As winter takes its hold and the mince pies are starting to make you yearn for a light green salad with balsamic dressing, it can’t be avoided, I’m afraid: Christmas is here. You will need to provide drinks (probably wine or sherry) for your guests and family (I suggest a discrete store of something stronger for yourself in those quiet moments) and sparkling wine will be required, nay demanded.

Now, you don’t want to spend buckets of dosh on a few bottles of Champagne, when you can spend a few pounds on buckets of sparkling enjoyment from other wine regions. So, feeling public-spirited, we’ve investigated the UK’s first wine show dedicated to non-Champagne sparkling wines. The conclusion we reached may surprise you .. OK, it might not.

Merry Christmas.Fizz was organised by Ben Campbell-Johnson. It was held in Fishmongers Hall in the city of London. We spoke with Faith Knight of Concha Y Toro, Ben Morris of Gardo & Morris Wines, Jean-Pierre Grangé of Boisset, Geri Conroy of Roger-Constant Lemaire Champagne UK, Lenka Sedlakova of Fields Morris & Verdin, Mark Davies of Hard To Find Wines, Nicholas Corfe of Go Brazil Wines and Sergio Fraudentali of Vinum.

We thank them all for being so generous with their time.