By now you’ve probably secured your New Year’s Eve plans, but have you finalized what you’ll be drinking?

If you’re like most Americans, Champagne — sparkling wine if it’s made in America, Prosecco if it’s from Italy, or cava if from Spain — is not something you drink every day.

Instead it’s reserved for special occasions, like New Year’s Eve. (Incidentally, in Italy and Spain people drink their sparklers on a daily basis, much like most Seattleites drink coffee every day).

Seeing as we’re not in Italy or Spain, chances are you don’t drink Champagne (or sparkling wine, Prosecco, cava, et al.) except for once or twice a year. If that’s the case, the thought of selecting a bottle, or two, or three, to ring in the New Year may not top your list of favorite things to do.

That’s where we come in. We called David LeClaire, founder and general manager of Wine World and Spirits, located just off Interstate-5 in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. LeClaire is also a certified sommelier from the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Needless to say, he knows wine.

So what does LeClaire recommend for this year’s celebration? That depends on what you’re looking for, he said.

If you’re planning a party for a number of guests (read: wide range of palates and likes and dislikes), LeClaire recommends serving Italy’s Prosecco.

“Prosecco, to me, is one of the best toasting Champagnes you can get,” he said.

The price is nice too — typically a Prosecco in the $9 to $10 range is going to be good. And it’s widely available.

This wine is favorable for large groups because it has a touch more sweetness to it, without being too sweet. Usually it’s liked by everyone.

If dry wine is more your style, consider cava over France’s Champagne. It’s cheaper, while still a quality wine.

General rule of thumb: look for wines in the $10 range, LeClaire said. Anything below $10 may cause you to regret your purchase, especially if you overindulge this year. That’s because sparkling wines in the $6 range have likely been injected with carbon dioxide, which produces the bubbles and often the headache.

“The saying is: The bigger the bubbles, the bigger the headache,’” LeClaire said.

The smaller the bubbles, the better the wine. During fermentation wine produces carbon dioxide as a byproduct of yeast eating sugar in the grape juice. For non-sparkling wine gas is allowed to escape; to make it tingle on your tongue, the gas is kept in the bottle, producing the bubbles.

If you’re looking for bubbly from France, but don’t want to pay the markup on a wine from Champagne, consider one from the Alsace region that straddles France and Germany.

These wines are available in the $15 price range and are very elegant, LeClaire said. Unlike Champagne, which is made from chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, Alsatian sparklers are made with Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, producing a softer wine. One brand to look for is Lucien Albrecht, which retails between $15 to $20.

A handful of Washington and Oregon wineries also have jumped into the sparkling pool. That includes Yakima’s Treveri Cellars, which was featured in 2011 at the White House for its State Department holiday receptions and was served earlier this year at the James Beard Foundation dinner. Treveri specializes in sparkling wines, offering Pinot Gris, riesling, Gewürztraminer, chardonnay and even Syrah. You can find most of its wines between $14 and $19.

If all this talk about bubbles has your head spinning — and you haven’t even had a sip yet! — don’t stress. Go to your local wine shop or grocery store and ask the wine steward for help. If you’re in Seattle, stop by Wine World, they’ve got wines you won’t find anywhere else, and staff eager to help.

Tell the steward how much you want to spend, what you typically drink and let them do the work. As LeClaire pointed out, most people who ask for advice will walk away with a better wine than what they would have selected on their own.

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Mary writes:

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Mary writes:

I recently had a bit of very good news and thought it appropriate to pop the cork on a bottle of bubbly to celebrate.

My go-to bottle is the elegant, balanced and aged Argyle brut. This may cost a bit more but Argyle releases their bruts later other wineries. The current vintage is the 2008. This gives the wine time to marry and boy, is it worth it.

Aromas include honeysuckle, apple, melon and freshly risen dough with hints of spice and red currant. The bubbles are small and effervescent in the mouth — that’s the part that makes you grin. The palate is mineral complimented by lemon zest, currant and bread dough with a long, pleasing finish.

Argyle was established in 1987 in Dundee, Oregon. Their chardonnay and pinot noir are exceptional values. We especially get a giggle out of the labels designated “Nuthouse.”

A good many wineries in this area started out as a hazelnut processing plant — Oregon produces a boatload of hazelnuts. In the Dundee Hills, hazelnuts are the only other agricultural crop besides wine grapes. So as a tribute to their heritage, Argyle established the “Nuthouse” line of wines with a “Nuthouse Chardonnay” and “Nuthouse Pinot Noir.”

Enjoy!

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To punt or not to punt, that is the question.

Punt is an option in football. It could be getting a sticky problem off your desk and onto some other desk, or as it relates to wine, it is the indentation found in the base of a bottle, particularly those holding sparkling wine.

The reason for the punt is to take the pressure off the sides of the bottle. Sparkling wine is under an enormous amount of pressure, anywhere from 60 to 90 pounds per square inch.

