Chris BerryFounder, Wine Underdogs — chasing the world’s overlooked grapesCava is pronounced KAH-vah; its lead grape, Xarel·lo, shah-REL-oh.
If you like Prosecco, you like bubbles that are fresh, fruity, and unfussy. Good news: at least four lesser-known sparklers give you that and more, for roughly what you already spend. Two are drier, one is nuttier, and one is red. None of them ask you to learn a new vocabulary to enjoy them.
Here's the map before we walk it. Cava is the closest swap and often the smarter buy. Crémant de Limoux is the history lesson that happens to taste great. German Sekt is the one nobody in the room will have tried. Dry Lambrusco is the wild card you serve slightly chilled and watch people reconsider.
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What you like about Prosecco
Prosecco is made from the Glera grape in northeast Italy, and its second fermentation happens in a large steel tank rather than the bottle. That method keeps it light, frothy, and forward with green apple, pear, and white flowers. It's built to be uncomplicated, and it succeeds. Most bottles labeled Extra Dry carry a little sweetness, which is why Prosecco reads as soft and friendly.
That softness is the ceiling. When you want a sparkling wine with more grip, more texture, or a savory edge, you have to step outside Glera. These four are where you step.
Four bubbles to swap in
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1. Cava, Xarel·lo-led
Cava comes mostly from Catalonia, and unlike Prosecco it's made the same way as Champagne: the bubbles form in the bottle, over months on the lees. The classic blend is Macabeo, Xarel·lo, and Parellada. Xarel·lo is the one to watch, giving good Cava a nutty, faintly herbal backbone and a texture Prosecco never has.
How it drinks versus Prosecco: drier, finer-bubbled, more savory. Where Prosecco gives you fruit, Cava gives you fruit plus bread crust and toasted almond. It's the swap that costs about the same and delivers noticeably more wine.
2. Crémant de Limoux
Crémant is the French term for traditional-method sparkling made outside Champagne, and Limoux, in the Languedoc, has the best origin story in the category. Benedictine monks at the Abbey of Saint-Hilaire recorded a sparkling wine there in 1531, decades before Champagne got the credit. Blanquette de Limoux leans on the local Mauzac grape; Crémant de Limoux blends in Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc for a rounder, more polished pour.
How it drinks versus Prosecco: creamier and more structured, with orchard fruit, a little honey, and a clean line down the middle. This is the bottle for people who find Prosecco a touch simple but don't want to pay Champagne prices.
3. German Sekt
Sekt is Germany's sparkling wine, and most of what gets exported cheaply is forgettable. The ones worth your time are grower-made, labeled Winzersekt, often built on Riesling. Riesling bubbles are a genuinely different experience: high, bright acidity, lime and green apple, a wet-stone character that keeps the whole thing lively.
How it drinks versus Prosecco: leaner and more electric, with real cut. If you like Prosecco but wish it had more spine, a dry Riesling Sekt is the answer. Read the label for Winzersekt or Sekt b.A. and skip the anonymous supermarket bottles.
4. Dry Lambrusco
Lambrusco is a sparkling red from Emilia-Romagna, and it spent decades living down the sweet, industrial version that flooded American shelves in the 1980s. The dry style, labeled secco, is a different animal: purple-fruited, faintly bitter in the good way, with a savory snap that makes it one of the best food wines going. Look to producers like Lini 910, Cleto Chiarli, and Medici Ermete.
How it drinks versus Prosecco: it isn't trying to be Prosecco, which is the point. Serve it lightly chilled when you want bubbles with a meal instead of before one. It's the least obvious swap here and the one most likely to change how someone thinks about sparkling wine.
browse Lambrusco on Wine.com →
Bottles to look for
The throughline across all four is that the world sells Prosecco by the pallet and these by the case, which is precisely why they represent better value per sip. The famous name commands a premium for its name. The underdog has to earn you with what's in the glass.
The honest catch: cheap Cava can taste of almost nothing, thin and faintly bitter, which is exactly how the category earned its dowdy reputation. Sekt has the same trap at the bottom shelf. The fix is simple but real: read the back label, favor traditional-method and grower bottles, and spend a few dollars more than you would on entry Prosecco. Do that and every wine here rewards you. Skip it and you'll confirm the stereotype.
Where to buy
All four are widely available in the US, with Cava and Crémant the easiest to find and dry Lambrusco the one you may need a good shop or a search to track down. Start with a category browse rather than a single label, since the specific bottles rotate by season and market.
— Chris Berry
If you're switching from Prosecco
Keep it simple: reach for Cava first, since it's the closest match at the same price and easiest to find. When you want something with more polish, move to Crémant; when you want to surprise the table, pour the Sekt or the Lambrusco. For more of these one-for-one trades, see Order This Instead, and if Champagne is the name you're really trying to sidestep, start with Wines Like Champagne.
Part of Lesser-Known Wines: 17 Obscure Grapes Worth Switching To — the full underdog-swap guide.
Frequently asked questions
What sparkling wines are like Prosecco?
If you like Prosecco's fresh, fruity, easy character, try Cava from Spain, Crémant de Limoux from southern France, a dry German Sekt, or a dry (secco) Lambrusco. Each keeps the approachable bubbles and adds something Prosecco can't.
Is Cava the same as Prosecco?
No. Cava is made by the traditional method, with its second fermentation in the bottle like Champagne, which gives it finer bubbles and a nutty, bready depth. Prosecco is made in a tank, which keeps it lighter and fruitier.
Which is drier, Prosecco or Cava?
Cava usually runs drier. Most Cava you'll find is Brut, while a lot of Prosecco is Extra Dry, which despite the name carries a touch more sweetness.
How do you pronounce Xarel·lo?
Roughly shah-REL-oh. It's the Catalan grape that gives the best Cava its backbone.