Bubbles and ashes rock together. Pairing champagne with cigars may seem a bit odd to some, but it's a great example of how wine can be a part of almost any aspect of life.

Last year, a few buddies and I spent a long evening trying to determine what types of alcoholic beverages go best with cigars. Tough job, I know, but someone had to do it. We experimented with all the usual suspects: sherry, vintage port, scotch, bourbon, rum, cognac and sparkling wine.

What's that, you say again? Champagne and its ilk with cigars? My companions that evening were equally suspicious, but such a combination makes perfect sense. Sparkling wine has high acidity and significant carbonation, two things that scrub mouth membranes and reduce morning-after cigar breath.

But smoking dulls the palate, so don't waste any special bottles - basic, non-vintage juice will work fine. Great sparklers are made all over the world at many price points. All you have to do is pick your flavor: white, rose or sweet.

White bubbly can be made from both red and white varietals, and winemakers often race to separate clear juice from purple skins as quickly as possible to minimize leaching of color. This is a labor-intensive process, but just a small portion of the mind-boggling ex- pense that goes into each bottle of effervescent wine.

Out of the New World, I recommend Mumm Napa Brut from California, chock-full of citrus, apple and pear. From the old, try Segura Viudas Brut Aria, a Cava from Spain, which provides honeyed aroma, subtle elegance and a backbone of good acidity.

Of course, France is the best- known home of vinous bubbly. Two that I like are the melon-shaded Louis Bouilliot Blanc, from Burgundy, with mineral and bread-dough notes, as well as honeyed Perrier Jouet Grand Brut Champagne, with candied citrus and mineral tones.

Sparkling rose works especially well with the nibbles typically served alongside cigars: nuts, dried fruits and strong cheeses. I prefer clean and subtle wines like the black cherry-and-spice-infused Domaine Chandon Brut Rose and the Roederer Estate Brut Rose Anderson Valley, brimming with Rainier cherries, herbs and vanilla. Another excellent choice would be the cinnamon- and clove-tinged Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose Champagne, with its long, strawberry finish.

Sparkling dessert wines are an interesting category on their own. They don't typically contain as much alcohol as their drier cousins and thus can be enjoyed in significantly larger quantities. Go for La Spinetta Moscato D'Asti Bricco Quaglia, with its ginger, pear and citrus fruit finish, and the bright red, sweet and appealing Braida Brachetto D'Acqui, both from Piedmont, Italy.

As for cigars, two of the best matches with sparklers are the Montecristo Xanadu and the Macanudo Vintage 2000 No. 8.

So just pour a glass of bubbles and sit back, light one up and let the day's cares slip away. Sparkling wine and cigars aren't for everyone, but for me the combination produces a sense of tranquility I hope you also get to experience.

benweinberg@comcast.net

Recommended:

Sparkling White

* Mumm Napa Brut NV (California), $15

* Segura Viudas Brut Aria NV (Penedes, Spain), $15

* Louis Bouilliot Blanc de Noir NV (Burgundy, France), $19

* Perrier Jouet Grand Brut NV (Champagne, France), $40

Sparkling Rose

* Domaine Chandon Brut Rose NV (California), $18

* Roederer Estate Brut Rose Anderson Valley NV (California), $25

* Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose NV (Champagne, France), $35

Sparkling Dessert

* La Spinetta Moscato D'Asti 2007 (Piedmont, Italy), $15

* Braida Brachetto D'Acqui NV (Piedmont, Italy), $30