Champagne Tasting

Friends of mine are selecting some champagne for their wedding. Their mission: To find an affordable wine that people will actually enjoy drinking . I joined 10 other friends for a tasting at their house. This is an ingenious idea for a party; the hosts supplied the wine, the stemware and the ballots, and the guests were encouraged to bring light snacks and snarky comments to share.

Here are my unilateral rulings:

Andre Champagne Brut

Price: $4.99 

Like it!                         

This wine is serious arm candy. Fun to be around, pretty to look at, not too challenging.

Barefoot Cellars Moscato

Price: $5.99            

Meh

It's like you smell a seductive perfume, turn around, and behind you there's an octogenarian wearing nothing but fruit on her head. Oh, dashed hopes!

Jaume Serra Cristalino Brut Cava

Price: $6.99

HATE IT

I have just been assaulted by bubbles on steroids. This wine is gangbanging me.

De Bortoli Sparkling Brut
Price: $14.99

HATE IT

This is like making out with an old man who has been sucking on cough drops.

Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut

Price: $11.99

Like it!

Nice and crisp. Bubbles are effervescent, not too strong. I can dig it!

Fontezoppa Voile Blanche Brut

Price: $11.99

Meh

Meh is the perfect word to describe this wine. Did I just drink something? Don't know, don't care.

Verdi Spumante

Price: $5.99

Love it!!

I am as excited about this as I was about my first flavored lipgloss. It's fun to be a grown-up! You can drink candy all night.


If you're on the hunt for some cheap bubbly and want to do further research, I asked the Proprietor of Summerlin Wine & Spirits and all-around wine expert, Jen Toth, for her suggestions:

"Cavas are the way to go for sure. There's a Spanish cava called Segura Viudas that's really good. Also Codorniu. Prosecco is another option. Somewhat good is Zonin Prosecco - I give it 3 stars out of 5. Cupcake makes a prosecco which will come down in price with quantity - and that label's slammin.'"