Perfect for your coffee table: the £640,000 ‘wine bible’

The world's leading sommeliers are to gather in London to compile a £640,000 "wine bible".

Over three days, 48 of the greatest sommeliers from every major wine-producing nation will devise a list of the world's top 100 vineyards.

Their decisions will be turned into an 850-page, limited edition guide measuring 1.5 square metres and weighing more than 30kg. Buyers will receive a crate of wine from each of the vineyards listed worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and be eligible for wine tasting at each one selected.

Producers such as Rothschild, Margot and Petrus are among those tipped to be named number one at the event next March. Dubbed the "United Nations of wine", the project was developed by London publishing entrepreneur Karl Fowler, a former Goldman Sachs banker whose "Opus" coffee table book on Manchester United sold for £1.08 million in Dubai this year. He has also produced giant books about Arsenal and Vivienne Westwood.

Eight wine books have been ordered so far and, although names are secret, one buyer is a "major US rap artist", while two are set to be bought by hedge fund managers. Only 100 will be printed.

Mr Fowler, who runs publisher Opus Media Group Ltd, said: "Whoever buys the books will instantly have an incredible wine collection. Some wineries we expect to be included have waiting lists of 16,000 people for some wines. This is a chance to jump that queue."