CATEGORY FOCUS
T
his year marks the 80th birthday of one of wine’s most successful generic marketing groups.
The Comité Interprofessional du Vin de
Champagne (known these days as Comité Champagne) was formed in one of the darkest moments of the 20th century, helping to hold the industry together
throughout the Nazi occupation of France. Since then, it’s helped Champagne
producers weather numerous further
crises, most of them economic in nature. From the oil crisis of 1973, to the Great Recession of 2008, sales of fizz have
plummeted during stormy periods in the global financial system.
But, as that 80th birthday approached,
the organisation had to draw on all of its famed diplomatic ingenuity to weather
what is unquestionably the biggest crisis Champagne has faced since the end of WWII.
In terms of sales, 2020 was, as the
Comité’s director general Charles
Goemaere puts it delicately in his
Context and optimism
Champagne.
is rather open to question, however.
introduction to the body’s annual report, a “particularly challenging” year for
Total sales were down by 17.9% to 244
million bottles in volume for the full year versus 2019, while value dropped by
16.7%, shedding some €845m to leave the total standing at €4.2bn.
The going was especially rough in
Champagne’s four main markets. France, which as the report says, has been in long-term decline, suffered its 10th
consecutive drop in 2020, a 19.9% fall
that consolidated the eclipse of domestic
sales by exports: the French now account for 46.4% of all Champagne sales, versus 47.5% in 2019.
Meanwhile, the largest market by
volume, the UK, lost 21.7% of its volume sales, while the US, the largest by value, was down 18.8% in volume, and Japan
shed 24.5% of its imports compared to the previous year.
How much these bald figures tell us about the real health of the Champagne sector Certainly, the Comité can muster plenty of evidence to suggest these figures are the result of a one-off shock – a drop in
sales that is almost entirely attributable to the unprecedented event of the
world’s bars and restaurants closing for weeks or months at a time, more or less simultaneously.
As the Comité’s annual report points
out: “The closure of bars and restaurants, restrictions on celebrations and the cancellation of numerous events
have curtailed Champagne sales and
consumption, often drastically.” But this is by no means the only story. “The year has
been a roller coaster,” the report continues, “with very sharp falls (April -68%, May
-56%) and equally sharp rises (+50 points between April and June), demonstrating the circumstantial nature of the drop in sales.”
Other indicators point to a deep
resilience in the Champagne market.
The most striking is the performance of Australia, where Champagne imports
soared by a remarkable 11.2%, sparking
reports of a shortage in the country. New Zealand, too, bucked the trend, with no drop in imports versus the previous
year. As the report says, this is largely
attributable to the two countries’ “effective handling of the pandemic”. In other words, in markets where life is somewhere closer to the old “normal”, Champagne thrives. Champagne in the UK
Gosset has opened a dedicated space for visitors at its premises in Epernay including a boutique bar and park. The bar was conceived and designed by Champagne architect Giovanni Pace. Pace has created a relaxing oasis where the house’s wines, from the emblematic Grande Reserve to the prestigious Celebris, can be enjoyed.
Much of the bigger global picture in
the Champagne market can be found in microcosm in the UK.
The 21.7% drop in volume meant
THE WINE MERCHANT august 2021 38
