Champagne & Prosecco
There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from knowing the bottle in your hand is genuinely special. Champagne & Prosecco are the wines most often bought for other people - a birthday, an anniversary, a promotion, a thank-you that words alone cannot carry - and that means the choice matters more than almost any other in your cellar. We have tasted widely and chosen carefully so that every bottle in this collection earns its place at the table rather than simply filling it.
Champagne & Prosecco: What a Well-Chosen Bottle Actually Changes
From the chalk-driven tension of a well-aged champagne sparkling wine to the fresh, orchard-bright lift of a quality prosecco, this collection is built around the idea that bubbles should say something - about the occasion, about the person receiving the glass, and about the judgement of whoever chose the bottle. We source from growers and houses that share that seriousness, and we are happy to guide you through the distinctions if you are still finding your way around the category. Explore the broader range of Sparkling Wines to see how Champagne and Prosecco sit within the wider world of bubbles.
Prosecco Wines: More Than a Party Shorthand
Champagne & Prosecco transforms any moment into something worth remembering. Whether you're marking a milestone, hosting friends, or simply deciding tonight deserves a proper celebration, our curated selection of champagnes and proseccos - sourced with the same care we bring to every bottle - gives you the confidence to pop the cork and mean it.
Prosecco wines have suffered slightly from their own success. Ubiquity has made some people assume they are all the same - and they are emphatically not. The best come from the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hillsides in the Veneto, where the Glera grape is grown on steep slopes with genuine diligence, producing wines with bright green apple, white peach, and a fine, persistent bead that bears no resemblance to the flat, sweetish versions that crowd supermarket shelves. The DOCG designation - particularly Superiore di Cartizze - signals a level of ambition worth paying attention to.
Prosecco sparkling wine is also remarkably versatile as a food companion, which is frequently underestimated. The low-to-moderate alcohol and clean acidity mean it works beautifully as an aperitivo alongside light antipasti, soft cheeses, and cured meats, where a heavier wine would overwhelm. It also holds its own with lighter seafood dishes and is one of the few wines that genuinely flatters a classic prawn cocktail. If you enjoy Italian whites more broadly, our Italian White Wines collection is well worth a browse alongside this one.
Champagne Wine and the Art of Knowing What You're Drinking
Real champagne wine comes exclusively from the Champagne region of north-eastern France, and the method - secondary fermentation in the bottle, extended lees ageing, hand-riddling and disgorgement - is one of the most labour-intensive in winemaking. That process creates the fine, persistent mousse, the complex autolytic notes of brioche and toasted almond, and the underlying tension that separates great Champagne from everything else. Non-vintage Champagne is blended across years to maintain house style; vintage expressions capture a single exceptional harvest and reward patience in the cellar.
We stock across styles and occasions, from elegant grower Champagnes made by the people who grew the grapes to the trusted authority of established houses. The distinction matters: grower Champagne tends to express terroir more directly and can surprise even committed enthusiasts with its depth and originality. Both have a place in a well-stocked cellar, and we are happy to help you navigate between them. For bottles intended as a gift, our gifts for wine lovers collection includes presentation options that make the gesture complete.
Champagne and Prosecco for Every Occasion Worth Marking
The question we are most often asked is not which bottle to choose, but when. The honest answer is that champagne and prosecco are more flexible than their reputations suggest. Champagne has a particular affinity with salty, savoury foods - one of wine's more counterintuitive pleasures - while prosecco's fruitier profile suits sweeter, lighter preparations equally well. Some occasions and pairings we return to again and again:
- Champagne with oysters or briny seafood - the high acidity and mineral salinity of a good blanc de blancs cuts through and amplifies the oceanic quality of the food in a way that feels almost designed. This is the pairing that convinced generations of wine lovers to take Champagne seriously beyond celebrations.
- Prosecco wine with aperitivo boards - the lighter body and gentle sweetness (even in Brut styles there is a softness) means it does not overpower olive oil, soft salumi, or fresh cheeses the way a fuller sparkling wine might. It invites another glass rather than demanding concentration.
