Sparkling
Champagne rides high in time of COVID HUMANS ARE STRANGE CREATURES. WELL INTO THE SECOND YEAR OF A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC WITH INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL NEARLY AT A STANDSTILL, ECONOMIES SUFFERING, COMMUNITIES DIVIDED, BUSINESSES (AND MANY RESTAURANTS) CLOSING, LOCKDOWNS CAUSING CHAOS AND BORDER CLOSURES PREVENTING SOME OF US FROM SEEING FRIENDS OR FAMILY OR EVEN GETTING HOME, YOU’D THINK THERE IS VERY LITTLE REASON TO CELEBRATE ANYTHING. IF THERE WERE ANY SECTOR OF THE ECONOMY ONE WOULD EXPECT TO SUFFER, IT WOULD SURELY BE CHAMPAGNE AND SPARKLING WINES. NOTHING IS MORE CLOSELY LINKED WITH A CELEBRATION THAN A BOTTLE OF FIZZ. Words Ken Gargett Not so. Sales of champagne seem robustly healthy, rising every month in the year to June. This is very much in the nonvintage sector of the market (already our most popular). Worth noting that the rest of the world does not see this enthusiasm for champagne. CIVC figures show just how well champagne is doing here. In 2020, exports recorded a growth of 11.2%, reaching 8.5 million bottles, with turnover increasing by 11.1% to €126.1 million. “This was the biggest growth in 2020 among Champagne’s leading markets. In fact, 2020 marked the second-best year in the history of champagne exports to Australia, after 2017 (8.5 million bottles for a turnover of €131.8 million)”. The last fifteen years have been a golden (sparkling?) period for champagne sales in Australia, increasing in both volume and value by an average of 7.9% per year. In that time, Australia has moved from the tenth to the sixth biggest champagne market by value, behind the UK, USA, Japan, Germany and Belgium. There are now 261 brands of champagne available in Australia. Will we see all this maintained as the Delta variant sweeps across the land? Who knows?
THE STATS
Figures to July 2021 show that the sparkling market is a billion-dollar business, growing at 19.4% in value and 6.6% in volume. That said, prosecco is growing at 21.6%, so
TASMANIAN SPARKLES
Ed Carr
while the trend is to premiumisation, this is perhaps not at the very highest level? So many restaurant closures seemed certain to devastate the sparkling market, as one in ten Australians will drink sparkling/ champagne at an on-premise establishment (these tend to be older and female patrons from the suburbs – gross generalisation, of course). The trend has been away from champagne, but it is still remarkably healthy.
I had the chance to chat with Ed Carr from the House of Arras, one of this country’s finest winemakers and undoubtedly our star of sparkling. Ed confirmed that sparkling sales were going “really well. We are pushing the stuff out the door”. He noted an increase in wine, generally, at 3.5%, but 14.6% for sparkling and champagne (it would be fair to say that various ‘authorities’ might offer slightly varying figures, which can be frustrating if one is seeking exactitude, but that they all point very much in the same direction). Ed did note that on-premise sales were hurting. Why? Among the theories we discussed are that people are “celebrating at home, they want to “spoil themselves, people need cheering up, if people can’t travel, they’ll open something different that helps to replicate that” and also, they are opening a bottle because “they are apprehensive about making plans”. For Arras particularly, Ed noted the fantastic support that the brand receives from Accolade. Tasmania is still their focus, but related brands such as Grant Burge source from elsewhere. The USA has been excellent for sales though there have been issues with the UK since they imposed various pest control measures. Arras has never not met any such restrictions, but sparkling is a long term game, and the goalposts can be shifted several years after
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