Argument: The French alone cannot supply global demand for Champagne

Support

• Peter Stebbings. “Britons first to be hit by global champagne shortage”. August 13th, 2007 – “Increasing global demand for champagne means there could soon be a worldwide shortage – with Britons likely to be the first to miss out.

Vineyard owners in eastern France are refusing to sell tens of millions of bottles stocked in their cellars because they see them as their retirement ‘nest-eggs’.

The result is that the most prestigious French champagne houses are having trouble keeping pace with rising demand in the US and emerging markets such as Russia, China and India.

[…]Global champagne sales have risen sharply in recent years, from 287million bottles in 2002 to 321million in 2006.

This year they are forecast to reach 330million, with exports to Russia alone growing by 39 per cent as the country’s so-called ‘New Russians’ bask in their new-found wealth.”

• “Is Champagne a Victim of its Own Marketing Success?”. Serious About Wine, Mike Carter’s Blog

• The president of Moët & Chandon, Frédéric Cumenal, recently told the French financial paper Les Echos – “For thirty years, the industry has always succeeded in coping with demand. Today that’s no longer the case. We’re at maximum yield and we will soon hit a wall.”[1]

• The president of Moët & Chandon, Frédéric Cumenal, recently told the French financial paper Les Echos – “For thirty years, the industry has always succeeded in coping with demand. Today that’s no longer the case. We’re at maximum yield and we will soon hit a wall.”[1]