As summer winds down and harvest comes into full swing, fresh, local food is more plentiful and varied than at any other time of year. Whatever gathering you have planned, we suggest having an equally varied range of sparkling wines on hand to handle any situation. Bruts from the Finger Lakes, Willamette or California’s north coast, crémant from your favorite regions in France, Cava, Prosecco, Sekt… There’s an astonishing range of styles, weight, age, dryness, texture and seriousness.

Whether your next meal is langoustines, bacalao, a roast chicken, risotto or birthday cake, our critics have you covered—those are just a few of the food pairings they called out in their reviews of 145 sparkling wines from sources near and far for this report.

We’ve included an interview with Pepe Raventós, who talks with Alissa Bica about the new méthode ancestrale sparklers he’s producing at Can Sumoi, high up in Penedès. For a deep dive into Sekt, we’ve pulled a feature by David Schildknecht from our archives, focusing on the sea changes German and Austrian bubbly has seen in the last decade. And, if you’re looking for a snack to serve at your harvest gathering, Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon, offers his recipe for a spicy Thai fruit salad that will match the sparkle in the glass. —Susannah Smith

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