How to Buy Sparkling Wine Without Getting Ripped Off

Sparkling wine has more ways to confuse a buyer than almost any other category — the sweetness scale alone trips most people up. Saturday's practical episode covers everything you need to make a confident purchase: how to decode the sweetness levels on a label (Brut, Extra Brut, Zero Dosage, Demi-sec), when to buy non-vintage and when to invest in a vintage bottle, which price tiers represent genuine value across every category we've covered this week, and exactly what to say to a sommelier or wine shop staffer to get exactly what you want.