Relatively mellow and madly hip.Prada Society Café, 7a & 9 Whitworth Street West, Deansgate Locks (0161-833 4222). Bar Mon-Thurs noon-midnight, Fri, Sat noon-2am, Sun 10am-10.30pm, restaurant Mon-Sat lunch and dinner.One million pounds has been spent on the label-conscious restaurant, bar and coffee shop which opens on Wednesday. A meal in the restaurant could consist of mussel tartlet with a light lemon oil; red chard salad with smoked chicken ravioli, or Moroccan lamb, for a handbag-lightening £25 plus A rigorous door policy promises to keep out the uncool.. Who else noticed that Brookside's Dixon family drowned their sorrows in Veuve Clicquot after our Jacqui's wedding was called off? The jilted bride herself might have enjoyed seeing her fizz being showered all over Brookside Close, but I wonder if Veuve Clicquot HQ was as thrilled to see the "champagne of the season" being taken downmarket. Who else noticed that Brookside's Dixon family drowned their sorrows in Veuve Clicquot after our Jacqui's wedding was called off? The jilted bride herself might have enjoyed seeing her fizz being showered all over Brookside Close, but I wonder if Veuve Clicquot HQ was as thrilled to see the "champagne of the season" being taken downmarket. Keeping up appearances is what champagne is all about.

To maintain its sparkling image and flowing sales, the Grandes Marques (literally, Great Brands) have become household names by attaching themselves with the upmarket lifestyle we aspire to and will pay a premium to be associated with. Would you rather be seen in an Aston Martin or an Austin Montego, in D&G or C&A? But while they arenot shy about promoting themselves, pouring vast amounts into sponsorship to do so, the big houses are coy about how much they actually fork out on promotion.Moët et Chandon, the leading champagne brand in the UK, is one of champagne's most active sponsors. Through its sponsorship of London Fashion Week with Harpers & Queen, Moët likes to associate itself with the cool and fashion-conscious. Its special 20-centilitre bottle drunk from a Theo Fennell designer straw is so popular that Pommery has followed suit with a little bottle of its own, called POP Moët is everywhere.

You may have seen Colin Montgomerie lifting a gigantic bottle of Moët at the Volvo PGA. Then there's the Silver Magnum at Epsom, the London Restaurant Awards, not to mention endless lifestyle advertorial. GQ is the latest target, after research showed men are overtaking women in the rush to be seen drinking Moët.If Moët aims to be the fashionistas' favourite fizz, Piper Heidsieck, which was Marilyn Monroe's choice, is the "luvvies" champagne. Sponsors at the Cannes Film Festival, they also support numerous film premiÿres including that of recent release "Maybe Baby". This summer, for the first time, Piper sponsored the London Mardi Gras gay and lesbian festival, held last weekend at Finsbury Park.Lanson, number two in the UK, backs Goodwood as well as retaining tennis veteran Henri Leconte as "ambassador" for a tidy £60,000-odd.Presence and visibility are the sine qua non of champagne sponsorship. Toasting the Queen on Millennium Eve at the Dome did wonders for Tesco's 1993 vintage champagne from Nicolas Feuillate.

And Champagne Mumm, "the champagne of celebration and fun" (which champagne isn't?) and the official champagne for Greenwich Meridian 2000, has teamed up with Formula 1, giving it access to eight million viewers in the UK, not to mention everyone who watches the Grand Prix winner spraying Mumm Champagne about.But there's one champagne you won't find up there on the winner's podium. Krug, often described as the Rolls-Royce of champagnes, sees this sort of promotional activity as tacky. Now part of LVMH, it shares its owner with Dom Pérignon, the biggest de luxe champagne brand at 2.4 million bottles. But if Daniella Westbrook and friends reputedly crave Dom Pérignon, the same is not true of Krug. Master blender Henri Krug says his "is the fine wine connoisseurs' champagne.

It's a wine, not as a fashion statement, but for people who drink Yquem and Cheval Blanc". Not much for us then, unless "Krug by the flute", which is going on sale in select London restaurants at a mere £15-£20 a glass, appeals.Like Krug, Pol Roger, the wine trade's champagne, doesn't shout its name from the rooftops but, prefers you to discover it through discreet associations. It was Winston Churchill's favourite, hence its luxury brand, Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill and its sponsorship place aboard the Sir Winston Tall Ship. In the same élite company, Louis Roederer sponsors classical music events, Taittinger a grand cookery prize.