Champagne & Sparkling Feature
Bursting Bubbles HAS THE BUBBLE BURST? IS THE SPARKLING STALE? HAS THE FIZZ GONE FLAT? NO ONE IS UNDER ANY ILLUSION AS TO WHAT A HORRENDOUS YEAR 2020 HAS BEEN, THOUGH THE TROUBLES FACING CHAMPAGNE, AND SPARKLING WINES IN GENERAL, MAY BE LESS FRONT OF MIND FOR MANY. AND THAT IS A LARGE PART OF THE PROBLEM. Words Ken Gargett
Champagne is the ultimate celebration wine and there has been precious little to celebrate. That will turn, of course, but who knows when. For the moment, the world is not turning to champagne to sooth its woes. Consequently, many of the producers are hurting. Sparkling wines are not the sort of thing one sits at home, lockdown or not, and opens for dinner, as one might a white, red or even enjoy a beer or a glass of spirits. Not fizz. A quick look at the doom and gloom spread across the internet, shows the widespread problems the region is facing. “Champagne Losing its Fizz as Global Pandemic Clobbers Sales”. “As Champagne Sales Plummet, more than 100 Million Bottles are Expected to Go Unsold”. “As Champagne Sales Plummet, Producers May Throw Away Tons of Unused Grapes” – it
40 drinks trade
would seem headline writers are set in their ways. “The Era of Grower Champagne is Over”. “Champagne agrees Dramatic Yield Reduction for 2020”. “Champagne Pushed into Uncharted Territory”. And many more. Not inspiring stuff, but it reflects the difficulties with which Champagne Houses must deal. Just as the last couple of months of 2020 have finally offered glimpses of hope for the world – vaccines, elections (well, some of them) – so too, we might be turning the corner for this wonderful wine. And sparklings in general. Sales exploded over the latter part of the year, led by big increases in France. Unable to travel the globe, the French explored their own country and drank their own fizz. The inability to travel has assisted Champagne sales in many markets. People have more
money to spend on luxuries (and who doesn’t want/need something/anything to make them feel a little better at this time?). Champagne has benefited from that. As countries pushed through the first wave of the virus, sales also began to recover as people tried to return to their old lives. Unfortunately, Europe is suffering increased infections and the USA is in a similar position. Lockdowns in Europe will surely see that recovery take a hit, but it provided an indication that when we are finally through the worst of this, we can expect that once again, people will look to sparklings (and celebrating the end of this horror with a top fizz seems the ideal way). Reports of the demise of fizz are, as they say in the classics, somewhat premature. Of course, there are more issues facing Champagne than simply the virus. What
