Champagne alternatives for the festive season

Deep golden in colour, hinting at the gorgeous wine that lies within. Beautifully complex aromas of toast, cinnamon, maple, hazelnut, pecan and praline, with pure lemon and yellow apple fruit. There's a reassuring density to the mousse and mouthfeel, putting forward honey, peach, cooked pineapples and bruised apple notes. This is delicious, I love it. it's such a pure expression of Chenin Blanc. Apple pie, pastry, honey and plum. It's a serious wine, that also just happens to be a pét nat. Full and oily, with sublimely ripe fruit. Some texture, fine fizz, the acidity is so well balanced and long.

It was only after tasting this that I realised it earned the same score at the 2022 DWWA. It really is a great value English sparkling, made for Booths by Ridgeview. Weighty, creamy and expressive with lovely autolytic nougat notes, alongside tangy green apple, ripe red berries and white flowers..

A beautifully complex English sparkling from the 2010 vintage, featuring a yeasty nose of bruised apple, orange zest and honey-roasted hazelnuts. Savoury brioche and lemon curd on the palate with more bruised yellow fruits and nuts, followed by a long, butter roasted nuts on the finish. 10.5g/l of residual sugar offsets the sharp acidity at 7.5g/l. A value treat at £25 per bottle.

NV sparkling is a rarity in Tokaj. Crafted by Champagne maestro Régis Camus based on the 2019 vintage, Sauska's NV Sparkling Brut is a blend of the local duo, Furmint and Hárslevelu, plus a dash of Chardonnay. Savoury toast opens up to red apple and honey-roasted nuts on the nose, thanks to at least 18 months of lees ageing. A buttered palate of brioche and wheat biscuit seasoned with honey and apple tart, melting in the creamy mousse. The notable residual sugar (8g/l) offsets the mineral acidity at 6.5g/l. Pleasing honeydew melon on the finish.

Intense and aromatic, this traditional method sparkling from the team at Simpsons Wine Estate in Kent is made exclusively for Naked Wines. The Naked Wines members even helped to choose the name of the cuvée, which refers to a Saxon king. Creamy on the first attack, but ultimately a very tangy, sherbet-y, pithy mouthful, characterised by soaring acidity and freshness. There's good ageing potential here, if you can keep a bottle for the next five years there's scope for it to develop more toasty, autolytic complexity balanced by that super acidity. Member exclusive.

Xarel·lo, the king of Catalan white grapes, is the backbone of this consistently excellent non-vintage Cava at 55% of the blend, along with Macabeo (35%) and Parellada (10%). Long ageing (36 months) also plays its part in shaping a family-produced wine that is highly evocative of its place, with subtle garrigue and fennel notes among the yellow plum, apple, toast, lively mousse and fine acidity.

If you must have Champagne, Veuve Monsigny's Blanc de Blancs 2015 (£21.95) is delicious, but this is also 100% Chardonnay and one of Aldi's most reliable buys. A fine mousse gives way to bright and breezy aromas and flavours of crisp green apple and ripe citrus fruits. Stock up for summer!

In store from November in time for Christmas and New Year festivities, this is the pick of Aldi's sparklings – and £2 cheaper than the Veuve Monsigny Premier Cru Champagne. Brisk acidity carries Chardonnay-led flavours of fresh green apple through a creamy lemon posset finish.

This bottle-fermented blanc de blancs (100% Chardonnay) is a great-value Champagne alternative. It's bright straw yellow in colour, and fresh as a daisy, with aromatic, lemon citrus fruit notes and a caress of warm toastiness on the finish. Drier than many Brut Champagnes (3g/L dosage), with focus and vibrancy.

Made in the same way as Champagne, just not from that region or with as long on lees, Crémant is a reliable buy. This, an intriguing, gently toasty blend of Semillon, Cabernet Franc and Muscadelle, has fresh lime leaf aromas and a vibrant acid line supporting creamy lemon posset flavours.

