We all know about the hemline index: the idea that skirt lengths rise and fall with the stock market. You’d imagine there might be a similar pattern with Champagne consumption. The reality is more complex. Amid a cost-of-living crisis, and global uncertainty, Champagne sales are very strong. Nick Baker, founder of sparkling wine specialist The Finest Bubble, explains: ‘One thing we are seeing is an extraordinary uplift in [people’s] generosity towards each other in terms of gifting. Perhaps lockdown also changed how some people look at Champagne: it’s not just for weddings but more casual drinking.’
Last year, Champagne shipments around the world reached 322 million bottles, the highest figure since 2008. This caught a lot of people by surprise, including the Champenois. That’s because 2020, by contrast, was not a big Champagne-drinking year. Thanks to the shutdown of bars, events and restaurants, and perhaps also a reluctance in those early, panicky days of the pandemic to buy a drink associated with celebration, Champagne shipments in 2020 were, at 245 million bottles, the lowest in more than 20 years.
But here’s a thing. In the late summer of 2020, the Champagne region reacted to those dropping sales by announcing a dramatic reduction in the amount of grapes growers would be allowed to pick and vinify from that year’s harvest. Permitted yields were set at 8,000kg/ha, substantially down from the usual 10,800kg/ha ballpark. Then, the next year, when sales picked up, the Champagne crop was battered by hail, mildew and frost. The 2021 harvest was small.
The consequence of two small vintages is now being felt in the shops. ‘I’m definitely seeing the repercussions in terms of allocations – with some producers I am not getting any,’ says Sandia Chang who runs bubbleshoplondon.com, which specialises in grower Champagnes. ‘It’s been worse for the growers [smaller producers who make wine only from grapes they have grown] because unlike the bigger houses they don’t have so much space to keep reserve wines [older wines that are blended into a non-vintage wine], so are more reliant on the latest harvest.’
There’s no need to panic about a Champagne shortage: Chang and others still have many interesting and delicious wines to sell. But there’s no doubt that with the 20/20 vision of hindsight the decision to restrict yields in 2020 looks questionable. Rather than smoothing the relationship between supply and demand it has caused unnecessary sticking points – which have had an impact on both availability and prices. For instance, I was about to taste a favourite rosé Champagne from Veuve Fourny & Fils when I was told that this year there are only 60 bottles available for the whole of the UK. And if you’ve been wondering why the discounts usually found around feast days do not feel quite so generous this year, now you know why.
Of course, this is of benefit to English sparkling, which looks better and better value as the Grandes Marques Champagnes move deeper into £40+ a bottle territory. Those who have previously baulked at the prices of homegrown bottles are being given more incentive to try them.
But it doesn’t need to be one or the other. English sparkling wine and Champagne are both good drinks to pour to share a bit of love. They are cosseting and joyous, two qualities that are always very welcome.
