8 Hands-Down Most Affordable 'Champagnes' To Pop This Season

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Champagne. It's the wine that Sunday brunch and Christmas toasts are made of. It has also become the generic name for sparkling wine in the same way that Kleenex has become synonymous with tissues. In fact, with the exception of a few wineries outside of Champagne, France, like some wineries in California, other sparkling wine manufacturers aren't allowed to call their wares Champagne, thanks to international trade laws. Only sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France get that moniker.

In their place? Sekt. Prosecco. Cava. Those, too, are sparkling nose-tickling wines like Champagne, except they're made in Germany and Austria, Italy, and Spain, respectively. There are also some that are made in places such as California and Washington. A rosé under any other name and all. The good news about those un-Champagne-France sparkling wines is that they still taste pretty darn good in a mimosa, even if all of them aren't technically Champagnes.

They're also considerably cheaper than many of the most chi chi Champagnes, like the 1971 Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut, which will set some lucky buyer back nearly $34,000 for a single bottle. For those of us who prefer our sparkling wines to not equal nearly a year's salary, the less expensive sparkling wines can be mighty tasty. To be fair, tariffs have hit the industry hard, resulting in wine-making supplies, like corks, which primarily come from Spain and Portugal, more expensive. Even cheap wines are spendier these days. Those $7 wines suddenly cost more than $10. Still, despite the challenges, it's possible to find a good bottle of sparkling wine and even some bonafide Champagnes at a decent price. Here's a look at eight of them.

Hailing from Spain, the Rondel Brut Cava tickles the tongue with hints of lily, nuts, and peach flavors, contains 11.5% alcohol, and is available in rosé or white. Cava, Spain's answer to French Champagne, is made in the exact same way that its French counterpart is, except with different grapes –- macabeu, parellada, and xarel-lo grapes, to be exact. This particular iteration is also dry. We know this thanks to its Brut designation. 

And this inexpensive bottle of wine brings something else to the table, an interesting bit of linguistic business. Its name –- cava — means "cave" or "cellar" in Spanish, a nod to the early fermentation process, which sees the soon-to-be sparkling wine hanging out in caves for a time. And given that Spanish wine makers decided to call it "cava" to keep its identity separate from French sparkling wines, you might be able to call it "rebel," too. A rebel with a cause, to be sure!

And as promised, this interesting sparkling wine is also cheap. It's around $13 a bottle, (as of this writing), and goes with lots of yummy dishes. The white version will be the toast of your holiday fish and seafood dishes as well as your salads and appetizers. The pink version is the sparkling wine you should be drinking with desserts and spicy foods.

For all the reasons, not everyone who wants a little bubbly to go with Christmas can drink it, at least, not in its hooched-up form. For those folks, there's a non-alcoholic sparkling wine that boasts all of the nose-tickling qualities of Champagne but without all of that equilibrium-stealing stuff that usually goes with it. The wine is Nozeco sparkling non-alcoholic white wine. It actually has the distinction of being alcohol-free, so although it's labeled "non-alcoholic," it actually has no booze at all instead of the 0.005% to 0.5% alcohol that can be found in wines that are labeled "non-alcoholic." 

This simple alcohol-free sparkling wine comes to a Walmart near you by way of France and then the United Kingdom. Despite the long way it needs to travel to get to a Walmart, this delish mock wine substitute will set you back $12, give or take, depending on where you buy it. It's also both vegan and gluten-free. As for what it brings to the table, be prepared for subtle notes of citrus fruit and green apple to roll over your tongue. This makes it a tasty drink to side with desserts such as lemon tarts and your favorite mocktail recipes. Naturally, it's yummy with dinner, too. Try it with a solid salmon and rice dish and see what Nozeco does for it. 

If you're of a certain age, then you probably remember how ubiquitous Andre Brut sparkling wine was. For over 50 years, this cheap wine -– now around $7 -– has been filling our Bellinis and mimosas. A series of TV ads in the '70s and '80s in particular made it memorable. They were marked with the distinct clanking of Champagne glasses, classic Christmas music, and promises of holiday cheer. Andre Brut also happens to be one of the California sparkling wines that is allowed to be called "Champagne," albeit California Champagne. 

Like most Champagnes that earn the "brut" designation, Andre Brut California Champagne falls on the dry side. It actually comes in dry and extra dry versions, giving sparkling wine lovers a choice. And according to some customer reports, it is easy to open and fizzy in the best kind of way, a quality that surely makes popping open that bottle of Champagne on New Year's Eve more than just a little fun. The tasty blend of lemon, green apples, and pear flavors forms the base of its classic sparkling wine blend. For those who like a little more flavoring in their bubbly, Andre Brut strawberry- or pineapple-flavored mimosa sparkling wine cocktails are a nice alternative and come in cans so you won't have to open a whole bottle.

Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut Cava from Catalunya, Spain, might be called a brut sparkling wine with a slight identity problem. It's dry enough to still be called a brut wine, but it has enough sweetness to make it the best choice to accompany a brunch laden with stacks of blueberry pancakes and sides of crispy bacon. Or you could serve it as a complement to your go-to Mexican dishes. Since the flavors of vanilla, peach, and apricot infuse this $10-bottle of cava goodness throughout, something like a plate of sweet and spicy peach chicken quesadillas would get a serious leg-up in the taste department if you served them with the cava wine.

