Whether it's a bash for 100, a party for 2 or a solo effort, you absolutely have to have sparkling wine this New Year's Eve.
New Year's Eve and sparkling wine are synonymous for good reason.
Bubbles by their very nature are celebratory.
The effervescence is mood lifting, luxurious, decadent, a sign of optimism and a harbinger of good times.
It's the traditional way to say goodbye to the old year and hello to the new.
It's a ritual of noisily popping the oversized cork from a shamelessly heavy bottle to cheers, honour, commemorate and salute an occasion.
Sparkling wines fall into two main camps.
Champagne-method bubbly is created with a second fermentation in the bottle — the reaction of yeast eating sugar to create alcohol and trapped carbon dioxide that releases as bubbles when the bottle is opened and the sparkling is poured.
Prosecco-style sparklers get their second fermentation in a big stainless-steel tank and are then bottled to capture the carbon dioxide.
Champagne-method is more textured and has some aromas and flavours of freshly baked bread thanks to the wine sitting on that yeast in the bottle.
Prosecco-style is lighter and not as complicated.
Yet, when well made, both version are fresh and vibrant with white bubbles expressing an apple-lemon-white flower profile and Rose (pink) sparkling wine offering up raspberry, pink grapefruit and red flower aromas and flavours.
Photo credit: Kateryna Hliznitova on UnsplashHappy New Year!
Sparkling is also going to get along famously with everything you might serve up on New Year's Eve from a splurge of osysters or caviar to commonplace cheddar cheese or popcorn.
All this build up puts a lot of pressure on your New Year's imbibing to be spectacularly special and singularly sensational.
That's why we're here to help you out.
Any one or all of this baker's dozen of sparkling wines will be welcome at a New Year's Eve party, gathering, soiree, dinner and-or midnight toast.
– Road 13 Old Vine Chenin Blanc 2019 ($45) from Oliver
Champagne-method from Chenin grape vines planted in 1968.
– Blue Mountain 2016 Blanc de Blancs ($44) from Okanagan Falls
100% Chardonnay, Champagne-method, classically delicious and decadent.
– Blue Mountain 2016 Reserve Brut ($44) from Okanagan Falls
Another classic Champagne-style champion of 55% Chardonnay and 45% Pinot Noir.
– Township 7 Seven Stars Late Disgorged 2017 Sirius ($80) from Langley
This highest-end sparkling won 'wine of the year' at the 2025 BC Wine Awards.
It's aptly named after the brightest star in the night sky (Sirius).
The 'late disgorged' in its title refers to the dead yeast cells being removed (disgorged) from the bottle after an extended 72 months making the wine endlessly elegant and complex.
– Township 7 Seven Stars 2017 Sirius ($80) from Langley
The same wine as above with dead yeast cells not left as long.
– Township 7 Seven Stars 2021 Polaris ($40) from the Naramata Bench
Named after the North Star and 100% Chardonnay.
Photo credit: Oliver Sherwin on UnsplashThere's nothing more elegant than a glass of sparkling wine.
– Lightning Rock 2022 Rose de Noir ($40) from Summerland
A pink, Champagne-method beauty with a pink grapefruit, raspberry and rose petal profile.
– Lightning Rock 2022 Blanc de Blancs ($35) from Summerland
Yum, a sparkling of 100% Riesling.
– Mionetto Prosecco Brut ($20) from Italy
Italy is the birthplace of Prosecco and this is a quintessential example of dolce vita excellence.
– Haywire 2014 Grand Cuvee The Bub ($50) from Summerland
Extra aging, Champagne-method.
– Free Form 2018 Blanc de Blanc ($50) from Summerland
Pure and all Chardonnay.
– Laughing Stock 2021 'Market Bubble' Brut ($40) from the Naramata Bench
An excellence example of the traditional Chardonnay-Pinot Noir blend pioneered in the Champagne region of France.
– Domaine Artema 2024 Village Sparkling Rose ($35)
Made by the Oliver winery with imported Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes with delicious cross-border results.
Whatever you do New Year's Eve, have fun, drink well, be grateful for what was good in your 2025 and all the possibilities for 2026.
Happy New Year!
Steve MacNaull is a NowMedia Group reporter, Okanagan wine lover and Canadian Wine Scholar. Reach him at smacnaull@nowmediagroup.ca. His wine column appears every Friday afternoon in this space.
Photo credit: Kateryna Hliznitova on UnsplashCheers!
