Can the ordinary person taste or appreciate the difference between Australian sparkling wine and French Champagne? A blind tasting showed good champagne is wasted on the wine buffs working at The Australian's Adelaide bureau. The four participants were mortified to discover they unanimously picked Omni N V, at $10 a bottle, as expensive French champagne, or their favourite.

By contrast Bollinger Special Cuvee ($85) was variously rubbished as "flat, sour..like schoolies' week, "Passion Pop" and "bland". Australia's premium, award winning sparkling wine Arras Chardonnay Pinot ($49) was derided as "tastes like mouthwash" by one, "rude smelling, cheap and nasty" by another with one hack favourably toasting it as "pungent and strong tasting but quite liked it".