In On Champagne the thoughts, opinions and conclusions of the world’s finest champagne writers gather to reveal this wine’s action-packed trajectory from the myth of its accidental discovery – not in France, we find, but in the cider cellars of England – to the development of a high-tech champagne fit for space travel. It’s a journey that starts and ends with capturing that sparkle in a bottle and along the way beguiles us with the nuances of its chalky terrain, the determination of rebels from Ambonnay to Avize, and the mystery of a champagne cellar under the sea. We meet the pioneers who created the great champagnes of the past and the personalities who are ‘greening’ this landscape, nurturing it through climate change to shape the exquisite champagnes of the future. Contributions from top champagne writers: Tom Stevenson, Essi Avellan MW, Hugh Johnson, Serena Sutcliffe MW, Peter Liem, Tyson Stelzer and Robert Walters – with the ‘modern era’ welcomed in by Evelyn Waugh