Americans love bubbles.

Just about anything with effervescence is more popular today than during any time I can recall. This includes everything from colas, seltzers and beer to high-quality champagnes.

The most popular bubbly designation is the capitalized champagne, from the district of that name north of Paris. It is a cool region that produces superior bubblies made from pinot noir, chardonnay and the most widely planted grape in the region, pinot meuniere.

Real French champagne is expensive because it is so difficult to ripen grapes properly, so crops are typically small. It takes years to produce a quality champagne because the production regimen is protected by laws upheld by ethics as well as government inspections.

Most quality champagnes today retail for around $50 to $70 per bottle. The best are much more. The famed Dom Perignon sells for nearly $300 worldwide; the lowest U.S. price I found was $160.

The quality of California sparkling wines, very few of which are of a champagne style, has been increasing in quality for the last two decades. Today, excellent domestic sparkling wines from dozens of producers may be found at roughly $25 to $30.

At that price, the wines are excellent, but most of the dedicated producers of French method bubblies also sell special products at champagne prices.

Considering the time and expense required to make these wines, most of these efforts should be considered bargains. The reason so many of them now exist is that the cost to make them has dropped.

Decades ago, wineries wanting to make quality sparkling wines had to invest in the expensive specialized equipment needed to make French-method bubblies. The equipment was so pricey that almost no winery could afford to try sparkling wines.

That changed in 2007 when two entrepreneurs opened the first contract winery to make sparkling wines for clients. Named Rack and Riddle, it has some of the finest equipment in the world, allowing wineries to add sparkling wines to their portfolios inexpensively.

Today, Rack and Riddle has four wineries: Healdsburg, Alexander Valley, Geyserville and Lodi. It can produce French-technique (Methode Champenoise) sparkling wine. It can also accommodate wineries wishing to make lower-priced bubblies using a process called charmat.

So, dozens of wineries based in northern California have contracted with Rack and Riddle, which allows wineries to experiment.

Although most quality sparkling wines are produced from pinot noir and chardonnay, wineries that want to delve into experimental sparkling wines can do so with other varieties like grenache, pinot blanc, and even riesling.

California sparkling wines' fame began in 1904 when French expatriate Paul Masson got international acclaim for his sparkling wine made from grapes grown in Santa Clara.

Today, high-quality sparkling wines are now being produced by roughly three dozen California wineries. In some cases, the name Rack and Riddle appears on the back label as the producer.

Wine of the Week: 2022 Pedroncelli Blanc de Blanc, Dry Creek Valley ($56) — This is the first bubbly produced by this historic north Dry Creek Valley winery, and it is a stellar example of delicacy and precise flavor development. There is a beautiful citrusy aroma, and it has a trace of peach and even some brioche. There is a beautiful harmony of flavors. A terrific first effort!

Dan Berger lives in Sonoma County, California, where he publishes "Vintage Experiences," a weekly wine newsletter. Write to him at winenut@gmail.com. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Alexander Naglestad at Unsplash