Fine fizz: As Christmas approaches, Michael Cooper recommends a selection of beverages that pop

Fizz, bubbly, méthode traditionnelle, sparkling – whatever name you use (the word champagne is reserved for the output of that famous French wine region), wine with bubbles in it has been popular since the 17th century.

How good are Kiwi bubblies? Good enough for the industry to export more than
187,000 cases in the year to mid-2025, although that accounted for just 0.6% of our overseas wine shipments.

The wines at the middle and top end of the market are usually produced by the méthode traditionnelle technique (formerly méthode champenoise, until the French got upset), in which the wine undergoes its secondary, bubble-creating fermentation, not in a tank but in the bottle, as in champagne itself.

Pinot noir and chardonnay, both varieties of key importance in champagne, are also the foundation of New Zealand’s top sparkling wines. Marlborough, with its cool nights preserving the grapes’ fresh natural acidity, has emerged as the premier region for bottle-fermented sparkling wines (10 producers launched a promotional group, Méthode Marlborough, in 2013), but there are also very stylish examples flowing from Central Otago.

Alpha Domus Beatrix Sparkling Rosé NV

★★★★

Sold in packs of four 250ml cans, this highly attractive, non-vintage Hawke’s Bay wine is “fresh organic fizz” based on merlot. Pink/pale orange, it is light bodied and lively, with strong, crisp strawberry and peach flavours and a gently yeasty, basically dry finish. Instantly appealing. (8.9% alc/vol) $34

Alpha Domus Cumulus Blanc de Blanc Méthode Traditionelle NV

★★★★★

A stimulating aperitif, this highly distinctive wine was estate-grown and hand-picked from mature chardonnay vines in the Bridge Pā Triangle, Hawke’s Bay. Bright, light yellow/green, it has a highly fragrant, yeasty bouquet. Showing excellent intensity and complexity, it has strong, vigorous, peachy, gently toasty flavours, a persistent “bead” and a very long, bone-dry finish. $33

Balvonie Marlborough Prosecco 2024

★★★★

This vivacious wine is the second year of Marlborough’s first sparkling wine to be labelled as prosecco. Made from the glera variety, planted at Rapaura in 2021, it is light and crisp, with gentle sweetness and vibrant, delicate, lemony, appley flavours. Not complex, but full of youthful energy. Good summertime drinking. (11.3% alc/vol) $35

Brown Brothers Limited Edition Aluminium Bottle Prosecco

★★★

Crafted as “a sip in the right direction when it comes to environmental impact”, this non-vintage Victorian bubbly is ensconced in an aluminium bottle, 40% lighter than glass, and closed with a screwcap. Aromatic, it is fresh, light and very lively, with tangy, grapey flavours, slightly sweet and crisp. Very gluggable. (11.5% alc/vol) $25

Brown Brothers Prosecco Yuzu Lemon Spritz

(not rated)

This Australian “wine-based beverage” is recommended for serving with a slice of lemon and ice. Pale and hazy, it is light and lively, with lemony aromas and “added flavours” that reminded me of ginger, pear and lychee, in a very easy-drinking style. (8.5% alc/vol) $20

Brown Brothers Sparkling Moscato 2024

★★★

This frisky Victorian bubbly is fresh and lively, with citrusy, grapey flavours, gentle sweetness and moderate acidity. A no-fuss, vibrantly fruity charmer. (6.5% alc/vol) $15

Clos Henri Solange Blanc de Noirs 2021

★★★★½

Certified organic, this bottle-fermented bubbly is estate-grown in Marlborough. Made from pinot noir, the base wine was aged on its yeast lees in stainless steel tanks and old oak casks prior to bottling, and it is being disgorged in batches of just a few hundred bottles. The vivacious wine I tasted was fresh, crisp, dry and vigorous, with peachy, yeasty, slightly toasty flavours showing very good intensity and complexity. $55

Daniel Le Brun Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle 2018

★★★★★

This Marlborough sparkling is based on chardonnay and spends a minimum of three years ageing on its yeast lees. Light lemon/green, it is a clearly blanc de blancs style, with a sense of lightness and vivacity. Its crisp, citrusy, yeasty flavours float smoothly, with a sliver of sweetness balanced by appetising acidity and very good intensity and complexity. $40

Deutz Marlborough Cuvée Blanc de Blancs 2019

★★★★★

This delicious, chardonnay-predominant blend is hand-picked and matured for up to three years on its yeast lees. It has strong, vibrant, peachy and citrusy fruit flavours, with yeasty, biscuity notes adding complexity. A vivacious, vigorous, still youthful wine, it is crisp, basically dry and invitingly perfumed. $33

