In America, we indulge in the magical effervescence of sparkling wines and the wines of Champagne in marginally concentrated doses during only a handful of holidays. Somehow, Americans have historically seen sparkling wines as something solely intended for occasions like weddings, graduations, and, of course, New Year’s Eve, as well as Valentine’s Day. I’m not suggesting that such celebratory occasions are not appropriate for serving sparkling, but instead, pointing out the painful self deprivation of not enjoying bubbles the remaining 361 days a year! Think of all the lost opportunity.

We’re a nation known for excess; we buy a lot, spend a lot, work a lot, and play a lot, yet the average American consumes 1.5 glasses of champagne a year! Folks……that sucks! I consumed more champagne than that last night, in addition to some white wine, some red wine, and a wee portion of Basil Hayden’s Bourbon as a cap. Wine for thought…..whenever you open a bottle of sparkling wine, the evening BECOMES a celebration! Think of 2009 as your chance to put America on top; assume a personal mission to drink more bubbles and think of it as your own Olympics, in which you train by treating yourself to a taste of champagne at least once a week, all in pursuit of the Gold.

Sparkling wines in general, as well as actual, true champagne (those sparkling wines that hail specifically from the Champagne region in France), are arguably one of the most amazing genres of wines. Don’t get me wrong, I love my red wines, white wines, dessert wines, so on and so forth (actually, I find just about every type of alcohol fascinating, assuming it’s made well and true to itself), but with sparkling wine you have aromatic complexities and mouthfeel characteristics that come from standard sources like grape characteristics and regional influences, but you also have an assortment of flavors, nuances, and bubbles, that are a direct result from special production methods employed to make the wine sparkle! There are some 50 million bubbles in a bottle of sparkling wine, just waiting to escape and tickle the tongue (that’s 90 lbs of pressure per square inch and the same amount of pressure if you were 150 ft under water). On a side note, be careful when you open that bottle, because all the pressure can send that cork flying at around 65 miles an hour….so, no cork wars or you’ll put an eye out (or just wear goggles, it’s more messy than paint ball).

Sparkling wines are great both before and during dinner. They are wonderfully acidic wines, making them the perfect way to start a dinner; acidic wines make you salivate, which is the first step in digestion, that is, the breaking down of food and flavors in the mouth. This is why we have historically served sparkling wines before a meal, so the body gets ready to grub. Try drinking sparkling wines with any food that has an acid component, like a vinaigrette, or even a salty component; both salt and acid make you salivate, so they match up. I dare you to try a sparkling wine with a salty potato chip…..heavenly and cheap!

Now, true champagne from the region of Champagne can get expensive, ranging from $35 retail to several hundred and then some, but it’s a finite product, meaning the Champenois can only make so much, hence the price. There are many readily available great producers that you should see on the wine lists of the restaurants you frequent and the stores you shop; Veuve Clicquot, Roederer, Deutz, Moet & Chandon, Pommery, Ruinhart, Mumm, and Perrier Jouët, are all producers whose wines are reliable and in most wine shops.

Over the last 30 years, California has developed into a great source of sparkling wine alternatives to those of France, often times priced more attractively in area of $13 to $30. Schlumberger, Mumm Napa, Domain Chandon, and Roederer Estate, are all tasty options coming from northern California.

For more modestly priced alternatives in the $10 to $20 range, look at some cava wines from Spain, or perhaps the wines known as prosecco from Italy. You’re less likely to find these in a grocery store, but a local wine shop should definitely be able to recommend a producer from either of these categories; just go in and ask if they can suggest a cava or a prosecco.

So, with a new incentive to increase American sparkling wine consumption, a new appreciation for the magic of sparkling wines, a handful of trustworthy producers from various price ranges and or countries, I ask you to go make your country proud and drink more bubbles.