Champagne toasts record year thanks to post-pandemic buzz and US sparkle

Champagne sales reached an all-time high last year, thanks to the post-pandemic boom and a United States surge.

While French producers already said last year they expected a sales record, they now confirmed 2021 sales hit $5.7bn (£4.2bn), 14 per cent above the pre-pandemic high.

Exports reached 180 million 0.75 litre bottles, up 37 per cent from 2020 and 15 per cent more than in 2019, while sales in France jumped 25 per cent from the previous year to match 2019 sales at 140 million bottles, Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) told reporters.

Sales to the United States soared 31 per cent compared tp 2019, reaching a record 34 million bottles.

Th American market has popped off in the past decade, growing every year apart from the slump suffered in 2020 because of lockdown measures, UMC data showed.

Exports to the UK rose seven per cent on 2019 to 29 million bottles while sales to Germany jumped 28 per cent to 15 million.

UMC Chairman Jean-Marie Barillere said the fact that drinking champagne at home was cheaper than in a restaurant and it was readily available online had helped boost sales.

The record demand cheered producers who faced their worst output in 40 years in 2021 after vineyards were ravaged by frosts and mildew fungus attacks.

The fall in supply should not affect champagne’s availability, however, as producers will be able to use their stocks. Champagne is typically made from a combination of wines produced the previous year and earlier.