A toast to December holidays

It’s December, and most everyone is celebrating. Hanukkah has begun, Winter Solstice is near; then Christmas, New Year’s, and so much more. Let’s raise a toast!

But wait! What shall we toast with? Sparkling wine is called for, but that broad genre covers a wide range of possibilities that might range in price from $5 or so (for Gallo’s widely mocked Andre “California champagne”) to $4,666 (for 1988 Dom Perignon P3 Plenitude Brut Rose, the priciest French Champagne in Wine-Searcher’s listings).

But surely, I can hear you saying, there must be a middle range, a Goldilocks zone where the lines of price and quality cross at a point of perfect balance.

Yes, of course there is. In fact, the pickings are rich and worth pursuing. …

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• Today’s tasting report: Jean-Paul Brun 2018 “Charme” Crémant de Bourgogne

… Spain’s Cava and …