Esses Abode Kaikōura Méthode Traditionnelle 2020

★★★★★

This highly refined, single-vineyard wine was hand-harvested at Kaikōura from mature chardonnay and pinot noir vines, and disgorged after more than four years on its yeast lees. Light lemon/green, with a hint of straw, it has excellent vibrancy and delicacy, with intense citrus and cashew nut flavours and a tight-knit, very finely balanced, dryish, long finish. Delicious stuff. $65

Haha Brut Cuvée NV

★★★★

This non-vintage wine is made by the Charmat method, involving a secondary, bubble-inducing fermentation in a sealed tank. Bright, light lemon/green, it is very lively, with good intensity of citrusy, gently yeasty and biscuity flavours and a dryish, refreshingly crisp finish. Priced right. $21

Hunter’s MiruMiru NV

★★★★½

“MiruMiru” (“bubbles”) is Hunter’s biggest-selling wine in New Zealand. A non-vintage bottling, it is blended from chardonnay, pinot noir and a splash of pinot meunier, grown in the Wairau Valley. Offering great drinkability, it is vibrantly fruity and finely balanced, with very good intensity of peachy, citrusy, slightly biscuity flavours and a lively, dryish, smooth finish. $27

Hunter’s MiruMiru Vintage 2020

★★★★½

This very elegant, smooth-flowing sparkling is a 3:1 blend of hand-picked pinot noir and chardonnay, disgorged after four years on its yeast lees. Vivacious, it is very finely balanced, with citrusy, peachy flavours, finely integrated yeastiness adding complexity, and a crisp, dryish, lengthy finish. $43

Lindauer Special Reserve Brut Cuvée NV

★★★★

This non-vintage wine is a bottle-fermented blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, grown in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne. Bargain-priced, the latest release, tasted in October, shows greater richness, maturity and complexity than most $15 bubblies. Pink/orange, it has strong, peachy, strawberryish, yeasty flavours. Slightly sweet, crisp and lively. $15

LV by Louis Vavasour Marlborough Méthode Traditionelle NV

★★★★½

Pale straw, very fresh, crisp and lively, this blend of hand-picked pinot noir and chardonnay is matured on its yeast lees for 2½ years. Refined, it offers good intensity of pure, vibrant, peachy, citrusy fruit flavours with gently biscuity notes adding complexity and a dryish, smooth finish. $59

Mora Central Otago Rosé Brut NV Mora Central Otago Rosé Brut NV

Mora Central Otago Rosé Brut NV

★★★★★

This distinctive wine was hand-picked at Bannockburn from mature pinot noir and chardonnay vines. It is mostly from the 2021 harvest, but 19% of the blend is reserve wine from the 2013-2020 vintages. Pale pink/orange, it is characterful and vigorous, with peach, orange, strawberry, watermelon and spice flavours, very smooth, complex, dry and lingering. $45

Mora Central Otago Vintage Brut 2017

★★★★★

Currently delicious, this pale-straw wine was hand-harvested at Bannockburn and Pisa. The base wine, a blend of pinot noir (principally) and chardonnay, was fermented in tanks and old oak barrels, and the wine was disgorged after ageing for six years and eight months on its yeast lees. Attractively scented, it is refined and vigorous, with crisp, peachy, citrusy, yeasty, biscuity flavours revealing excellent complexity, harmony and length. $70

Mumm Marlborough Brut Prestige NV

★★★★★

The arresting debut release in 2021 was enhanced by the addition of 24% older, reserve stock. This latest release, tasted recently, is also a memorable mouthful. Bright, light lemon/green, it is fresh and vivacious, with intense, citrusy, yeasty, biscuity flavours, very finely balanced and lingering. Well worth discovering. $40

Mumm Marlborough Rosé NV

★★★★★

This non-vintage wine, released recently, should win many friends. Gently pink, it is instantly attractive and very lively, with strong watermelon, peach and spice flavours, finely integrated yeastiness adding complexity, and a finely poised, very smooth and harmonious finish. $40

Nautilus Cuvée Marlborough Brut NV

★★★★½

Made with pinot noir (mostly) and chardonnay, this popular sparkling is blended with reserve stocks held in old oak barriques and disgorged after three years of ageing on its yeast lees. The latest batch was bottled in late 2022 and disgorged from its yeast lees in September 2025 (you can see that near the base of the bottle). Pale lemon/green, it is fresh, savoury and vigorous, with strong, peachy, citrusy, gently biscuity flavours showing very good complexity, and a long, yeasty, harmonious finish. $39

