Time for a short (wine) story. Legend has it that it was Dom Perignon (a monk) who had discovered Champagne by accident. He tasted some wine that had been unintentionally re-fermented in its bottle and was blown away by its sparkling taste. He then continued experimenting and using his wine brains to ferment this in the bottle without any explosions. And voila, Champagne was born. The only difference between Champagne and sparkling wine is their place of origin. Sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it is made in Champagne, a region in France (located just outside of Paris). The other difference is their price; Champagne is always double the price of sparkling wine even though both have a 12% alcohol percentage and are the same in terms of looks, smell, and taste. In short, all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not every sparkling wine is Champagne. So, if you are looking for similar bubbly feels, ditch the Champagne and turn to sparkling wine to save a few bucks.
We've curated a list of some good sparkling wines you'll get under 2k. So no more whining, only wining!
