Award-Winning Sommelier Launches Online Bubbleshop With Best Grower Champagnes

The launch of Bubbleshop, a new online venture specialising in the finest French fizz, is welcome news for champagne lovers looking for unusual bottles. And with the UK as the largest importer (followed by the USA) in an annual champagne market worth five billion euros, an online shop dedicated to champagne is a savvy move. Bubbleshop is the brainchild of Sandia Chang, the award-winning sommelier behind London’s Bubbledogs and, with her husband Chef James Knappett, the two Michelin starred Kitchen Table. California-born Sandia Chang not only has extensive knowledge about Champagne but has a keen interest in grower champagnes, those usually from single vineyards, produced by artisan winemakers. Sandia makes a point of getting to know each of her suppliers personally and makes regular visits to small-scale producers in the Champagne region, constantly on the lookout for new wines to list.

With a selection of pours chosen and edited by Sandia, Bubbleshop features bottles from some of Champagne’s most experienced producers, alongside those from lesser-known vineyards. The selection is updated monthly and prices range from a reasonable £30 up. Sandia offers a wide range of prices and says it’s not necessary to spend a fortune to find a great bottle of champagne. In fact one of her favorite champagnes is Jean-Marc Sélèque, Solessence at £36. Fresh and complex, this extra brut champagne is made from 50% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Noir and 40% Pinot Meunier grapes.

Champagnes are available as individual bottles from Bubbleshop or via a monthly subscription service. Sandia handpicks three bottles of her favorite champagnes to be delivered to your door each month. The champagne subscription offers a regular rotation of unique and interesting cuvées with three subscription plans to choose from, starting from £120/month. Each plan includes up to three bottles of champagne, a Bubbleshop tote bag on your first drop and detailed tasting notes on every bottle.

Bubbleshop also offers regular Tasting Masterclasses focusing on various themes or regions, hosted by Sandia. A recent online class featured Sandia’s favorite, the Aube region of Champagne, often described as the “Ugly Duckling” of Champagne. Three champagnes and producers were included: Cedric Bouchard, Olivier Horiot and Marie Courtin. The Côte de l’Aube is an area that isn’t well known. The Aube is far removed from the normal tourist areas such Reims and Epernay and is actually closer to Chablis than it is to the main region of Champagne.

Former sommelier Cedric Bouchard took over his father’s vineyard, established Champagne Roses de Jeanne in 2000 and is now one of the most highly respected small producers in the Aube. He farms organically in a single vineyard with a single-variety grape (Pinot Noir, Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc) and restricts yields.

The small Marie Courtin domaine in Polisot is run by Dominique Moreau whose husband, Roland Piollot, also has vines in the village and bottles wine under his family name Piollot. Like Cedric Bouchard, Dominique also produces single-vineyard, single-variety, single-vintage, zero-dosage Champagnes from biodynamically-grown grapes. 

In the village of Les Riceys, Olivier and Marie Horiot produce their unique and delicious champagnes. Les Riceys is in fact the only village in the Champagne region permitted to produce both non-sparkling (red and white as well as rosé) and sparkling wines. Rosé de Riceys is one of the only two AOCs for still wine production in Champagne (the other being Coteaux Champenois). Although Olivier and Marie manage nine hectares of vines in Les Riceys, only two hectares go into their own wines, with the rest sold to cooperatives. Olivier’s family has been growing vines in the village since 1600s and when he took over in 1999, he immediately converted the vineyards to organic and they’re now completely biodynamic. The majority of their vineyard is planted with Pinot Noir (the classic variety for Aube), but he also grows Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Meunier, Petit Messlier and Arbane. There is very limited intervention and they still use foot trotting to extract juice for some of their cuvees. They make champagne as well as Rosê de Riceys and red and white Coteaux Champenois.

Alongside their bottles, Bubbleshop also offers Bubbledogs Home Kits (including The Mac Daddy and The Reuben to recreate Sandia’s all-time favorite pairing: champagne and hot dogs).