Like other Spanish sparkling wines, it goes through a double fermentation process. And of course, being a cava wine means that Freixenet Carta Nevada Brut Cava spends a bit of time in a cave, getting good and ripe and ready for brunch, as it were. The sparkling wine contains 12% alcohol, and if you're new to drinking sparkling wine, this is one to try to start. Aside from being flavorful, it boasts a nice mouthfeel, making entry into the world of cavas very smooth, indeed.

Of all of the places you'd expect to find a true bonafide Champagne straight out of the Champagne region of France, it's unlikely that Costco is the name that immediately comes to mind. And yet, Costco's Kirkland Signature Champagne Brut makes its way to the big box store's shoppers by way of Manuel Janisson of Verzenay, France, one of the France's grand cru regions (that's wine speak for a top-tier wine-making area in the country of baguettes and berets). Under normal circumstances, wines that come from that region are spendy, to say the least. Yet, somehow, through some miracle of fate and good planning, Kirkland's Signature Champagne Brut is available to wine drinkers in the U.S., though you do have to pay the price of a Costco membership to get access to it.

Janisson has been in the wine business for over a century, and despite being dedicated to making traditional wines, it doesn't shy away from learning about and using new technologies in its wine-making. For Costco Champagne drinkers, this translates into a $20 bottle of wine that tastes like a million bucks. In fact, some reviewers have called it "an affordable luxury," per Reverse Wine Snob. 

And although it boasts a small price tag, there's no need to wonder what the Champagne is made of. Like most sparkling wines from the Champagne region of France, the Kirkland-brand wine contains pinot meunier, chardonnay, and pinot noir grapes. As for the flavor, hints of green apple and lemon lend just the right amount of tartness to the wine's sweet flavor of apricots.

Thank God for grandfather clauses in the law and trade treaties. Otherwise, Cook's California Champagne Brut might be called something else. Cook's winery was founded way back in 1859. In hindsight, it turned out to be a red-letter year. An 1859 birth year more than made the cut-off date that allowed any winery outside of France to keep "Champagne" in its name.

This touches on a backstory to wine-making in the U.S. that's worth mentioning because a couple of other winemakers — Korbel and André, for example -– are also called "Champagne." Many of these wine companies were founded during a time when immigrants from Europe brought their wine-drinking habits and wine-making recipes with them. These newly minted residents of the U.S. called the sparkling wines they drank "Champagne" because that's what it was in their home country. Thanks to this history and a prior trade agreement set forth in the Treaty of Versailles, Cook's (and company) got to keep its "Champagne" designation, even while other sparkling wines that came into existence after 2006 were left out in the proverbial cold.

Today, Cook's can be found in the local supermarket for less than $7 a bottle. It's one of the best Champagnes for mimosas, but like many of the wines on our list, it complements many dishes, too. Dress up a cheese and cracker plate or your next charcuterie board for your next party by serving chilled Cook's Champagne along with it. Or serve it with lemon cake or fresh strawberries. Finally, if casual's more your style, you're gonna love it with some flavored popcorn or a classic fried chicken recipe.

If you're looking for a sparkling wine that's both pleasing to your taste buds and fun to drink, look no further than Domaine Ste Michelle Brut. According to one review on Wine Enthusiast, the bubbles from this bottle of bubbly are like "jitterbug in a glass." Its crisp and refreshing taste comes straight from the usual suspects: sweet-and-tart citrus, cool, fresh pear, and apples. However, it's the aftertaste of baked bread that tickles the funny bone even as the wine's bubbles tickle the nose.

Domaine Ste Michelle Brut represents one of the best wines to come out of Washington state's Columbia Valley. This 11-million-acre valley provides a lush landscape for wine growth. Located in a rain shadow, those soils in the middle of Washington (and parts of Oregon) are perfect for growing the grapes that make this wine so delicious to drink.

In short, it's the sparkling wine to reach for when dishes like sushi and sashimi are on the menu. You also can't go wrong by serving it alongside your favorite snacks, like specialty crackers and movie popcorn. The price on the wine varies from around $12 a bottle to just over $15, depending on time of year, demand, and various market factors.

Mercier Brut is a sparkling French wine on the cusp of inexpensive and mid-range. However, due to its delicious and elegant flavor, it deserves to have a spot on this list, particularly since this is the kind of thing you'll likely splurge on once a year during the holidays. It's kind of like giving yourself a present at the end of the year.

The wine's elegant taste hints of floral and pine nuts as well as stone fruits, citrus, and baked apples. Our Sommelier has even gone as far as to say that it's like "fresh, crumbly biscuits with a drizzle of honey." Who could resist that? It's also a non-vintage Champagne, which may explain its complex flavor. (Non-vintage Champagnes are wines that are made from grapes that come from more than one harvest.) If you're looking for something light to drink as an aperitif, Mercier Brut works very well. And when served with shrimp or fois foie gras with figs? Mmmhmmm ... so good.