You probably didn't realise it, but there is an enormous range of sparkling wine produced in Shropshire and close by - and most of it is in that range that you might consider 'affordable'.
Below is a table that I've brought together and I'm not even sure I've got everything covered yet.
From my own experience, I've tasted the Carden Park Estate Reserve, Hencote's Evolution Sparkling, Kerry Vale's Sparkling Red, Rodington's Sparkling White, and Rowton's Pink Fizz and they're all very palatable.
I've been doing tours and tasting at Hencote recently and I know from the feedback, that the Evolution is going down very nicely with the customers there.
All of the fizz below is available on the vineyards' individual websites or, in most cases, a personal visit.

Some interesting news about Hall Farm, Tern Hill, home of the derelict Tern Valley Vineyard near Market Drayton.
I noticed the farm had been up for sale with James Du Pavey estate agents, but now it is appearing on their website as 'sold subject to contract'.
I did give the estate agents a call to confirm, and I was told the sale was very near completion, with the vineyard included.
The asking price was £535,000 for the 4.5 acres of the land and buildings with planning permission for them to be rebuilt on their current footprints.
No clue as to who has bought the site or what their intentions are towards the vines.
As soon as I know, I'll let you know, but it strikes me the riverside site could make a really attractive addition to Shropshire's active viticulture scene.

One of the fascinating things about the Good2Great programme (see below) is the people you get to meet as part of the networking process.
One of those is Bridgnorth-based Luke Boxall from a company called Worm Soil, which specialises in Vermicast - the nutrient rich product of worms munching through organic material.
In fact, Worm Soil is soon to become Soil Nurture as a co-operation between himself and worm farmers in Austria and North America, who apparently have more than 20 years' experience of selling Vermicast products into vineyards.
If you don't think you know what Vermicast is, you're bound to have seen it. It's those little pyramids of soil you find on the lawn.
And, apparently, it's pretty potent stuff.
Says Luke: "The science behind it is all to do with the micro-organisms in the worm casts. Those are what provide the minerals and nutrients that plants need.
"Worms will eat anything that’s organic. There are limitations, such as if it’s too acidic - lemons or onions for instance. But they'll eat anything you can think of putting in compost, pretty much."
Luke describes it as like us eating a healthy yoghurt.
"When worms eat an apple in compost, they are eating the microbiology around the compost - so they’re not actually eating the apple, they’re eating the micro-organisms that are composting that apple. When they pass that through, it comes with all dirt and all the organic material and basically they fill that organic material with microbiology."
The micro organisms in the worm's gut break down minerals and nutrients into a form that plants can absorb.
Says Luke: "Humic and fulvic acids are highly present in Vermicast. They allow the plants to absorb minerals easier, and allow them to transport through their systems easier as well. So, therefore, not only are the micro organisms providing the right minerals and nutrients, they’re also providing an easier way for the plants to absorb it."
​Luke is keen to explore the possible benefits of combining Vermicast with Viticulture.
He's already run a trial with Rob and Laura Windsor, at Colemere and is hoping to garner interest from other vineyards in the Shropshire area.
He tells me he was recently down in the south east of England, where he met with a number of vineyard owners and bumped into Shropshire-based viticultural agronomist John Buchan, who looks like someone I definitely need to speak to for Shropshirevineyards.com.

Where to start?
There's been so much going on since my last update that I'll need to take a moment to put it all in the right order...
Hard to think that as I signed off that update, I was about to start my Level 2 Wines and Spirits Education Trust course with Gary Carter DipWSET at the Shropshire Local Wine School in Shrewsbury.
Three intensive sessions later (and a whole bunch of tasting) I'm pleased to say that I passed!
As I write I'm still waiting for my badge and certificate, but I am at least starting to put some of that knowledge to practical use.
Just before Christmas I think it was, I saw an ad on Facebook from Hencote, who were looking for people to help with vineyard tours.
Initially they had the required personnel, but a few weeks ago I was contacted by Mark Stevens, co-general manager, to see if I was still interested. Naturally, I jumped at the chance and was lucky enough to follow Mark and then sommelier Sahara Gomez as they took a couple of parties round.
On Saturday, if the rota still applies, I'll be doing my third unaccompanied tour.
I always credit the lovely Wendy Gedney, who runs vineyard tours in the Languedoc in the south of France, for the inspiration behind my interest in wines. She famously told me that to do what she does, I'd have to know more about wine than just how to drink it. She was right. So I did learn a bit more and now I'm happily following (however tentatively) in her footsteps.
It's fascinating to get an insight into how a vineyard works, how the winery functions and how that all fits into the retail side of the business at a place like Hencote. And, after months of sitting in a box talking to myself, or someone distant on Zoom or Teams, it's great to actually talk to real people face to face.

The Rowton Vineyard Twins, Zoe and Melissa Evans have been busier than ever, popping up here and there with events, guerrilla wine bars and a couple of English wine tastings.
We attended one of the tastings where they showcased their test wines Pink Fizz 2018 and Solaris 2020 alongside wines from Hattingley Valley and Sixteen Ridges among others.
The scrawly mess on the right is my effort to keep up with them.
​Great food pairings from Mel, by the way.