Champagne is a celebratory drink and, as such, it is likely to be a bit more popular around the holidays than it is at other times of the year. In Britain, champagne is more popular than it is anywhere else in the world, with the exception of France, and the number of supermarket-brand champagnes has been climbing steadily. Ordinarily, the phrase "supermarket-brand champagnes" wouldn't exactly inspire confidence if you want to buy a high-quality drink, but it turns out that some of the store brand champagnes rated much higher in a taste test than expensive brands that cost two or three times as much. UK food critic Egon Ronay took part in a blind taste test of 30 bottles at the request of the Press Association, which arranged the trial. He concluded that many different store bubblies stand up very well to the known brands, with the top four being "as good or better than some of the best." Those four include Marks & Spencer Champagne de St Gall Premier Cru Brut (£19.99); Sainsbury's Vintage 1999 Blanc de Blancs Brut, (£17.99); Sainsbury's Blanc de Noirs Brut (£13.99); and Sainsbury's Champagne Rose (£16.29).

Store brand products can be more affordable and, in many cases, better tasting than their name-brand counterparts. With some products, the larger national brands actually produce the store-brands, which simply receive different packaging before being shipped out to stores. Personally, I'm an open minded shopper and don't usually discriminate between name brand and non name brand food items. I buy store-brand sodas along with Diet Coke and do price and ingredient comparisons with products I haven't previously tried, often to discover that the store brand is almost identical to the more expensive corresponding brand.

That said, there are still some products that I won't buy if they're an off-brand. I prefer Heinz ketchup, for example, and approximations of Honey Nut Cheerios just don't quite measure up. It's probably because they're familiar flavors that I grew up with, and for that same reason, you probably have some, too. What store brand products will you not buy?

American Inventor Spot did a taste test of several types of non-name brand sodas, not comparing them to the major brand equivalents, but just to see how they stood on their own. After all, you can get quite a deal when you buy the store-brand soda instead of a national brand. With brands from Albertsons and Wal-Mart, they rated each soda on flavor, aftertaste, scent, consistency and design before giving it an overall score. Their favorite was Dr. Bold, a Dr. Pepper facsimile from Albertsons.

The problem with generic sodas is that because they vary from place to place, it's hard to know when you're going to get a good one. Fortunately, they're usually inexpensive enough that even if the soda isn't that great, you're only out about a quarter, but I still like to know where I can get a good one. For example, Safeway Select sodas are always on sale and are very good, not to mention that they seem to come in an almost endless number of flavors (though you might want to think twice before buying the diet orange). It's worth picking up a six pack or four when you have a chance.

Do you buy store brand sodas, and if so, tell us where in the comments.

Many Manhattanites are looking forward to the new Trader Joe's in their neighborhood, but not everyone in the city is familiar with the options that the specialty grocer offers. In fact, residents of Madison, Wisconsin may not be sure what is in store for them when their Trader Joe's opens, either. To be sure, we cover a lot of it here at Slashfood, but there is a lot to learn about the way the grocer operates. The blogger at cardhouse has put together a frequent shopper's guide to Trader Joe's that outlines some of the high and low points of the store. Among the highs are some of their excellent products, like Trader Joe's Smokey Black Bean Dip and Trader Joe's Banana Waffles. Low points include their annoying tendency to replace name-brand products with store-brand clones. Is it worth it? Only time and experience will convince Trader Joe's newbies for sure.

[Via A Full Belly]