English Sparkling Wines are fresh, tasty and coming to a bar near you!

The pop of corks and resulting fizz of bubbles is a typical soundtrack to special occasions. However, nowadays with purse strings tightening, they're more likely to be caused by sparkling wine than by its more expensive sister, Champagne. As champagne sales have fallen flat, sparkling wine has become the shoppers' bubbles of choice.

Aiding the cause, cava brand, Freixenet, have launched two new brands to tempt young cider drinkers to sparkling wine. Tapping into the trend of fruity and sweet ciders, the new sparkling wines are much lighter and sweeter with strong fruit flavours, such as pear, apple, peach and apricot.

Luckily there's a tonne of great bars in London to ensure you stay up to date with the sparkling wine renaissance. This year alone, the capital has been blessed with the opening of two great bars solely dedicated to cava; the atmospheric Copa de Cava located in the brick vaults under St Paul's and the Cava Bar at Aqua Nueva which has the largest and most diverse range of Cava in London. Skylon bar and restaurant offers stunning views over London and the Thames with an accompanying range of great English sparkling wines. The Drift are also a bar with their finger firmly on the pulse with their extensive range of sparkling wines.