Aromas of struck match and flint mingle with stone fruit and some rich creamy notes. Quite an expressive, stony palate with a subtle hint of burnt lemon and zesty freshness, finishing with a nice uplift of lime and green apple. It's an approachable wine that doesn't have loads of acidity, but it does tick many boxes and offers enough complexity to enjoy as an aperitif or with food.

A subtle creamy nose opens out onto a much more forward palate, showing ripe lemon flavours balanced by brioche and pastry sweetness. Tasty and drinkable with a soft, lemony mousse and a fairly full mouthfeel. Consultant winemaker Benjamin Darnault makes a number of wines for Naked Wines, mostly in the south of France, but this classy Crémant is from Burgundy and offers good midweek drinking, coming in just under £20 for non-members of Naked Wines. Member price: £15.99.

Joining the perennially popular Crémant de Jura (£8.99) and new Crémant de Savoie (£16.99) on Aldi's shelves is this new, boldly pink fizz made from 100% Merlot. It's surprisingly rich, with creamy length and red berry juiciness. A well-priced crowd pleaser, perfect with pigs in blankets.

A touch of orangey gold to the colour here. Lots of classic bruised and stewed apple aromas from the indigenous Mauzac grape. In the mouth it's full of poached pears. The fizz is elegant and subtle. Apple pie and cinnamon lend nice complexity, with lemon and lime too. The finish is a little short, but it's still fresh and dry.

Simonnet-Febvre is based in Chablis, and has been making wine since the mid-19th century. It's the only producer in Chablis itself that also produces Crémant de Bourgogne, Burgundy's traditional-method sparkling wine. A blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% PInot Noir, this elegant bubbly has seen two to three years bottle age before release. It has a fine mousse when poured, and shows a good depth of red apple flavour, with a some buttery brioche roundness. 8g/L dosage.

Crémant is often a good hunting ground for value fizz, and this doesn’t disappoint. Part of Lidl’s core range, this dry, traditional-method sparkler from the Loire is a light, aperitif-style wine, with green apple fruit and toastiness, and refreshing acidity. Chenin Blanc dominated, with some Chardonnay in the mix.

A refreshing change from the usual Prosecco / Cava / Crémant options at this price point, this New Zealand sparkling wine is a Chardonnay made in the traditional (Champagne) method. It's a fresh and fun fizz, fruit forward in style with melon, citrus and fruit salad notes. Doesn't have great length or complexity, but this is dry, tangy and satisfying, a good everyday choice.

Freshly cut green apple and lime on the nose. The Crémant De Limoux was aged on lees for 12 months to add more texture and flavour. Creamy steamed rice and yeasty umami notes lead to bitter lemon and lime zest, with fresh acidity (4g/l) to balance. A pinch of peppery spice stays on the finish.

Creamy orchard fruit aromas, while the palate blends ripeness and richness with a lemon pith and apple zip. A buttery, leesy complexity develops across the palate, combining crème fraiche and pastry characters. The blend of Pinot Noir, Aligoté, Gamay and Chardonnay lends a soft richness to the finish.

Delicate aromas of apples, lemons and some light pastry notes. A fresh attack with bright apple, tart lemon and squishy yellow plum flavours, a creamy texture and some length on the finish, padded out by very light bubbles and a sense of softness. It's showing good pedigree for its price point. Made by Françoise Antech-Gazeau and her son Baptiste, who also make the wines of Maison Antech, one of the largest producers in the Limoux region. Member price: £12.99.

Half-half Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, this South African bubbly was served at both Nelson Mandela's inauguration and Barack Obama's presidential win. It's made by the Méthode Cap Classique, South Africa's name for the traditional 'Champagne' method and punches above its price point. With just under 10g/L dosage, it's lightly nutty and toasty with creamy apple and lime citrus fruit. Crisp and clean, a good-value everyday fizz.