You may be helping your heart when you pop the cork of a champagne bottle this holiday season. Researchers report that little champagne a day may benefit your heart and blood circulation.

It is not necessary to burn a hole in your pocket by going in for expensive fizz, cheaper alternatives such as cava and prosecco may offer similar effects.

Results of the study, which will be published in the British Journal of Nutrition states, "that champagne can reduce strokes and heart disease," said Dr Jeremy Spencer of Reading University, in a statement to the Observer. Dr Spencer led the team of researchers who found that a moderate amount of the beverage has a positive impact on the walls of blood vessels.

According to earlier research two glasses a day of red wine helped ward off heart and circulation problems. Most of that effect came from chemicals called polyphenols, which had an affect on circulation by slowing down the removal of nitric oxide from the blood. In turn, elevated levels of nitric oxide cause blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure and reduces heart problems and strokes.

"The question was that would champagne have the same impact as red wine or would it have a limited impact of white wine" said Spencer.

The team found that champagne had a greater impact on nitric oxide levels in the blood than did a polyphenol-free alternative of alcohol and carbonated water," state the researchers in their paper.

The researchers concluded that a moderate amount of champagne consumed daily may improve vascular performance through phenolic constituents.