The day I stop being excited by the prospect of a champagne tasting is the day that I give up this job… I am definitely in agreement with France’s 18th century gastronome, the mouth-fillingly named Jean Anthelme Brillat Savarin, who said, ‘Burgundy makes you think of silly things; Bordeaux makes you talk about them, and champagne makes you do them.’

But if we are to believe the scare stories, we had better all take care to stock up on our favourite brands before they run dry. Apparently there are not only problems getting hold of enough bottles, particularly larger sizes such as Jeraboams, after one of the two bottle factories in the region closed down, but as global sales continue to rise (from 287 million bottles in 2002 to 330 million in 2007), the region is struggling to cope with demand. Only 32,600 hectares of vineyards are authorised to produce the black grapes for champagne, with around 350 million bottles being rolled out each year.

Still, let’s not feel too sorry for the Champagnoise.

There are plans to increase the areas allowed to plant the champagne grapes of pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay – and besides, sceptics say the scare stories are just another highly successful marketing strategy from one of the world’s most accomplished marketing regions – to further feed the fuel for an exclusive, rarified product that we are happy to part with ever more money to get hold of.

The thought of an impending shortage should make any stock-piling of champagne a guilt-free affair from our point of view – if it turns out to be a ruse, so be it; who ever heard of someone’s last words being, ‘I wish I had drunk less champagne’?

Fleury NV (£23)
Award-winning biodynamic champagne that is a gorgeous experience – subtle, delicate, crisp with a lovely nuttiness and tiny bubbles that melt in the mouth. The grapes come from the Aube region of Champagne, from land that was part of an earlier extension of the Champagne delineated region – something that is happening again to deal with the ever-increasing demand. The Fleury family were the first in the region to farm biodynamically, helped by their more southerly location meaning that the grapes ripen well.

1999 Laurent-Perrier Brut millesime (€45)
Very good value for this vintage champagne from a house that has invested heavily in recent years, and for my money just keeps getting better. They are the largest family-owned champagne house, and make sensible decisions such as only producing a vintage in truly exceptional years. Which means you won’t be disappointed with this crisp, well-defined number that has excellent ageing potential, with roughly equal parts of chardonnay and pinot noir.

1999 Bollinger La Grande Annee (€100)
Bollinger became official supplier to the British Royal Family with Queen Victoria in 1884, and has always been one of the most glamorous of the champagne houses. This vintage champagne (they usually produce two or three per decade) is probably the most sumptuous on this page, and was made in an exceptional year for the region. It’s highly complex, with layers of flavour, from soft creamy fruit to toasted, almost chocolate notes. This is already showing some of the ageing characteristics that will get better and better over the next decade. 65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay.

Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 2000 (€50)
You don’t get much bigger than Moet & Chandon, and their non-vintage is one of the world’s great celebration fizzes. But it’s really worth moving up to the vintage bottles. This one was aged for five years on the lees before disgorging, and has developed luxurious creamy yeast flavours, with a rich toffee note tempered by white flowers, peach and pear that keeps the minerality ever present. Only the best juice goes into Moet’s vintage wines.

Alfred Gratien for the Wine Society, Private Cuvee (£20)
You can always rely on the Wine Society’s own label bottling, and this is no exception. They have chosen one of champagne’s best known small houses, highly traditional in approach and always valuing the careful handcrafting of its bottles over mass production. All wines are vinified in large wooden tuns brought in from Chablis (as opposed to the stainless steel tanks more usually seen in champagne today) and what you get is a well structured champagne.

Non Vintage Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose (€50)
I couldn’t resist including this most popular of rose champagnes – the classic pink champagne in my book, and always welcome. I’m often asked why pink champagne is always so much more expensive than ‘normal’ champagne. I’m afraid it’s really down to supply and demand – they make tiny quantities of rose champagne (usually made by keeping the wine on the red pinot noir skins to take on some colour, or even by blending in some pinot noir wine) and we want every drop of it… so price goes up.