Time to sparkle

Rose Reserve Champagne. Photo / Babiche Martens

Nobilo Methode Traditionelle 2005 $25.99

You get plenty of bubbles for your buck in this classy vintage sparkler from Nobilo; its lively notes of lemon are married with more complex and mature toasty and nutty nuances. You can afford to keep a few bottles of this in the fridge over the festive season for those unexpected guests.

(From fine wine retailers or contact the Huapai Cellar Door on 0800 800 653.)

* Flat Champagne

The Romans may have planted the first vineyards in Champagne in AD79, but before the 18th century most of the region's wines were still ones. It was only with the invention of stronger bottles and the wire cage which kept corks firmly in place that bubbles were actively encouraged in what we now know as Champagne.

Quartz Reef Central Otago Methode Traditionelle NV $29

A partnership between Champagne's Marc Chauvet and Central Otago's Quartz Reef has resulted in some of the most consistently high quality bubbles to be found in this price bracket. There's a bite of Granny Smith apple to this captivatingly creamy and stylish citrusy blend of chardonnay and pinot noir.

(From Point Wines, Fine Wine Delivery Company, Glengarry, Caro's, Scenic Cellars.)

* An English invention

Though the French monk Dom Perignon is widely cited as the man who put the sparkle into Champagne, it appears that the secrets of sparkling wine were actually uncovered by an English scientist and physician called Christopher Merrett. Decades before Dom Perignon's discovery in the late 1600s, Merrett documented how the addition of sugar to a finished wine created a second fermentation and consequently the fizz that characterises the style, something not widely disseminated by the Champenois!

Johanneshof Cellars Emmi Methode Traditionelle Brut NV $36-$37

Emerging from New Zealand's first subterranean rock cellar after more years of ageing than most sparkling wines, Johanneshof's Emmi is worth the wait and the effort owners Edel Everling and Warwick Foley put into turning all the bottles by hand. It's a bold style of bubbly whose richness and spice is beautifully balanced by its elegant line of acidity.

(From Caro's, Milford Cellars, Kohi Corner Bottle Shop, Blend, Wine Vault, Village Winery, Artisan Wines.)

* Under pressure

The pressure inside a bottle of bubbly is easily as much as that of a car tyre, causing the cork when popped to be propelled at speeds of over 40km an hour. It therefore comes as no surprise that errant corks have been known to blind unlucky imbibers, so always open sparkling wines well away from yourself and others.