I do get a kick from Champagne. French champagne: the term is a tautology. Champagne comes only from the region of Champagne in France. Made by a prescribed process, the methode champenoise, it may contain only three permitted varietals, pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay, and these must be grown in specified vineyards. All other fizz, wherever it is made and fine as it may be, is just sparkling wine.

But the misuse of the word champagne for generic bubbly is understandable. Champagne is the worldwide wine of choice for celebration. It is delicious, has a certain prestige, it suits all courses of a meal and, importantly for some drinkers, it delivers alcohol to the brain more rapidly than still wine. Accordingly, weddings, parties and just about any occasion, including the millennium, can be an excuse for opening a bottle.

For home winemakers here is a recipe for a bottle of champagne: take about 1.66 kilograms of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay (about two-thirds black grapes to one-third chardonnay) grown in Champagne. Skillfully transform these into a white wine, first removing the skins from the black varietals, then add a little sugar and yeast and seal in a heavy bottle. A secondary fermentation will occur creating carbon dioxide; this will dissolve into the wine creating a pressure of about six atmospheres. Now, leave the wine in the bottle in contact with the dead and dying yeast cells for a few years to add complexity. To complete the champagne making operation you must eventually open the bottle to disgorge the yeast sediment (a bit tricky this). Then you top up the bottle with a little sugar-sweetened champagne, insert a cork, label the bottle and after a little rest, it's ready to drink.

But don't overchill the bottle before pouring - it is not beer. Place it in an icebucket containing ice and water for about 20 minutes and it will cool nicely.Voila! It's party time.

© Martin Field