BARGAIN BUBBLES TO BREAK OPEN FOR CHRISTMAS

THE battle of the bottles is getting fizzical – and may burst prosecco’s bubble.

The Italian bubbly has become the go-to affordable substitute for champagne, but now the French have popped up with some classy alternatives of their own.

And they are even better than the pricey stuff for washing down your turkey and sprouts this Christmas, experts say.

Matt Day of wine app Corkscrew said: “When it comes to pairing food, cheaper alternatives such as cavas and crémants often work better than champagne as they’re less complex.“Crémant is bottle-fermented in France like champagne but in cheaper regions without the premium price tag. Iceland has Chateau de Champteloup Brut 2016 Crémant de Loire, which looks and tastes posher than its £ 10 cost. Aldi’s awardwinning Crémant du Jura is great value at £8.99.

Clairette de Die Cuvée César from the Rhone valley has not been available in the UK before. Lidl sold a bottle per minute at £7.99 in the week it hit shelves last month.

Some 152 million bottles of fizz will be sold in the UK this year, up 20 million from 2015 – breaking the £2billion mark by New Year, the Wines and Spirits Trade Association predicts.

Pignoletto, an Italian sparkler from Bologna, helped boost Sainsbury’s Christmas results last year. Others from Italy include lambrusco – and from Spain there is plenty of delicious cava.