Hang on to the cap after popping the bubbly

Reims, France

YOU may pop open a bottle of champagne to celebrate something good, and perhaps you will keep the painted metal cap which secured the cork as a wee souvenir of that moment.

But for a small but growing number of hobbyists, champagne cap collecting is more than just about fond memories. For them, it is a passion and an art form - and, for a few, a livelihood.

"There are some caps which are worth 10 times the price of the bottle," says Pascal Dorme, a trader who organises a "worldwide" cap fair in the wine-growing village of Mesnil-sur-Oger, east of Paris.

"It's all …