Download
'People were fed up being miserable': How champagne sales exploded in 2021
Giulia Carbonaro
04:22

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, it seems there's been very little to cheer about.

And that has been reflected in sales of sparkling wines, often associated with celebrations. With parties and weddings being canceled under lockdowns, sales of champagne were down by 20 percent in 2020.

But this year, champagne sales have bounced back, with producers, importers and industry insiders like Richard Bampfield being shocked by the strength of the rebound.

"It's been very exciting for champagne," Bampfield, a Master of Wine recognized by the Institute of Masters of Wine in the UK, told CGTN.

 

Champagne vineyard in Le Breuil, France. /REUTERS/Yiming Woo/File Photo

Champagne vineyard in Le Breuil, France. /REUTERS/Yiming Woo/File Photo

Sales of champagne for this year are expected to fetch up to $6.2 billion in revenue, more than the previous $5.6 billion record set in 2019. 

"I can only assume that there's a lot of people out there who were fed up with being miserable and wanted to start celebrating properly again," said Bampfield.

"I think in 2020, people possibly had been still drinking champagne celebrating, but maybe privately - and in 2021 we saw a return. We saw more weddings and occasions where it could be drunk. And the market reflects that."

And in support of Bampfield's theory that people were just fed up being miserable, there's also the fact that customers are buying more high-quality, expensive champagne.

An advertisement for Moet & Chandon champagne is displayed at a bus stop hoarding operated by JCDecaux in Paris, France. /REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

An advertisement for Moet & Chandon champagne is displayed at a bus stop hoarding operated by JCDecaux in Paris, France. /REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

 

But will champagne sales keep bubbling over in the new year?

"Certainly, climate change is an undertone to almost every conversation that goes on. It's always in the background," says Bampfield.

Producers are ready to face warming temperatures, planning on what grapes is best to plant, but what they can't plan for, explain Bampfield, is extreme weather events.

"If they're suddenly hit by dramatic frosts or something like that, that is far more difficult for them to plan for and therefore manage," he says. "So I think they probably are in some ways fearful."

"But having said that, the wine business has been around for a long time. In the past, when there has been a really difficult vintage, that's often been followed by one or two more successful ones. Let's keep our fingers crossed. That's going to be the case in 2022."

 

Search Trends