Photo by Velo Steve. What would New Year’s be without sparkling wines? But when you’re keeping an eye on the budget, sometimes you’re stuck with less than perfect examples of the fine work the monks had intended. There are some goodies to be had inexpensively and NYT’s Eric Asimov published a guide to champagnes under $40. But you can also mod your bubbly by transforming it into a cocktail. Ring in the new year…

Don Ho was right about tiny bubbles, and there’s no better time of the year to warm up and get happy with a great bottle of bubbly. With holiday parties happening nearly every night these days, there’s no doubt that most of us will end up consuming our fair share of cheap, and often tasteless, sparkling wine. But there’s good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. Whatever your price range, there are a…