The depth of the punt can sometimes relate to quality, with better quality wines having a deeper punt. In wine circles, we call it good glass.

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Brynn writes:

This week’s wine review might be seen as a little late by those of you who popped the bubbly last weekend to celebrate the ringing in of the new year.

However, I say to you there’s still plenty of reasons to pop the bubbly and celebrate (don’t forget Valentine’s day isn’t that far away), so I’ll go ahead and write about once such bottle that won’t break the bank.

We celebrated New Year’s Eve with some of my close college friends and their husbands in Bellevue this year. While I knew I wouldn’t be having any, I still wanted to bring a bottle of Sparkling Wine as a courtesy to the hostess. I also wanted to make sure what I brought would be acceptable to all palates. While I considered some of the more pricier wines, in the end I decided to go with the Domaine Ste. Michelle because it was reasonably priced (around $8), I knew it to be a trusted wine and I wanted to bring something from Washington.

I opted for the Blanc de Blancs, mainly because I wanted to bring something different than what would be poured — I figured everyone else would bring Brut. The Blanc de Blancs is still dry like Brut, but it runs on the dry to medium dry spectrum. It’s flavor profile includes aromas of pear and pineapple with flavors of crisp green apple and toasted coconut.

I wish I could tell you I really enjoyed the wine, but my midnight toast was done with a glass of non-alcoholic Sparkling Apple Cider.

We hope everyone had a safe and happy start to 2012!

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A memorable Christmas brunch can only be served with bubbly! It’s celebratory, it’s designed to make you grin and we’ll be honest, what other wine can you sip with breakfast that is acceptable?

That’s why for Ann Vogel’s Italian Baked Egg Casserole recipe bubbly is our answer for the perfect wine pairing.

The vegetables included in this recipe have us yearning for a wine with some body to it, which is why we recommend a Rosé or a sparkling Shiraz from Australia.

Roederer Estate Brut Rosé NV ($26) is located in Mendocino and owned by Champagne producer Louis Roederer of Cristal fame. This winery is located in northern California’s cool Anderson Valley.

Its tiny bubbles, biscuit aromas and strawberry-flavored Rosé is a real charmer.

If you’d prefer the sparkling Shiraz from Australia, we recommend Shingleback’s “Black Bubbles” Sparkling Shiraz from McLaren Vale. It’s a blend of several vintages, like most non-vintage bubblies.

This is a darkly colored, deep purple Shiraz. Blackberry and blueberry flavors are lush and sweet and are balanced by the acidity.

For the Spiced Praline French Toast Breakfast Casserole recipe, all that sweetness demands some acidity.

We’ve come to the conclusion the best wine for this dish is a Mimosa. A nice dry Cava from Spain for around $8 and a freshly squeezed juicy orange or tangelo will set this one off nicely.

Or you could bring this celebration to another level by trying this recipe for Morning Glory Mimosa, made with pineapple-flavored vodka. The combination of citrus, bubbles and exotic pineapple have enough acidity and sweetness to cozy up to those praline French toasts.

• 1 bottle of sparkling wine
• 1 carton of orange juice
• Pineapple vodka

Preparation:

Pour 2 ounces of chilled sparkling wine into a Champagne flute and allow bubbles to settle. Pour 2 ounces of orange juice into flute, stir gently. Top with half a shot of pineapple vodka, stir gently.

Merry Christmas!

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This week for our wine recommendation we’re heading to a European country that has more land dedicated to vines than any other country.

As a result, it’s safe to say this country probably also has more styles of wine than any other country. Along with the traditional dry red, white, Rose and sparkling wines, this country also produces 14 different styles of Sherry.

So where is this magical wine country we speak of?

Spain.

There’s one wine in particular from Spain that we thought would be the perfect match for either of Ann Vogel’s recipes: Cava.

Cava is a medium-bodied sparkling wine from Catalonia, Spain. It was developed in the 1870′s after Cordorniu winemaker Josep Raventos was inspired by a visit to France’s Champagne region.

Taking the information learned from his visit, Raventos used the Champagne method of winemaking but with different grapes.

Traditionally Cava is made from three indigenous grape varieties most people may not be familiar with: Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada. And, no surprise here, since it was officially authorized in 1986, Chardonnay is now used increasingly.

Cava has a lovely freshness and distinctive flavor of apples and a hint of earthiness.

It is especially delightful with fish, tapas and fried foods, which is why we recommend it for either the Seafood Scampi recipe or the Langostinos Casserole. And it’s kind to the wallet — about $8.

We recommend the brut from either of these quality producers: Codorníu, the oldest and largest cava producer, with a variety of products available, or Freixenet, another large Cava producer. Their most popular brut is the Cordon Negro.

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Wine and watermelon? This week’s wine pairing might border on the impossible.