Palliser Estate The Griffin Martinborough Méthode Traditionnelle 2022

★★★★½

Pale straw, this youthful, vigorous wine is a bottle-fermented blend of pinot noir and chardonnay, aged for three years on its yeast lees. It offers strong, peachy, citrusy, gently yeasty flavours showing very good complexity, and a dryish, crisp, very harmonious finish. $55

Pipi

★★★★½

This distinctive, non-vintage wine produced by Swift Wines is from albarino grapes, harvested in 2025 at Mangatahi, in Hawke’s Bay. Fermented in old barrels and aged on its yeast lees for four months, it is closed with a crown seal. Pale straw, it is a frisky, citrusy wine with very good vigour, intensity and harmony, mouth-watering acidity, fractional sweetness and a harmonious, lingering finish. $40

Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle Brut NV

★★★★★

Offering fine value, this non-vintage sparkling is estate-grown at Bendigo, in Central Otago, and matured on its yeast lees for at least two years. The latest release is a 2:1 blend of pinot noir and chardonnay. Pale straw, it is fragrant, with strong, vigorous, citrusy and peachy flavours, yeasty, biscuity notes adding excellent complexity, and a tight-knit, finely poised finish. Certified organic. $39

Quartz Reef Méthode Traditionnelle Blanc De Blancs 2019

★★★★★

This classy wine is promoted as the “crown jewel” of Quartz Reef’s sparklings. Made from chardonnay, it was estate-grown at Bendigo and matured on its yeast lees for five years. Invitingly scented, with a sense of lightness and delicacy, it is elegant, with intense, citrusy, slightly peachy flavours, dry, vigorous, crisp and long. Certified organic. $85

Soljans Legacy Méthode Traditionnelle 2021

★★★★★

This straw/pale gold wine is a rich, extroverted style, made from chardonnay. It has a fragrant, biscuity bouquet. Showing plenty of personality, it has strong, vigorous, peachy, citrusy, yeasty flavours, vague sweetness, crisp acidity, and excellent depth, vigour and harmony. $44

Tohu Rewa Blanc de Blancs Méthode Traditionnelle 2017

★★★★½

This fragrant wine was made from chardonnay grapes, hand-picked at Rapaura, and disgorged after more than six years ageing on its yeast lees. Bright lemon/green, it is a refined, tightly structured, still very lively wine, with citrusy, yeasty, toasty flavours, showing very good vigour and complexity, and a crisp, dryish finish. $35-$40

Tohu Rewa Méthode Traditionnelle Rosé 2018

★★★★★

Made from pinot noir, this classy drop was estate-grown in the Awatere Valley and disgorged after up to six years ageing on its yeast lees. Pale pink, it is crisp and dryish, with a very lively surge of strawberry, watermelon, orange, peach and spice flavours, yeasty notes adding complexity, and excellent vigour, delicacy and length. $39

Vilarnau Barcelona Cava Brut Reserva NV

★★★★

Invitingly fragrant, this refreshing Spanish bubbly has a sense of lightness and vigour. Citrusy and yeasty, off-dry and appetisingly crisp, it is immediately appealing. (11.5% alc/vol). $21-$25

Villa Maria Reserve Méthode Traditionnelle Brut NV

★★★★★

Disgorged after five years on its yeast lees, this very classy, non-vintage wine is a blend of chardonnay (85%) and pinot noir (15%), with back vintage, reserve wine included. Grown and hand-harvested in Marlborough, it is a very elegant, finely poised wine, with strong, vigorous, citrusy, peachy flavours, gentle biscuity and yeasty notes, and excellent complexity, harmony and length. $40

Whitehaven Samantha Cuvée Méthode Traditionnelle 2020

★★★★½

Still youthful, this Marlborough bubbly is a blend of chardonnay (principally) and pinot noir. Pale lemon/green, it is fresh, smooth and lively, with citrusy, gently yeasty flavours, showing good complexity, and a crisp, dry, vigorous finish. $45

Zaria Sparkling Rosé 2024

★★★★

This pink/pale red wine is closed with a crown seal. Made from merlot grapes, grown in the Bridge Pā Triangle, Hawke’s Bay, it has buoyant, berryish flavours, strong, lively and harmonious, that float smoothly to a dry, lingering finish. $28

Note: all wines are 12-13% alc/vol, unless stated otherwise.

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