Bubbles are the best way to begin an evening of fun with friends. Here are 5 sips to enjoy before summer’s end.

#1 – Vilarnau Cava Rosé Reserva, Barcelona

This is a bottle of sparkling rosé wine that falls into the category of BEST VALUE for quality taste. Produced out of an artisanal Cava house just outside of Barcelona, the bottle is worthy of a mention. This avant-garde imagery of Antoni Gaudi is the wrap around the bottle and commemorates Vilarnau’s Catalan roots. What's inside the bottle is as interesting... a blend of organic Garnacha (85%) and Pinot Noir (15%) of Barcelona. This salmon sparkler presents as a delicate rose on the nose and soft berries on the palate. In a nod to its Spanish descent, it’s a sparkling wine best served with tapas. Zucchini goat cheese and herb tarts are a fantastic summer pairing with this Cava that costs around $17 a bottle.

#2 – Monfort Brut Rosé, Trento DOC

In Italy, sparkling wine is considered spumante, and this bottle of spumante is made in the classic Champagne method (second fermentation in bottle). Made with Chardonnay and Pinot Nero grapes from the hilly slopes of Pergine Valsugana, this is a fun and flirty, bright red fruit forward bubbly with a lingering burnt almond finish. It's an all-around excellent choice for a toast to begin any festivity. A bottle of this dusty rose-colored and slightly creamy spumante costs approximately $20/bottle.

#3 – Arthur Metz 2018 Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rosé Millésimé

Crémant d'Alsace, the appellation where white and rosé sparkling wines hail from the Alsace wine region of northeastern France. Following the French Crémant practice of making this sparkling in the méthode traditionelle, nine months maturing on their lees ensures its complexity. Think toasty, minerality, with a hint of nuttiness and subtle red raspberries and cream on the palate. The dosage for this Brut is minimal but adds a touch of palatable sweetness. Best served at cocktail parties as a toast! $24

#4 & 5 - Lanson Le Rosé

The Champagne House of Lanson was founded in 1760, so they've pretty much secured the art of producing quality bubbles. But how could 2 bottles of Lanson Le Rosé taste so different? Especially when you know they both have the same percentage of Chardonnay (for elegance and finesse), Pinot Noir (for depth and structure) and Pinot Meunier (fruit flavor), both have the same amount of dosage as a Brut (dry) Champagne, and both were aged for 4 years in a chalk cellar (more than the usual).

Well, here’s the difference. First, the harvest base varies from 2015 (for one group of tasters, this proved to be a better year), and for the second bottle, it was 2016 – this bottle was more of a crisp, berry forward sip – which explains the box label of “Fruit Market Edition.” Second, the percentage of reserve wine in the first one is 30% while the other is 35%. Finally, the disgorgement date for the favored bottle is May 2021, while the other is January 2022. Both bottles area priced at $70, distributed by Terlato Wines, and both offer a fine effervescent that gives way to vanilla and a bouquet of roses in the aromas, with a taste of minerality and citrus blended perfectly for the palate. But one stood out as the most preferred, and that was the Lanson with 30% of 2015 reserve and disgorgement date of May 2021 – it’s all in the Champagne crafting, but this one was most delicate on the palate.

The first bottle was presented in a pink foam jacket as the official Champagne Sponsor at Wimbledon – Cheers to the winning champions this year! Soft or fruity? You decide by reading the disgorgement date on the bottle.

Charlene Peters is a wine writer living in the Boston area. She can be reached at siptripper@gmail.com.