San Francisco Chronicle:

BRUT STRENGTH - A look at the 3 main categories of sparkling wine -- Champagne, Cava and California sparklers

So there you are in the aisle of the wine shop, staring at dozens of impressively weighty bottles, all of which, once opened, will burst into millions of tasty bubbles.

Prices for these sparkling wines range from $7 to $100 or more. What should you know about bubbly before you buy? Here's a primer.

Though sparkling wine is made in dozens of places around the world, from Austria to Australia to Argentina, the bubbly that shows up on store shelves around the United States is mostly from three places: France, California and Spain. There's an assumption about these three, and it goes like this: The top sparkling wines from France -- Champagnes -- are better than the top sparkling wines from California which, in turn, are better than top sparkling wines from Spain, which are known as cavas. But we all know what they say about assumptions, don't we? As is almost always the case with wine, the situation is more complicated than a simple generality. Let's look at some specifics.

Setting the scene

To get to know a wine, it helps to understand something about the context in which it is drunk. Is the wine good with oysters? Do people tend to drink it at the beach? Is it a fireplace wine? Is it a wine better suited to meat loaf or filet mignon? In this -- let's call it the "behavioral context" of wine -- Champagne, cava and California sparklers differ a lot. Champagne is viewed as a celebratory wine almost everywhere in the world -- including France. That said, the French have a predictably hedonistic interpretation of occasions worth celebrating. Friday night would do. Or the fact that you just finished cleaning out your closet. You don't need to be getting married to open a bottle of Champagne.

Speaking of champagne and France, when we were in Paris this summer, our friend, Jean-René Lyon, served us a bottle that is his very favorite. He says E. Barnaut comes from a small winery, is not well known, and is a well kept secret. We agree! If I find some locally (here in San Francisco), I will let you know. Since I'm in charge of bringing champagne to our party tomorrow night, I'd better get busy.

Happy Holidays!

~Jennifer

P.S. After considerable searching, I identified a store in Michigan called The Village Corner. The E Barnaut Bouzy Grand Cru Reserve Brut which was served to us this summer is available for $25.99 per bottle or $54.99 for a magnum. Two magnums are heading our way -- just in time for New Year's. Thank you for the introduction, Jean-René!

Votre sante!!