Changing habits and the gloomy state of the world are taking the fizz out of French champagne sales, the producers’ association has said, with shipments down nearly 10% last year, reports The Guardian.
Consumers in crucial markets such as the US and home country France cut down on the luxury beverage, as economic and political anxiety dampened the party mood.
“Champagne is a real barometer of the state of mind of consumers,” said Maxime Toubart, the president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons, the growers’ trade union, and co-president of the Comité Champagne (Champagne Committee), the joint trade association.
“It is not time to celebrate given inflation, conflicts across the world, economic uncertainties and political wait-and-see in some of the largest champagne markets, such as France and the United States.”
More affordable alternatives including prosecco, English sparkling wine and crémant are increasingly replacing champagne among consumers, with demand for the premium French bubbly down to the lowest levels in more than two decades. Cut-price tipples have become more competitive in terms of quality in recent years.