It was Mark Twain who said: ‘Too much of anything is bad, but too much champagne is just right.’

The author would no doubt have approved of this convivial evening at the Alderley Edge Hotel, which began with guests tasting their way through a dazzling array of wares from the finest champagne houses before sitting down to a dinner with matching champagnes. Guests enjoyed tiny glasses of Laurent-Perrier, Krug, Bollinger, Ruinart, Moet et Chandon, Pol Roger, Taittinger, to name but a few!

Star of the meal, prepared by the hotel’s head chef Sean Sutton and his team, was a truffle-crusted sirloin of veal with grilled broccoli and latte sauce, paired with Piper-Heidsieck Brut Vintage 2006.

The occasion, attended by 90 guests, was the northern dinner for the Champagne Academy, organised by David Garlick, a member of the Academy’s committee since 1987 and a former chairman. The academy was established in 1956 to foster appreciation of Grand Marque Champagnes and to educate younger members of the wine trades in the UK.