Wine tasting: 6th Annual Battle of the Bubbles

Dear all,

In December I'll repeat my now 6th annual "Battle of the Bubbles" pairing off a few good Champagnes against a few great Bubbles-That-Must-Not-Be-Called-Champagnes from the rest of the world. 

This blind tasting will feature eight sparkling wines, most made in the same traditional method as Champagne, but from a few places you might not expect to make great sparkling wines. To keep things fair and fun, I'll cover the labels up-front and ask you to rate each as we go and then and only then will I unveil each wine after you've tasted it.  

As usual, the wine will be paired with good food that complements the wines we’ll be drinking (and vice-versa).