IT IS week five of the Wine Appreciation Course and bubbles of enthusiasm greet Chris Baker when he announces the evening's subject: champagne, ''the king of wines; the wine of kings''.
The fizz's kingdom, he explains, is the Champagne region of northern France. ''It's made all over the world, but nowhere better than in Champagne.'' Other countries will call their sparkling wines something like Methode Traditionelle : in Spain they put Cava on the label. As from next June, all champagnes made outside Champagne are prevented by law from using the word at all.
Although a lot of the class centres on the Grand Marques, or top six names - Krug, Lanson, Bollinger, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot and Louis Roederer - Mr Baker dwells on less well-known names which, in his view, are equally acceptable.
''The best non-champagne, and there's no doubt about it, is Australian Yalumba Rose. It is terrific stuff,'' he says, adding he got married on it. Yalumba Rose is available from Force 8 in Hong Kong for about $80.
Mr Baker reveals how champagne should be opened: quietly, with a twist of the cork. Not a drop should be spilt. ''Champagne doesn't like shocks.'' Once in the glass, a good champagne will smell of fresh toast and have a mushroom-pink colour. There should be a steady stream of bubbles - champagne flutes have a small scratch in the bottom to encourage this - and a ring of them around the glass edge.
The tasting includes a Charles Ducoin Brut from Albert Charbaut. ''This is his second wine, but he has access to all the best vineyard production in Champagne,'' says Mr Baker. It is available from Park 'N Shop at $165.
