Come midnight on the 31st, most people will have sparkling wine in their raised glasses. But if we’re ringing in the New Year with a clean, healthy slate, is this carbonated beverage the way to go? We popped the cork to see if champagne has any advantages over other alcoholic beverages. (And, gasp! It does.)

Poppin Bottles— The Need-to-Know

First off, let’s get the terminology straight. Champagne is sparkling wine that comes from the Champagne region of northeastern France.Technically, if the bottle is not from that region, it’s sparkling wine — not champagne. We’ll use both terms synonymously to avoid boring word repetition. (Wine enthusiasts, we apologize.)