Watermelon lovers enjoy the fruit because of its simplicity, its juice and refreshing quality.

Similarly, wine lovers enjoy wine because of its juice and in the case if white wine, because it’s refreshing. Unlike watermelon, wine is often enjoyed for its complexity.

So, how do you make watermelon and wine perfect companions?

Find a wine that will highlight all the things we love about watermelon, while still offering enough complexity to stand up to Ann Vogel’s Watermelon Salad and Summer Soup recipes.

In keeping with the pink theme, we recommend a Provencal-style Rosé.

We’ve recommended Rosés before, but this is one of the few wines that could go with a watermelon salad or soup. It also is the best wine to enjoy during the summer because it balances the complex character of a red wine, with the crispness of a white.

There are different styles of Rosé, depending on the type of grape used and how the winemaker chooses to make the wine — will it be dry or sweet?

The best match for Vogel’s dishes is a Provencal Rosé. These wines are typically made from Rhone varietals, and offer a dry palate that quenches thirst and leaves you wanting more. They’re also food-friendly wines.

While we’d love to tell you to head to France’s Provence region — especially Brynn’s former temporary home of Aix-en-Provence — to find the best Rosé, airfare and travel expenses sadly prevent most of us from getting to experience Rosé in true Southern France fashion.

But the good news is, you may only have to travel as far as your local wine shop or grocery story to find a good French Rosé. According to the Provence Wine Council, an organization representing more than 600 Provence wine producers and 72 trade companies, the number of Rosés exported from France’s Provence region to America have reached record-setting levels in the last year.

Exports of Rosé and red wines from Provence to America went up 132 percent by value and 85 percent by volume last year over 2009, according to customs data released by the council in June.

“These percentages represent greater increases than ever previously seen, and rank Provence as the fastest-growing French region in wine exportation to the U.S.,” according to the council.

The next time you’re in the store, ask the wine steward to direct you to the French Rosé section so you can peruse what made its way across the Atlantic, and the continent, to reach Washington. If you find a Rosé you love, share it with us.

We recently had the chance to try a Central Coast Rosé by California winery Boony Doon Vineyards. It’s one we loved, so we’re recommending it for Vogel’s watermelon recipes.

Winemaker Randall Graham has styled his wine after France’s traditionally dry, salmon pink colored wine.

We recently tasted Boony Doon’s 2010 Vin Gris de Cigare at the Rhone Rangers trade show in Seattle. Unlike the winemakers of France, Graham adds “a dollop” of white wine — Roussanne and Grenache Blanc — to his red varieties.

In case you forgot, Rosé comes from red grapes that, after pressing, only stay in contact with grape skins for around 24 hours. That’s what gives the wine its pink color.

Boony Doon’s Rosé is reminiscent of a Côtes de Provence Rosé with its hints of strawberry, white cherry and apple blossom. The wine is dry, which makes it a great pair for the watermelon and sweeter red onion notes of Vogel’s salad. It retails for around $15.

If you’re looking to add a little pizazz to the soup or salad, also consider a Rosé Champagne or Sparkling Wine. The bubbles will add yet another refreshing twist to the already light soup or salad. (It’d also make a nice addition to Vogel’s Watermelon Slushies, just make sure you select a dry, or brut, Sparking Wine or Champagne.)

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Mary writes:

This week we’re drinking a summer bubbly that is from the Cataluña region of Spain: Cristalino Brut Rose. Sparkling wine from Spain is not champagne, it’s Cava.

This one is made from Pinot Noir and Trepat. The Trepat is an indigenous and rare grape to the region and is generally used for Rosado Cavas. This variety produces aromas of red berries.

I get wonderful scents of raspberry and cherry with lively strawberry and cherry fruit and a bit of that bready flavor. The bead is small and mouthfeel medium. The finish is clean and crisp and was a perfect match to the cold cantaloupe and Port Madison Farm spring cheese.

At this price point you can afford to keep several on hand for spontaneous celebrations. Around $8.

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This week we decided to try Beltoure, purchased at the Bremerton Fred Meyer.

Beltoure brut is a dry, white sparkling number from Northwestern France. It’s made from a grape called Ugni Blanc.

This vin mousseux has a pale yellow color with apple and citrus aromas. It is well balanced and pleasant with fine bubbles. And it won’t break the bank. It’s about $6 and can be found at the grocery store.

Even though it only has 10.5 percent alcohol, it is not sweet in the least. Perfect with tuna salad, Caesar salad or a spinach apple salad.

Ugni Blanc is one of the most widely planted white grapes in the world. It’s also known as Clairette D’Afrique, Falanchina, Greco, White Hermitage, Malvasia Fina, Saint Emilion, Shiraz White, Trebbiano, Trebbiano Fiorentino and Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.

It’s also the major grape variety to make those lovely Armagnac and cognac brandies often enjoyed as a digestif after dinner.

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