As the year ends and another begins, I always think of one of my favorite pieces of prose:

"Here's to champagne the drink that takes away our troubles. It's made from a dollars' worth of wine and three dollars worth of bubbles."

All champagne IS sparkling wine but not all sparkling wine is champagne. Technically. The French say ONLY sparkling wines made in the Champagne region can be toasted as such. Mais oui.

Many people say they don't like champagne. Why? "Oh it gives me a headache," they reply. Why? 98% will say "I always have a glass at New Year's Eve and the next morning I wake up with SUCH a headache." (Hmmm, somehow they forgot the growler of beer, and slew of craft cocktails they drank BEFORE the one glass of bubbly.)

Another assault to the taste buds is wedding cake and champagne. Sparkling wines are mostly dry and robust and NOT sweet enough to pair with multi layers of butter cream frosting on triple layered cake. Desserts need wines/beverages SWEETER than the dessert to not send your palate into shock.

Sparkling wine makes a great food partner and you don't have to be extravagant. Try a bottle with a bowl of macaroni and cheese topped with crumbled bacon, or a blue cheese topped burger or pad thai noodles and I bet you experience a brand new appreciation of this bubbly form of wine.

Price shouldn't hold you back either. Sparkling wine is made around the world and is called prosecco, frizzante, cava, spumante. The balance of fruit and acid and FUN makes them an irresistible way to start a meal or enjoy everyday. (Can I find a man like that?!)

Enough babbling about bubbles. Here are a few that are easy to find and a delight to discover.

Freixenet Cava, Spain-SUPER value! In the sleek black bottle. Off dry, fruity and less than $10.

Pommery Brut Rose, France-looks like sparkling rubies in the glass; crisp, dry with addictive aromas and flavors of currants, cranberry and wild strawberries.

Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut, California-You can't go wrong with ANY of the sparkling wines from this producer. The Brut is rich and creamy with a clean mineral finish.