Better With Bubbles by Ariel Arce

“Champagne and I have something in common: What if anything is possible?”

In the hands of Air’s Champagne Parlor owner Ariel Arce, sparkling wine is magic: It makes music sound better, clothes feel sexier, people look hotter, big ideas seem possible. It’s a legal drug that lets you get a little loose, fly high on effervescence. It’s a mischievous potion that was created out of an accident in the 1600s, whose mysteries we are still drawn to today. Drawing on Arce’s decade of experience selling, tasting, and proselytizing, Pop Bottles educates, amuses, inspires, and empowers us to make Champagne and sparkling a go-to.

Divided into two sections (one for Champagne, the other on sparkling wines from around the world), Pop Bottles dispenses with dry backstory and tedious tasting notes in favor of a rollicking, visual tour of the universe of bubbly. Discover your palate through a choose-your-own-adventure tasting guide; learn what to wear (and not wear) to a vineyard; and learn how to throw a Champagne pizza party. The sparkling section will cover dominant sparkling regions (Italy, Spain, and elsewhere in France), along with exciting newer players like England, America, Australia, and Japan.