People show up for all different reasons during the holidays, many with bubbles on the brain. But where to start? I asked a handful of Orlando\u2019s top pros for their favorite fizzy picks and found a range of options for every budget, whether you\u2019re looking to bring something to the party, gift a client or loved one, or simply have something a little extra special to open as you celebrate all the winter holidays, in big gatherings or intimate ones at home.<\/p>\n
![\"Claude](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-05.jpg\")
Claude Manciat Cremant de Bourgogne ($26) is a blend of 1\/3 each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligot\u00e9 grape varietals. You’ll find it at Tim’s Wine Market in Orlando. (Courtesy Tim’s Wine Market)
\nTim Varan, Tim\u2019s Wine Market<\/p>\n
His pick:\u00a0Claude Manciat Cremant de Bourgogne, $26<\/p>\n
During Varan\u2019s first trip to France in 1993, his group stopped at Manciat-Poncet, then an up-and-coming Macon producer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe family had been growing grapes and making wine since the 1930s, but sold their wines to the local cooperative,\u201d Varan explains. \u201cThen in the 1980s, Claude Manciat made the decision to begin selling under their own label.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today, the wines are made by his daughter, Marie-Pierre, who Varan says has raised the stature of the domaine to one of the top in the Macon region.<\/p>\n
3 singular spots to wine down around Orlando<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis terrific Cr\u00e9mant is a blend of 1\/3 each Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Aligot\u00e9, fermented and aged in bottle for two years. It is a frothy, mouth-filling sparkling wine that gives you the complexity of Champagne but is not as austere. It\u2019s really easy to drink without food, but also works great with smoked or tinned fish, stone crab claws or shrimp scampi. While I still love Champagne, I serve this when company comes because it is far better than most inexpensive Champagnes and still half the price.\u201d<\/p>\n If you go: 1223 N. Orange Ave. in Orlando, 407-895-9463; timswine.com<\/a><\/p>\n One of Orlando\u2019s leading ladies in natural wine, Heather LaVine\u2019s two venues \u2014 each with its own personality \u2014 offer different experiences. Golden Hour is more shop than bar, Quicksand is the opposite, but either offers guests superb sips and, for those interested, a deeper dive into the world of low-intervention vino.<\/p>\n LaVine\u2019s pick: Les Hautes Terres, l\u2019Air du Paradis Limoux M\u00e9thode Ancestrale (Non-Vintage), $39 to-go\/$59 on-premise<\/p>\n \u201cI stack the list and shelves at Quicksand with bubbles,\u201d she says. \u201cSome might think the percentage is unreasonable, but that\u2019s what [the team] likes to drink, and it\u2019s what many of our guests come in for.<\/p>\n Orlando\u2019s natural wine scene is growing \u2014 organically<\/a><\/p>\n Often, when people hear natural wine, they think of pet-nats (p\u00e9tillant naturel: the oldest method for making sparkling wine) in clear bottles with beer caps (instead of corks). We do have some of that, but honestly, it\u2019s not what you\u2019ll see us most often drinking, bringing to dinner parties or sharing with guests.\u201d<\/p>\n At Quicksand, they enjoy bubbles with layers, with depth, which LaVine says can mean a natural-growth Champagne or a German Sekt or even a Lambrusco<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lambrusco: Red bubbles to ring in 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAs in the case of the l\u2019Air du Paradis Limoux M\u00e9thode Ancestrale, we also enjoy really tasty bubbles from lesser-known regions\/places that overdeliver in quality for the price.\u201d<\/p>\n LaVine calls it \u201cthe wine you can bring to any holiday party. It\u2019s a wine for everyone at the table: grandma, your natural wine nerd friend and all of those in between. And guess what? It actually is a pet-nat, just in a dark bottle, topped with a cork and cage, and disgorged like it is done with Champagne, so there is no sediment.\u201d<\/p>\n Fun fact: This wine is made from a white varietal called Mauzac, native to the Limoux region of France.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t find it in many other places in the world, and even in Limoux, the grape is being replaced by chardonnay.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s obscure, she says, but the taste is compelling, \u201cwith complex and familiar notes of white flowers, brioche, green apple and a hint of honey. And as always: organically farmed, hand harvested, with no additives, including yeast or sugar.\u201d<\/p>\n No added sulfites, either. Cheers!<\/p>\n If you go: 1903 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando; quicksand.wine<\/a><\/p>\n LaVine\u2019s pick: Alessandra Divella, Blanc de Blancs 2021, $70<\/p>\n Franciacorta, LaVine opines, is Italy\u2019s answer to Champagne, \u201cand Alessandra Divella is considered by many, including me, to be the queen of grower Franciacorta. Prosecco was probably the first Italian sparkling wine we were introduced to, but if you enjoy Champagne, Franciacorta is what you should be drinking next.\u201d<\/p>\n Divella\u2019s wines are some of the very few from the Lombardy region made naturally, and to LaVine\u2019s knowledge, she is the only female winemaker there, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky enough to spend time tasting with and talking to her over the years: she is smart, thoughtful and cares deeply about being great at her craft. We love her and her wines!