Off the Vine: Five Great Bottles For Ringing In the New Year

HOUSTON, TX — You know that you will at some point on Saturday want to pop a cork on a bottle of bubbles (but don't pop ... ease that cork out gently), to ring out the old and toast the new. Whether you are a weekly Champagne drinker or someone who enjoys sparkling wines occasionally, I've got five great choices for your New Year's Eve celebrations.

We begin with something from Italy, and it's delicious. Ferghettina Franciacorta Brut is made of 95 percent Chardonnay and 5 percent Pinot Nero, and its tiny bubbles will please you and your guests for about $24 a bottle. Apple and almond dominate here, with a dry finish. I've had this with oysters and shrimp, and loved it with both.

Next, let's travel to California, where we'll open the 2012 Ocean Reserve Blanc de Blancs from Iron Horse Vineyards. It's yours for around $50, and worth every penny. Plus — and though you need no excuse to drink this, it's always good to feel good about yourself — $4 of every bottle goes to the National Geographic's Ocean Initiative, which helps establish protected marine areas and promotes sustainable fishing practices around the world. Citrus charms in this sparkling; think lime and orange. The minerality astounds and charms. I love this with all kinds of seafood.

We're lingering in California, and will spend a bit more on this selection. It's the 2007 J. Schram from Schramsberg. It's predominately Chardonnay — the rest is Pinot Noir — and at $120, it won't appeal to all budgets, but come on, it is New Year's Eve, after all, and this is a special bottle. It's aged for seven years, and the wait is worth it. The creaminess here is a wonderful thing, and dough and peach transport you to a great year, which I hope 2017 will be.

Yes, France, I know. We must go to Champagne at least once on New Year's Eve, so here it is, the Dom Perignon 2006 vintage. For about $180, you'll drink an exquisite example of French ingenuity at its finest. A nose of fruit and floral nature that deepens to something herbal. (And yes, please use your nose when drinking sparkling wines. Do not take the bouquet for granted.) A first taste is deceptive, because this opens (briefly) bright and light. Soon, however, you'll experience a brininess that is ethereal, and a mouthfeel that will have you consorting with monks in a dim cellar in Reims.

Lastly, I take you to Spain, a place of beauty and marvelous food and wine — not that France or California or Italy lack in those departments. Here, we drink Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad. I've spent a good amount of time in Spain, and I never tire of this cava. The bottle looks like a million, and for around $25 you'll smile all the way into 2017. Macabeo and Parellada grapes from estate vineyards combine for a richness worthy of much more than a mere toast. I once, about a decade ago, feasted on cold chicken accompanied by a bottle of Heradad, a lunch I remember still.

Ask your favorite merchant for one or all of these beautiful wines, and here's to you and yours.

Want more wine? Read about a Texas winery here (one that's making a very good Aglianico).