The grape harvest has begun, but this iconic corner of France has plenty more sparkle beyond its vineyards, says <b>Harriet O'Brien</b>
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Fizz on the rocks: Pimping a classic drink
Monday 25 July 2011
As difficult economic times continue to take their toll on life's little luxuries, champagne houses have discovered the benefits of pimping the classic drink, reports Luke Blackall
Sales rise of 17% puts fizz back into LVMH
Tuesday 19 April 2011
LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods group, posted sparkling first-quarter sales figures for all of its businesses. The maker of Moët et Chandon champagne and Louis Vuitton handbags saw its sales grow by 17 per cent to €5.25bn (£4.6bn) over the three months, and reported "strong momentum" in the US, Europe and Asia. Revenues for watches and jewellery surged by 28 per cent.
Simon Calder: New rules on liquids need solid foundations
Saturday 16 April 2011
The man who pays his way
Travel challenge: Gourmet France in early June
Saturday 09 April 2011
Every week we invite three competing companies to offer us their best deal for a specific holiday. Today: a seven-night food or wine-themed holiday in France. Prices are per person, based on two people travelling together in June.
Last Night's TV: Katie: My Beautiful Friends, Channel 4; Bible's Buried Secrets, BBC2
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Beauty that's not skin-deep
Talk about vintage bubbly! Divers find 220-year-old bottle
Monday 19 July 2010
A treasure trove of two centuries-old, but perfectly drinkable, champagne has been found near a shipwreck 180 feet deep in the Baltic. It is thought that the champagne may belong to a consignment sent to the tsar of Russia by King Louis XVI just before the French revolution. If so, the bottles – at least 30 of them and possibly many more – could be worth millions of pounds at auction.
Jaci Stephen: You could spot the Brits at the Oscars – they were the ones without statuettes
Wednesday 10 March 2010
Way Out West
Album: Ke$ha, Animal (RCA Columbia)
Friday 22 January 2010
The ruthless stare she affects for the cover – part acid-tongued cheerleader, part Catherine Tate's not-bovvered Lauren - accurately signals Ke$ha's no-nonsense assault on celebrity.
Consuming Issuse: The phoney supermarket price war
Saturday 21 November 2009
Tesco and Asda are said to be locked in a festive price war, handing hard-up customers some festive cheer in the recession. Before cracking open the bubbly, it's worth remembering that Father Christmas visits only once a year and the last time he descended my chimney he wasn't wearing the liveried uniform of a supermarket chain.
How the bubbly burst
Saturday 12 September 2009
The finest champagne grapes will wither on the vine this year – made redundant by recession.
A vintage crime: Dom Perignon conman's 100,000-bottle fraud
Saturday 14 February 2009
Turkish folk singer conned French vineyards then sold wine to London restaurants
Champagne. It's top of the pops for a tour
Sunday 14 September 2008
Demand for bubbly still outstrips supply. Andy Lynes visits Reims to discover the secrets of the world's favourite fizz
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Is the Muslim call to prayer really such a menace?
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Channel 4 to 'provoke' viewers who associate Islam with terrorism with live call to prayer during Ramadan
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US army doctor returns arm to Vietnamese soldier fifty years after he took it as a souvenir
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Police seize possessions of rough sleepers in crackdown on homelessness
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Demand for food banks has nothing to do with benefits squeeze, says Work minister Lord Freud
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