There should be plenty of bubbly for Bermudians to ring in the new Millennium thanks to careful planning by the Island's liquor sellers and importers.

While stocks of champagne have completely sold out in some countries, Bermuda's importers are boasting that they have an ample supply. But they warned many of the more popular brands are disappearing fast.

Local importers ensured they had plenty of the sparkling French wine on hand by ordering early. One savvy merchant noted he deliberately over ordered last Christmas, keeping the excess to boost his stock for this year.

Cagey on the actual number of cases of champagne they imported, distributors would reveal only that their orders were on average 30 to 50 percent higher than last year.

About a third more of the lower-priced champagne labels were asked for while orders for the expensive, vintage champagnes in many cases doubled.

Manager and wine consultant at Gosling Brothers Greg Alban said the company doubled its order for Veuve Clicquot this year and were pressing the manufacturer for even more.

The brand is said to be the Premier's favourite, and appears to be highly favoured by many other residents too.

"Veuve Clicquot yellow label is our fastest selling,'' Mr. Alban said. "It's neck and neck with Moet & Chandon.'' David Powell of Bristol Cellar noted: "We have pretty good stocks of the lesser priced brands. The most expensive bottles are the most in demand.'' At $148 a pop, Louis & Roederer's Cristal was the most expensive bottle our survey found and also the most popular.

Imported by Bristol Cellar, all cases have been sold and no further shipments are due before the New Year.

However, two of the most well known high-end brands, Dom Perignon and Moet & Chandon, while in short supply, are still available from Cosmopolitan.

Meanwhile, Frith's liquors general manager Marc Morabito said Bollinger "is flying off the shelves''.

He noted that this year the supplier had informed him of the quantity he would be eligible for.

"We still have a few cases left but they're going extremely fast,'' he said, adding he could increase his stock only 25 percent.

"I had a customer who will be spending the New Year in Switzerland and wanted to buy ten cases there,'' he said. "I called the company and they informed me that Switzerland is sold out and so the customer bought his supply here.'' Overseas orders are apparently not uncommon. Mr. Alban said a customer in Monaco called and ordered 48 bottles of Pommery, to be delivered to clients here.

"I've had about 20 foreign orders of a similar type,'' he said, "and its represented sales of between $3,000 and $10,000.'' Some champagnes selling out While champagne prices have been steadily rising over the past year, Frith's Liquors and Burrows, Lightbourn stressed that they have managed to hold their prices steady.

Mr. Powell pointed out that Montaudon is moving as quickly as the most expensive labels. At $24.75 a bottle it is the least expensive champagne available locally.

With a high score of 92 out of 100 from the well respected industry publication, The Wine Spectator, Mr. Powell said sales of the bubbly in the US have sky rocketed.

The French Farm Ministry announced on Wednesday that champagne sales are expected to pop through previous records.

Estimates are that between 330 million and 350 million bottles will be sold -- up from 292 million last year. Thanks to a six percent price increase, the value of sales was set to rocket to $3.67 billion in 1999 from $1.9 billion.

LIST OF CHAMPAGNES SOLD LOCALLY List of champagnes sold locally Louis & Roederer's Cristal * (vintage) -- $148.75/Bristol Cellar.

Krug * (vint.) -- $112/Burrows, Lightbourn.

Dom Perignon (vint.) -- $104/Cosmopolitan.

Pol Roger Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill -- $100/Bristol Cellar.

Krug -- $87.85/Burrows, Lightbourn.

Tattinger Blanc de blanc (vint.) -- $75.65/Bristol Cellar.

Bollinger (vint.) -- $53.40/Frith's.

Moet & Chandon (vint.) -- $51/Cosmopolitan.

Veuve Clicquot (vint.) -- $51/Gosling's.

Pommery (vint.) -- $48/Gosling's.

Veuve Clicquot -- $41/Gosling's.

Bollinger -- $39/Frith's Moet & Chandon Brut -- $39.50/Cosmopolitan.

Perrier Jouet (vint.) -- $39/Gosling's.

Mumm (vint.) -- $39/Gosling's.

Pommery -- $37/Gosling's.

Louis & Roederer Brut Premeire -- $35.75/Bristol Cellar.

Charles Heidseick -- $34.95/Burrows, Lightbourn.

Pol Roger -- $33.75/Bristol Cellar.

Piper Heidsieck * (vint.) -- $33.65 at Burrows, Lightbourn.

Mumm -- $33/Gosling's.

Perrier Jouet -- $33/Gosling's.

Tattinger Brut Prestige -- $30.95 at Bristol Cellar.

Piper Heidsieck -- $29.95/Burrows, Lightbourn.

Montaudon -- $24.75/Bristol Cellar.

* sold out at press time.