Page Two of Sharon Kapnick's Reasonably Priced European Sparkling Wines

Prosecco: Americans have recently been catching on to the joys of Prosecco, the sparkling wine of the Veneto, which has become quite trendy in the US in the past few years. Prosecco is made in varying degrees of sparkle, varying degrees of dryness/sweetness and varying degrees of quality. Frizzante is lightly sparkling; spumante, fully sparkling. Italians prefer theirs in the traditional Extra Dry version, aka classico, which is actually slightly sweet. Brut is the modern, drier version that generally appeals more to Americans. As is common in Europe, Prosecco follows a formal quality hierarchy. There are Prosecco IGT and, a step up, Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene DOC, which includes the Cartizze subzone, recognized for producing the best Proseccos.

Prosecco the wine must be made from at least 85 percent of Prosecco grapes. Other allowable varietals include Verdisio, Perera, Bianchetta, Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay. Proseccos are made by the Charmat method, in which the secondary bubble-producing fermentation takes place in large stainless-steel tanks, not in bottles. This technique is especially appropriate because it preserves the wine’s fresh, fruity character. It has the added benefit of costing less than the process of secondary fermentation in individual bottles. Proseccos generally run $10 to $18, while the Cartizzes hover around $30.

Prosecco typically has floral and fruity — peach, citrus, lemon, pear — aromas and flavors, with an occasional hint of almonds. It’s meant to be drunk young. Nothing is easier to drink. If refreshing, delightful, charming, fruity, delicate, stylish, food-loving and exuberant sound good to you, then by all means, give Prosecco a try.

Recommended Producers: Adami, Astoria, Bisol, Collabrigo, Mionetto (its Il Prosecco is closed with an easy-to-open user-friendly crown cap), Nino Franco, Ruggeri, Valdo, Zardetto, Zonin

Some 95 percent of Cavas, Spain’s sparkling wine, come from the Penedès region in northeastern Spain, about 45 minutes from Barcelona. There it’s not only an everyday wine but an all-day-long wine. Catalonians drink Cava anytime, anywhere, with anything or by itself.

Cavas were first made in the late 19 th century, after Josep Raventós of Codorníu returned from a trip to France in 1872 and created the first Spanish méthode champenoise (método champañés) sparkling wine in the town of San Sadurni de Noya, which remains the heart of Cava production. Cava’s inspiration was Champagne; according to The New Spain by Jan Radford, it was originally called Xampán or Champán.

Some early trials used Champagne grapes, but these efforts proved unsuccessful. The little-known-outside-of-Spain trio of local grapes most often used today are Macabeo (for acidity and freshness), Xarel-lo (for power and depth) and Parellada (for fruit and finesse), although Chardonnay is turning up more and more in the blend. Red grapes used in rosé cavas include Pinot Noir, Garnacha, Monastrell and Trepat. The well-known method used to make Cava remains the método tradicional, the same system employed to make Champagne.

Most Cavas are produced by two of the largest sparkling-wine companies in the world, Freixenet and Codorníu, which make very reliable, widely available, good-value, popular wines, but there are also smaller artisanal producers who craft more individualistic wines.

Cavas can take you through all the courses of a meal, for they’re made in many different styles, ranging from simple to complex, light bodied to full bodied, earthy to elegant and dry to sweet (in order of decreasing dryness, there are Extra Brut, Brut, Extra Seco, Seco, Semiseco, Semiseco Dulce). They offer excellent value, with many costing $7 to $15. But be forewarned: top bottlings can reach $40.

Recommended Producers: Avinyó, Codorníu, Cristalino, Freixenet, Gramona, Huguet de Can Feixes, Mont Marçal, Paul Cheneau, Raventós I Blanc, Sumarroca, Segura Viudas

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Award-winning author and certified sommelier Sharon Kapnick has written about food and wine for many magazines, including Time, Portfolio, Food & Wine and Hemispheres, and many newspapers, thanks to the New York Times Syndicate. She contributed to several entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.