It happened in a haze of champagne bubbles and cigar smoke.

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Companies such as French Bubbles operate Champagne pairing events, matching bubbly with sushi, chocolate and cheese.

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Ms. DINAH WASHINGTON: (Singing) You go to my head and you linger like a haunting refrain and I find you spinning round in my brain like the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

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Most houses give the wine color by adding a portion of still, red Pinot Noir wine to the blend before the Champagne-to-be undergoes its second fermentation in the bottle, the one that produces the trapped bubbles.

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In his quest for a way to contain the bubbles produced during fermentation, and thus to make the wines from his monastery's vineyards in Champagne sparkle, he tried replacing traditional wooden bottle stoppers with new-fangled cork ones.

ECONOMIST: Wine