Korbel Extra Dry California Champagne

So the menu is settled, and then comes the question of what to pour for the toast. We know the name: this bottle is listed as Korbel Extra Dry California Champagne, putting a state and the word Champagne on the same line. The word survives on the label under a specific legal allowance: U.S. regulations dating to the 1930s classed Champagne as one of a short list of semi-generic style names American producers could keep using, provided the label also states where the wine is actually from, and a 2006 trade agreement between the United States and the European Union preserved that right for producers, Korbel included, who already had it. So far it has been scored by 49 shoppers, at an average of 4.57 out of five.

Behind that name, more than California is now confirmed. Korbel's own product page for Extra Dry names the blend and what each grape contributes: Chenin Blanc for a soft, fruit-forward character, Chardonnay for structure and citrus and baked apple flavor, French Colombard for bright, crisp fruit, and Pinot Noir for roundness and depth, the producer's own account. The finished wine lists 12 percent alcohol, made through the same traditional bottle-fermentation method as the rest of the Korbel range. Prices are well documented. Among the sparkling wines we cover, this bottle's lowest observed price falls toward the cheaper end. On our August 12, 2026 sweep of the shelves, that price was $13.99.

Korbel describes the finished wine as light and luscious, with delightful flavors of bright citrus, vanilla and spice, the producer's words for what it calls a fresh, off-dry style. The producer also lists a run of competition results for the wine, including a 96-point gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and a Best of Class award from the San Francisco International Wine Competition, both from 2019, plus further gold medals from competitions through 2023.

Our call: buy it as what it plainly is, an inexpensive California sparkler for filling a lot of glasses, with a lowest observed price toward the cheaper end of the sparkling wines we track, a producer that names all four grapes in the blend, and plenty of shoppers weighing in. Walk past if score drives your choice; the average falls below the middle of the rated wines we cover, even with the blend and the method now on record.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.