Your favorite non-vintage champagne?

I only drink Champale.

Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose

I would have it on tap if I could.

Boons Farm Strawberry with a little Club Sodie is ALL the champagne I need!

You know how to live, R1!

It's IMPORTED champagne!

Veuve Clicquot non-vintage Champagne is one of my favorites.

Moet White Star.

Prosecco (Italy’s answer) and Cava (Spain’s answer). Both under $20/bottle. In my supermarket I can sometimes get a decent cava for 8.99. Serve very chilled and it will compete with the 20-80 French ones. And by very chilled I mean put in the freezer half an hour before popping it open.

Prosecco and Cava will not give you a headache. Cheap champagne (Freixenet, Korbel, Chandon) will taste fruity/flat and will give you a wicked headache even before you pass out dehydrated.

Cava is made in the champagne method. Methode champenoise. Franciacorta is the only Italian bubbly made in the champagne method. The method is used for some bubblies in many countries. I will allow that any wine made in this method is "champagne" even though legally it is no longer "champagne". Prosecco is not made in this method.

R9 PS - Freixenet is cava so it doesn't fit your theory.

Gruet from New Mexico is like $17 a bottle and is great.

R10/r11 thank you. Learned something new today. Did not know Cava was champagne method or that Prosecco was rogue. Freixenet still sucks, so I guess I should stick to the orange Cava labels.

Cold Duck because I'm classy!

I have a friend who is a Gruet aficionado.

For American bubbly (which is not champagne) I am a Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut Rosé Sparkling Wine guy.

We buy a case of the rosé Gruet when we spend a week in Cherry Grove. It's lovely.

I second the Laurent Perrier Rose. In fact all of the Laurent Perrier range is good quality for the price. The regular Brut is excellent. I also like Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut. I also like variants in Pol Roger and Tattinger.

I think Veuve Cliquot and Moet are both very overrated. Bolli is actually OK!!

California Roederer Estate is indeed méthode champenois so it is technically champagne.

Krug or R de Ruinart are my favourites OP.

r18, There is no such thing as technically champagne. Champagne is a PDO.

R18 Interesting. So California has been successfully airlifted to the northeast of France, eh? Good to know.

R20 no. The PDO came later. And not just for champagne. For many foods and wines. That is about business. Champagne is a wine making method. So gruyere is legally only Swiss made gruyere, but other countries can made the same cheese by the same method.

You see? I'm not arguing with the new, purist definition based on the legally protected name. But champagne as a wine can be produced anywhere and be some of it is delicious.

Prosecco can be delicious, but it is not a methode champenoise wine, at all.

r21, be kind to a village idiot, he makes us all look so much better.

R21 I said Roederer is made by Méthode traditionnelle. by Method champenoise. It is champagne wine. It is not legally champagne.

When a wine snob starts talking about franciacortas and California bubblies that are fabulous, and are in the méthode, in a discussion of champagne, only a cunt would shut it down.

Wines made by the Champagne Method are sparkling wines unless they are made in the Champagne Region of France.

Even French wines, made by the Champagne Method, outside of Champagne are termed vins-mousseux.

Poor r24.

That is the legal definition I agree.

R26 Oui, désolé mon pote, R21.

^ sorry, the sorry meant for R18

r21 was delightful sarcasm.

Thank you r29

R30 Dankeschön for the shout out...

Champipple

Drappier.

Ruinart.

Moet -Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.

Champagne is only champagne when made in the Champagne region of France.