Get Your Fizz Fix

My favorite bottle of champagne - the Veuve Clicquot with the orange label - is going for $40 these days.

Yeah, I’ve got impeccable taste. But this year I’m tapped out after all my Christmas shopping and I’m looking to get more bubble for the buck. So I’m diving into the wonderful world of champagne cocktails.

Anyone who has ever spiked their orange juice with a bit of bubbly, dropped a sugar cube or floated a strawberry in their glass of fizz has had a champagne cocktail.

After doing a little research, I’ve discovered some of these mixed drinks have interesting histories. For instance, a French 75 - champagne and cognac - was named after a Howitzer cannon. The Black Velvet - champagne and Guinness stout - was created as a memorial to Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert, who died of typhoid fever in 1861.

Like other bar standards, these cocktails come with clever names such as American Flyer, Bellini, Bombay Punch, Buck’s Fizz, Caribbean Champagne, Champagne Collins, Champagne, Champagne Collins, King’s Peg, Mimosa and the Prince of Wales.

I’d love to see the look on some barkeep’s face when I bellied up to order a Pope: lemon and orange juice mixed with sparkling wine and finished with a pinch of ground cloves.

The beauty of these drinks is that you can use the sparkling equivalent of jug wine - Cook’s, Korbel, J. Roget. Those sparklers are made more inexpensively by going through their secondary fermentation in huge stainless steel tanks where gases are trapped and bubbles created. That process is called charmant (and it says that on the bottle instead of the more traditional French methode champenoise, where the bubbles are formed in the bottle).

Those cheapies shouldn’t cost more than $5 a bottle. Use them as a base for one of these tasty tipples:

French 75

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 ounces cognac

1 teaspoon sugar

4 ounces cold dry champagne

Shake ingredients, except champagne, with ice. Strain into a chilled glass. Add 2 ice cubes, top with champagne and stir gently.

Kir Royal

1/4 teaspoon to teaspoon creme de cassis

3/4 cup cold dry champagne

Pour cassis into chilled glass. Slowly add champagne; don’t stir.

Prince of Wales

1 ounce brandy

1 ounce Madeira

1 teaspoon Cointreau

2-4 dashes Angostura bitters

Cold dry champagne

Orange slice

Shake all ingredients, except champagne and orange slice, with cracked ice; strain into chilled glass. Top with champagne, stirring gently. Garnish with orange slice.

Dome Perignon?

When I asked Mountain Dome’s Michael Manz about his recommendations for champagne cocktails, he was aghast.

This was a time of celebration and people should treat themselves to the best, he said. Meaning, of course, that they should buy his wine.

Mountain Dome, in the foothills of Mount Spokane, has become known as the top bubbly maker in Washington with its elegant brut and its pretty-in-pink rose. The fine nonvintage release - with the family of gnomes on the label - has just the slightest touch of sweet, making it a perfect aperitif.

The Dome’s rich, yeasty flavor and lingering finish might be French-like, but the prices aren’t. The nonvintage sells for around $10. The ‘93 brut is just under $20 and the rose is priced at $18.

Another Spokane sparkler that shines is made with grapes grown in the Valley. Arbor Crest’s ‘93 brut is also made in the traditional French style, but it’s lighter and fresher than most.

You can find it only at the winery, but that will give you a good excuse to get up to the tasting room at the gorgeous Riblet mansion. At $13, it’s definitely worth the trip.

And while you’re there, try Arbor Crest’s outstanding new pinot gris. This also is made with grapes grown on the estate and it’s rich without being fat like a chardonnay. That makes it a fine match for seafood, especially salmon. I’m really high on this wine.

For tasting room hours or directions to Arbor Crest, call 927-9463.

Other recommendations

A few more affordable bubblies include a couple of Spanish sparklers: Castellblanc’s Cristal or its drier Brut Zero, both under $10, and the Cristalino bottled by a producer called Jaume Serra. It sells for around $7.

Chateau Ste. Michelle’s blanc de blanc (a sparkling chardonnay) and the ‘95 brut from Argyle in Oregon are also good choices.

Knipprath moves

Spokane’s youngest winery has settled into new digs.

Knipprath Cellars has relocated from its downtown spot to more spacious quarters in the Valley.

The winery’s new address is 5634 E. Commerce, which is two blocks north of Trent, off Fancher Road. It’s in the old Hale’s Ales headquarters.

Tasting room hours are from noon until 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. For additional information, call 534-5121.

Virtual vino

We’re beyond last-minute gifts ordered off the Internet. But there are a few nifty sites worth checking for possible purchases in the future:

SendWine.com bills itself as an FTD-like network, so you can have gifts delivered within 48 hours. Prices range from $39 to $749.

Virtual Vineyards offers advice and a refreshing sense of humor. One interactive feature is called the Cork Dork, where you can solicit suggestions for food and wine pairings. It also sells gourmet food products in addition to a selection of wine that includes such respected California producers as Joseph Phelps, Duckhorn and Calera. It can be accessed at www.virtualvin.com or by phoning (800) 289-1275.

The Wine Source provides the opportunity to purchase a case of wine for $25 over wholesale, plus shipping and a 3 percent credit-card fee. View it at www.winemaster.com/winesource.