoyed it with il Nocciolo, a cow/sheep/goat milk cheese from Italy, dressed with a potent truffle honey where the heavy earthiness was whisked away by the brightness of the wine. -Matthew Supik

G.D. Vajra Claré J.C. Langhe Nebbiolo Brought to us by: Vajra USA | Winebow Regular: $24.99 TWS Sale: $19.99 This wine goes against the grain of Piedmont Nebbiolo as we know it: 18% is done whole cluster, then is racked off after a short maceration period to finish fermentation of the skins. What this gives us is a very pretty and delicate Nebbiolo, far from the massive tannin we see in Barolo and Barbaresco. The wine is playful with a flirtatious fizz to it. The aromatics are bright, juicy and have a friendly green herb note with notes of cherry and orange blossom. The pairing potential is open, but leading the charge is grilled summer vegetables, red sauce pastas and fresh pesto. Like all of Vajra’s wines, the Claré J.C. is from all organic and sustainable vineyards, and farmed from the highest elevations in the highest cru in Comune di Barolo with a “recipe free” approach. They use this term to emphasize the labor of love and hand harvesting approach they take in the vineyards. If this bottle was a Grateful Dead song it would be “Sunshine Daydream” -Jack Zarecky

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