5 Champagne Alternatives For Toasting 2012(3)
Pezsgo
Though better known for producing the sweet and potent Tokaji dessert wine, Hungary knows its way around the bubbly as well.
It must be tough for Hungarian winemakers to tone down Tokaji's syrupy sweetness and ratchet the alcohol content to somewhere below 14%, but Pezsgo producers find a way. The wine has more than 170 years of history behind it and was nearly crushed out of existence during the Soviet era, but is slowly returning to its rightful position as "Hungarian Champagne."
Pezsgo is typically made through a process similar to that used to produce Prosecco, though winemakers are starting to make their wine more like Champagne by fermenting it in bottles. What they're not doing, however, is getting it to the U.S. market in any significant amounts, which makes a bottle of it a far more rare treat than any of the sparklers mentioned in this list.
If a buyer does happen to come across a bottle, it'll most likely be from the Kiralyudvar Winery in Tokaj. Its Pezsgo Henye has a fruity finish, but is only produced in 200-case batches. That said, the existing 2007 and 2008 vintages can still be found for less than $30 at select American wine shops. Central Europe may not have the romantic underpinnings of France and the Champagne region, but its understated beauty and ability to weather bitterly cold New Year's temperatures come through in Pezsgo's dancing bubbles and deep-warming 12% alcohol.
