drinks champagne — Champagne is always the first choice whenever there's something worth celebrating. Illustration: David Humphries for the Guardian.

There's always a time for champagne

This article is more than 9 years old

Champagne needn't be be quite so exclusive: most occasions call for a drop of the bubbly

Three different friends recently asked me what they should drink to mark their respective rites of passage. Two of them found their dream homes after months of jockeying estate agents and solicitors, and amazingly, neither had to sell kidneys to afford them. The third friend managed to replace her control-freak flatmate with a sexy yoga instructor. So which wine do these particular moments call for?

The only answer is champagne, that glorious wine from one of my favourite regions of France. Champagne has been used to launch ships, congratulate newlyweds, sign historic treaties and cement profitable business deals. Ever since Clovis, the first King of the Franks, converted to Christianity in 496 in Reims, the wines from Champagne (even before they were sparkling) have been seen as the "wine of kings". It has come to define "the grand celebration".

But many of us in the wine trade have spent a substantial portion of our careers convincing people that champagne isn't only for special occasions – and it's gratifying to find that our efforts appear not to have been in vain. In 2013, nearly 31 million bottles of champagne were purchased in the UK, making it Champagne's most important export market, and it is widely available by the glass here these days. It doesn't have to be a grand, public celebration for champagne.

Sometimes we want to quietly celebrate those modest personal victories worthy of a treat. Or, sometimes you need to shout for joy from the top of your lungs accompanied by Beyoncé's Crazy In Love on full blast. Which wine fits that moment? Champagne, of course.

Here are 10 of my favourite wines from Champagne. Yes, some of them are more expensive than others. But they're worth it. And so are you!

Champagne Bérèche et Fils NV - £26.50 from thewinesociety.com
Champagne Janisson Baradon Non-Dosé - £31 from bbr.com
Champagne Tarlant Zéro Brut Nature - £35 from parkandbridge.com
Champagne Delamotte Blanc de Blancs Vintage 2004 - £47.50 from corneyandbarrow.com
Champagne Georges Laval 1er Cru Cumieres Brut Nature - £48 .60 from thesampler.co.uk
Champagne Gosset Grande Réserve NV - £49.95 from leaandsandeman.co.uk
Champagne Agrapart Les 7 Crus NV - £49.99 from
selfridges.com
Champagne Louis Roederer Brut Rosé Vintage 2008 - £57.50 from hhandc.co.uk
Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2000 - £75 from fortnumandmason.com
Champagne Vilmart Cœur de Cuvée Vintage 2005 - £90 from bbr.com