Bubblewatch

A snipe of champagne makes a great stocking filler. Veuve Clicquot is one of the best quarter-bottles - about £7.95.

A snipe of champagne makes a great stocking filler. Veuve Clicquot is one of the best quarter-bottles - about £7.95.

Cooke's Cafi has a bumper selection of bubbly - from Pommery Brut Royal NV (£42) through versions and vintages of Laurent-Perrier, Perrier-Jouet, Clicquot and Piper to Krug 1988 (£220): 14 South William Street, Dublin 2, 01-6790536.

Bubble Brothers, who import directly from a number of small growers, have just opened a retail outlet where personal shoppers will benefit from advice on champagne styles, access to wines from Kevin Parsons and Mary Pawle, and cigars. 27a MacCurtain Street, Cork, 021-553258.