- A blanc de noirs Champagne with charcuterie - made predominantly from Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier, these wines carry more red-fruit character and body, making them surprisingly satisfying alongside richer, meatier boards.
- Prosecco rosé wine - a relatively recent but now firmly established category - pairs beautifully with strawberries and cream, lighter summer desserts, and the kind of long warm evening that deserves something pretty in the glass. If this appeals, our sparkling rose wines collection has more to explore.
For those shopping from across Somerset - or indeed anyone looking for champagne and prosecco in Frome and the surrounding area - we offer a carefully considered selection that reflects genuine expertise rather than simply the most familiar labels. We taste everything we stock, and we only add bottles that we would happily open ourselves. The Taylor's Sentinels Vintage Port 2022 and the Biscardo Ripasso Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2019 are both examples of how seriously we approach selection across the shop - the same rigour applies to every bottle of Champagne and Prosecco we carry.
If you are building a mixed celebration order, the fine sparkling wines range offers grower Champagnes and top-tier proseccos worth considering alongside the core collection. For a broader look at French Sparkling Wines beyond Champagne - Crémant d'Alsace, Crémant de Loire, and others made by the same traditional method - that collection is full of discoveries that often surprise even seasoned drinkers.
The pleasure of buying a bottle of prosecco and champagne from a shop that genuinely cares about what it stocks is that you are not guessing. You are trusting a selection process built on tasting, expertise, and the kind of honest enthusiasm that comes from people who drink this stuff because they love it. Browse the collection, and buy with the confidence that wherever the evening takes you, the bottle will be ready for it.
What style of Champagne do you stock - blanc de blancs, blanc de noirs, rosé, or vintage?
We stock across the main Champagne styles. Blanc de blancs - made entirely from Chardonnay - tends towards elegance, precision, and a focused citrus and chalky mineral character that ages particularly well. Blanc de noirs, made from red-skinned grapes (Pinot Noir and/or Pinot Meunier), carries more body and red-fruit warmth. Rosé Champagne sits somewhere between the two in terms of weight, with added complexity from the red-wine element in the blend. We also carry vintage expressions when the quality justifies it, alongside non-vintage house styles. For fine and aged expressions, our Fine Wines section is worth checking alongside this collection.
How do Champagne and Prosecco actually differ - beyond price?
The differences are significant. Champagne undergoes its secondary fermentation in the bottle (méthode traditionnelle), is aged on the lees for a minimum of 15 months (36 for vintage), and is blended from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier grown in a tightly defined region of northern France. That process creates the characteristic toasty, brioche-like complexity alongside the wine's fruit. Prosecco uses the Charmat method - secondary fermentation in a large pressurised tank - which preserves freshness and primary fruit character (green apple, white peach, pear) rather than developing autolytic complexity. Neither is superior; they serve different purposes beautifully. Champagne rewards contemplation and works with richer foods; prosecco is livelier, lighter, and ideal as an aperitif or with delicate dishes.
Should I serve Champagne and Prosecco in a flute or a coupe?
The coupe is romantic but not ideal - its wide surface area dissipates both bubbles and aroma too quickly. The traditional flute preserves the bead and delivers aroma to the nose, but a tulip-shaped glass (narrower at the rim than the bowl) is arguably the best of both worlds: it shows the mousse beautifully and concentrates the aromatics in a way that does full justice to a quality bottle. We have a selection of appropriate Wine Glasses if you want to serve yours correctly from the start.
Are any of the Prosecco wines organic or low-intervention?
We are increasingly interested in this area. Some of the most exciting producers in Conegliano Valdobbiadene are working with certified organic viticulture, and we source from growers who share our interest in minimal intervention in the winery. If you are specifically looking for low-intervention sparkling wines, check our Natural Wines collection, where relevant bottles are flagged clearly.
