New Year's Eve Bubbly

The sparkling wine we drink on New Year's Eve is not the stuff we drink at other times of the year. Beyond marking the end of the year, Dec. 31 also caps the end of holiday season, a last gasp of celebration -- and provides a ray of hope for what lies ahead. People want to party, not reflect. Chug, not sip.

Circumstances dictate that the sparkler you give or receive will likely be consumed by many mouths -- some quite inebriated already -- and not just by an intimate group of two or four. These factors influence what you buy.

Generally speaking, the ideal bottle will be inexpensive, widely available and fairly dry. The guide below walks you through New Year's Eve options, from fancy French Champagne to an international stable of less expensive, lesser-known alternatives.

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French Champagne
Real-deal French Champagne costs more than other bubblies because it's labor-intensive to produce, requires some aging (consumers basically subsidize their rent), is relatively rare and comes only from a region with a finite amount of land (aka Champagne). Bottles cost $30 and up. Popular and trusted brands include Moët & Chandon (which makes the pricier Dom Pérignon), Perrier-Jouët, Laurent-Perrier, Nicolas Feuillatte, Mumm, Pol Roger, Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin, Piper Heidsieck and Taittinger. Krug is considered the very best, but it would be largely wasted on a New Year's crowd.

Italian Prosecco
Chances are, if you went to a wedding in the last five years you drank Prosecco. It is universally hailed as the ideal inexpensive alternative to fancy French stuff and often costs between $10 and $20 a bottle. If it's fully sparkling, it's called a spumante, and if it is merely lightly sparkling, it's considered a frizzante. Prosecco can be fruity and even sweet, so if you like dry sparklers, make sure you ask about the bottles before buying. Reliable producers: Riondo, Sorelle Bronca and Zonin. Consider serving with Italian foods: seafood, salads, pasta.

Spanish Cava
You won't find more than a handful of Spanish bubblies in most stores or restaurants, but they're gradually becoming more popular. Tip No. 1: The cheaper the bubbly, the sweeter it will be. Freixenet is perhaps the most visible brand; the company's Cordon Negro Brut Cava comes in a black bottle with gold lettering. Another brand, Codorníu (and the aged Gran Reserva Gran Codorníu), also pops up a lot. Tip No. 2: If you can find it, Segura Viudas Reserva Heredad makes for a great showy gift thanks to the metallic base and coat of arms.

Aussie Sparklers
The country that brought us Yellow Tail also knows how to make value bubbly. Golf pro Greg Norman makes terrific wines at reasonable prices; his Norman Estates costs about $15 and combines fruit and biscuit notes in a silky mouthfeel. If you want to turn some heads, bring Sparkling Shiraz to the party and watch people ooh and ahh over the fact that, yes, they make sparkling RED wines. Look for bottles from Chateau Reynella, Hardy's and Seaview.

American Sparklers
Many French Champagne makers came to California to make wine over the last hundred years. The fruit of their labor can be tasted, for far less than any true Champagne, in the sparkling wines of Domaine Carneros, Mumm Napa and Domaine Chandon, among others. A perennial hometown favorite, without the French influence, is Schramsberg, which makes a variety of sparklers: blanc de blanc (wine made solely from chardonnay), blanc de noirs (made from either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two), rosé and so on -- though at prices that creep well past $30 and into the six figures. The exception: Their Mirabelle brut, which costs around $25.

Sparkling Rosés
While rosés used to be frowned upon, they are now the darlings of the wine world-especially in the sparkling arena. They are also terrific at parties as the pink or salmon hue catches people's eyes. Many of these wines have red-berry flavors, spice and citrus. But they tend to be pricey. Piper-Heidsieck Sauvage Rosé, for example, costs around $50. And that's on the low side. Most major brands have a bottle somewhere in the $60 to $100 range: Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Taittinger, Henriot, Charles Heidsieck, G.H. Mumm, Perrier-Jouët and Pommery. The safest bet for New Year's Eve: Korbel Champagne Cellars NV Brut Rose, which shouldn't cost more than $15.

James Oliver Cury is the former executive editor of Epicurious.com.