Best Champagne alternatives in the UK

Crémant — the best value option

Crémant is sparkling wine made outside Champagne using the same traditional method — second fermentation in the bottle. Crémant de Bourgogne, made from the same Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes as Champagne, is often genuinely difficult to distinguish from entry-level Champagne at twice the price. Crémant d'Alsace tends to be slightly more aromatic. Both are widely available in the UK at £12–18. This is the most direct like-for-like swap available.

Cava

Spanish Cava is also made by the traditional method but uses native Spanish grapes — Macabeo, Xarel-lo, and Parellada. At the entry level it can taste slightly earthy or rustic. But Cava Reserva and Gran Reserva, aged for longer, are genuinely complex and serious wines at £15–25. These are among the best-value sparkling wines in the world.

English sparkling wine

English sparkling wine has become genuinely world-class. The chalk soils of Sussex and Kent are almost identical to those of Champagne and producers like Nyetimber, Chapel Down, and Ridgeview are making wines that beat entry-level Champagne in blind tastings. They are not cheap — £25–40 — but they are often better than Champagne at the same price and a genuinely exciting local product.

Pét-nat

Pétillant naturel — Pét-nat — is sparkling wine made by an older, simpler method where the wine finishes fermenting in the bottle with no dosage or disgorging. The result is cloudy, slightly unpredictable, lower in bubbles, and often very refreshing. It is a natural wine style with a very different character from Champagne — more rustic, more alive, more suited to a casual summer afternoon than a formal occasion.

At a restaurant and unsure which sparkling wine to order? Pour reads the list and picks the right one.