CORKS are popping at a Worcestershire hotel after it found out it is in the final of the Champagne Gosset Wine List of the Year 2004 competition.
The Brockencote Hall Hotel will find out in September, if it has been successful. But in the meantime, it is offering guests champagne by the glass, including Pol Roger and Alain Thienot vintage Ros.
Owner Joseph Petitjean, who runs the hotel with wife Alison, is himself French and most of the staff, including chef Jerome Barbanon, hail from the home of champagne.
About 22 wines appear under "champagne" on the wine list at the Chaddesley Corbett hotel, set in 70 acres of parkland, near Bromsgrove.
But it is not just stocking the champagne that wins awards, it is how you look after the champagne, according to Mr Petitjean.
"We have a wonderful cellar under the hotel which is ideal for storing our wine stock," he said.
Cellar
"We cellar our champagne on average for two weeks before we serve it to guests and it's important how you store it, how you carry it and how you serve it. It has to be treated with respect, to ensure it reaches the glass in the perfect state to drink."
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