\u201d<\/p>\n LaVine calls the Blanc de Blancs the perfect starting point for guests, \u201cand if you\u2019re curious, we can take you on a journey from there!\u201d<\/p>\n These wines always have a place at her holiday table, and what\u2019s more, the staff at Quicksand will be pouring them by the glass very soon.<\/p>\n If you go: 1560 Lake Baldwin Lane in Orlando, 689-444-6072; goldenhour.wine<\/a><\/p>\n His pick: NV Red Tail Ridge Perpetuelle Change, $40<\/p>\n Located in the Finger Lakes region of New York state, Red Tail Ridge Winery<\/a> has been at the top of Chase\u2019s list of fun discoveries in the past several years, a place where he says some of the most exciting wines are being crafted.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you couldn\u2019t find a better example than Red Tail Ridge,\u201d Chase says.<\/p>\n Owner Nancy Irelan and her partner in both business and life, Michael Schnelle, purchased the property in 2002, as a recovery of sorts from the corporate world, he reports. This, after attaining her PH.D. in Grape Genetics and spending years working in California for E&J Gallo, spearheading their quality control programs.<\/p>\n After their move, says Chase, they planted Riesling, Pinot Noir and some off-the-path varietals, including Dornfelder, Teroldego and Blaufr\u00e4nkisch.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Perpetuelle Change from Red Tail Ridge beautifully showcases their deviation from the norm,\u201d he notes. \u201cThis wine is produced using m\u00e9thode champenoise, but with a twist. The base is created using the solera method, commonly found in Sherry and Madeira.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a kind of fractional blending, he explains, where the base is amended year and wine is drawn to be bottled from the previous blend. Thusly, it is ever-evolving.<\/p>\n \u201cThat means you\u2019re going to find several vintages in this bottle \u2014 2019 through 2023 to be exact \u2014 and this lends to consistency in style, as well as additional depth in flavor and aroma.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first taste will greet you with a creamy, savory character, followed by a citrus component \u2014 burnt orange. As that rich, brioche-like flavor melts away, the senses are treated to layers of fresh flowers, honeysuckle, saline\u2026 This wine is just all about tension and balance, the interplay of salt and fruit. Just picture an electric Orangesicle, and you\u2019re almost there. I\u2019d put this wine up against Champagne any day.\u201d<\/p>\n If you go: 1215 Edgewater Drive in Orlando, 407-426-7510; digresswine.com<\/a><\/p>\n His pick: Champagne Gounel + Lassalle, Les Agneaux, Premier Cru, 2020; $200<\/p>\n Kyle Ridington\u2019s Winter Park shop certainly has its share of moderately priced pours, but his impressive wall of Champagne showcases his most profound passion as a sommelier.<\/p>\n He calls this pour singular \u2014 mood-altering.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOn a recent visit to this small, family-owned house, virtually unknown in the U.S., I stood with the winemaker within the steep vineyard of Les Agneaux, surrounded by 70-year-old vines.\u201d<\/p>\n The Champagne, he says, represents less than 1% of its kind.<\/p>\n \u201cThis 2020 vintage Les Agneaux yields just 1,600 bottles annually,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n \u201c[It is] organic, zero-dosage purity at its finest \u2014 raw, righteous and seductive as Cinderella\u2019s hips.\u201d<\/p>\n If you go: 544 W. Fairbanks Ave. in Winter Park, 407-960-3857; modestwine.com<\/a><\/p>\n Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram\u00a0@amydroo<\/a>\u00a0or on the OSFoodie Instagram account\u00a0@orlando.foodie<\/a>. Email:\u00a0amthompson@orlandosentinel.com<\/a>. For more fun, join the\u00a0Let\u2019s Eat, Orlando Facebook group<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"Heather](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-04.jpg\")
Heather LaVine, natural wine lover and owner of two wine shops\/bars here in town, strikes a pose with a bottle l’Air du Paradis ($39), “the wine you can bring to any holiday party,” she says. (Courtesy Quicksand Wine Bar)
\nHeather La Vine, Quicksand Bar \u00e0 Vin, Mills 50 <\/p>\n![\""Franciacorta](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-01.jpg\")
“Franciacorta is Italy’s answer to Champagne,” says Golden Hour Wine owner Heather LaVine, “and Alessandra Divella is considered by many, including me, to be the queen of grower Franciacorta.” Consider it among your sparkling options this season. (Courtesy Golden Hour Wine)
\nHeather La Vine, Golden Hour Wine, Baldwin Park<\/p>\n![\"Rob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-07.jpg\")
Rob Chase sips a favorite from Red Tail Ridge Winery at Digress Wine, his College Bar wine bar\/shop. (Courtesy Digress Wine)
\nRob Chase, Digress Wine<\/p>\n![\"Digress'](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-08.jpg\")
Digress’ Rob Chase said he’d put this bottle up against Champagne any day. (Courtesy Digress Wine)<\/p>\n![\"Kyle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/TOS-L-sparkling-recommendations-orlando-wine-pros-09.jpg\")
Kyle Ridington of Modest Wine pours a bottle of Champagne Gounel\u00a0+ Lassalle, Les Agneaux, Premier Cru at his Winter Park wine shop\/bar. (Courtesy Modest Wine)
\nKyle Ridington, Modest Wine<\/p>\n