Champagne production is confined to 80,000 acres of French terroir about 160 kilometres east of Paris, but Moët Hennessy will soon be producing upmarket bubbly from a new winery in north-west China.

Last night at the Soul Bar and Bistro, guests gathered for an evening of fine food and Champagne. The VIP guest was the glamorous Axelle Araud who is part of the acclaimed Moet & Chandon winemaking team and is in New Zealand to launch the critically acclaimed Grand Vintage 2002.

Ringing in the New Year with a champagne toast is a ritual as old as time itself. Its fizzy effervescence certainly makes for an appropriately celebratory drink. But too much of a good thing sometimes leads to becoming a bit more tipsy than we’d planned…and possibly a nasty hangover to boot. Of course, the main culprit is alcohol, but research suggests that the carbon dioxide in champagne may intensify its intoxicating effects.

Italian sparkling wines outsold France's famed champagne this year by about 10 million bottles, the Italian winemakers' group says.

Ascend into the small towns huddled around the towering Mount Macedon such as Woodend or Kyneton, which are located an hour North-West of Melbourne, and you can’t fail to miss the faintly Northern European feel of the place. Perhaps it is the crisp bite of a cool Spring day, the historical streetscapes or even the patches of greenery from recent Winter rains but this is a very unique and beautiful landscape; not just in geography but also the climate that envelops it.

I have got to be honest; I love a good glass of Sparkling Wine. For me there is no better sound to start a celebration than the pop from a cork as it flies out of a bottle of bubbly. Somehow they manage to put a smile on everyone’s face making Sparkling Wines the natural choice for any serious occasion. So with Christmas approaching there is no more appropriate time to get stuck into a couple of tasty bubbling beauties than right about now.