It is the time of year for sparkling wine and we decided to do an online wine class about different sparkling wines. It was a lot of fun and we learned a little bit about the bubbly.  Champaign is expensive (or good champaign is expensive) and there are a lot of other types of sparkling wine that are just as good and far friendlier on the budget. So, in the order we tasted them:

Nino Franco Rustico Prosecco: Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy, no vintage ($12.75 at Total Wine with coupon). Light, pale straw colored wine with a tint of green. Good bubbles that I initially thought were teeny tiny, but when compared to the other two, were a little bigger. Apple, pear and mineral on the nose. Good acidity with flavors of apple and bread. I liked this wine. It made me smile to drink it and I love the feel of the wine in my mouth.

Seguras Viudas Cava Brute: Penedes, Spain, no vintage ($8.50 at Total Wine with coupon). Very similar in looks to the prosecco with a pale straw color and tinged with green. Bubbles are much finer, but not as many visible. Was not crazy about the smell of this one – a little smoky with a little unripe apple. The bubbles were very fine when drinking with a mineral water texture. Lots of stone, granite and unripe apple in the flavors. Not my favorite, but it will make a great mimosa.

Albrecht Tradition Cremant D’Alsace: Reserve Rose from Alsace, France, no vintage. (19.50 at Total Wine with coupon). Very light, pale salmon in color with very fine bubbles – and lots of them. Strawberry and bread on the nose. Raspberry, strawberry, and bread in flavor with a nice, smooth finish. Of the three, my favorite. Easy drinking, pleasant mouthfeel with a lot of nice summer fruit.

The clear winner here for both Bob and I was the cremant. It had the best flavor, texture and finish of the three. The prosecco came in second with the cava a distant third. This was an interesting comparison, especially since we were at the local wine store’s weekly tasting the night before and they features prosecco and other sparking wines. With those wines, we liked the rose best also so it may just be that I prefer the fruity (not sweet) bubbly.