So you want to serve sparkling wine at your New Year's Eve bash, but the prices scare you silly? Buy a moderately priced wine and mix cocktails instead.

Although there is a specific drink called a champagne cocktail, it's far from the only such concoction. Fruit juices, liqueurs and the right garnish can turn a just-OK sparkling wine into a sophisticated drink. In France, in regions that produce cremant wines (slightly less bubbly than true champagnes), liqueurs and even herbal teas — particularly citrusy verbena — are mixed with the chilled wines.

For your champagne bar, chill a tray of flutes and any fruit juices you plan to use. Place the sparkling wine in coolers and pack them in ice. Practice your champagne-opening technique (peel away the cage, cover with bar towel, hold firmly with one hand and twist with the other — no prying or popping, please). Cut ribbons of lemon and orange peel. Dig up some sugar cubes; these are used in a number of sparkling cocktails and you need them because a spoonful of sugar will coat the glass, obscuring the wine, but a cube will melt neatly. Invest in liqueurs you like.

The usual formula for liqueurs is anything from a splash to an ounce of liqueur to 5 ounces of wine. For juices, one part juice to three parts wine is common.

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL