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I loved the new wines, especially the NV Scharffenberger ​‘Brut Excellence’ Sparkling Wine (OB, 91) which is vibrant and racy with a smooth texture.

Holidays are approaching, so here are some worthy wines to help us celebrate without straining our budgets. For Hanukkah, which begins Nov. 28, we have two kosher wines. For Thanksgiving and beyond, we have a stellar pinot noir from the Santa Rita Hills area of Santa Barbara County in California, plus two affordable high-quality bubblies, from Mendocino County and from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.

Whether you’re toasting a major milestone or simply the end of the week, drinking bubbles always feels celebratory. Here are 10 sparkling wines from Italy to California, all for less than $25.

If you dream of a wine country sojourn without marauding parties of bachelors and girlfriend-getaway hordes, set your GPS to California’s less-trodden and sun-kissed Anderson Valley in Mendocino County, two hours northwest of Napa yet seemingly worlds apart. Scharffenberger Cellars produces a sparkling Brut ideal for popping open to toast the pandemic’s end.

“…everything about the production of the wine is done the same way they have been doing it for centuries in France. Scharffenberger uses top quality pinot noir and chardonnay grapes grown in a cool climate on their own 120 acres and select surrounding vineyards.”

“Sparkling wine doesn’t need to be a celebratory beverage, and it’s part of my job to dispel that,” Jindra is quoted as saying. ​“Big occasions are great, but so is the everyday.”

“…here in the tasting room, you have the chance to try the winery’s best bottle, the 2010 Blanc de Blancs ($30) — the only bubbly they make that’s vintage dated, and that’s entirely Chardonnay.”