"a crisis unlike anything the Champagne region has ever seen"

WINE TALK
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https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1344720260944064513?s=20


AVENAY-VAL-D’OR, France — Champagne means celebration. But for France’s Champagne region, 2020 brought little to celebrate.

In ordinary times, the region in France’s east, a global center of sparkling wine production and home to the only winemakers allowed to claim the Champagne name in some jurisdictions, would usher in the new year with lavish banquets in centuries-old castles or palaces, its sparkling treasure flowing freely. But after a year of dismal sales and drastic restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, that seems like a distant memory.

The town of Épernay’s stately Champagne Avenue — an Embassy Row of sorts for the world of champagne — was almost entirely empty this week. Champagne-themed key chains, basketball hats and lighters sat unsold in dark shop fronts.

Americans usually consume millions of glasses of champagne on New Year’s Eve. This year, however, the more than 15,000 producers here are set for disappointment. They have already seen sales plummet by more than 20 percent, the worst decline since World War II.

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I’ve been doing my part to help them out. Consumption tonight will be down, but it’s just one day of the year.

-Al

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Maybe they should drop the price of the 08 comtes then :joy:

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I’ve drunk more champagne than any other region the past 3 months

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Unfortunately it is much more than a 1 man job!

Imagine all the hotels, banquets, etc…doing holiday parties that buy pallets of fizz that will buy absolutely zero this year.

I promise to do my little part tonight to support the region.

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I do my part.

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Us Berserkers need to pick up the slack!
champagne.gif champagne.gif champagne.gif

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We definitely have drunk more champagne this year than ever before. At least once a week. Doin’ our part!

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Im wondering when this will apply downward pressure to prices - there could be some interesing price points coming up. It helps that 2008 was an unrepeated vintage (as far as I’m aware in the mean time), so it wont be directly compared from a price perspective

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Dammit, neal! I feel terrible. We’re drinking Gruet tonight!

I did do my fair share of damage over Christmas, though.

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Not a single sparkling bottle all year. Guess if you’re not part of the solution, you are part of the problem? [grin.gif]

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The problem is that I won’t be in a position to open anything really good until covid is over. Arnold can’t drink Champagne, it doesn’t transfer well to 3 oz glass bottles, and I don’t like opening an entire bottle for myself.

But once we’re all vaccinated, watch out!

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I think this is the third of these types of articles that have been discussed here; this is an issue that’s going to affect mass market bottles, not the stuff the board discusses. My purchases of Marguet, Collin and Taittinger weren’t significantly cheaper this year, lol.

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Local supermarkets here had masses of crap at €10-12.

However big house prices remained very solid.

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nor were Bereche prices now that they are way more allocated (and solely working with RWC now) than before [cry.gif]

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New Tariff of 25% of French Wines into the USA, announced 30 Dec will hit Champagne, too!

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I have LOTS of half bottles for this very reason. My wife generally doesn’t drink even a glass during the week. I don’t either, but when I feel the urge, the halves come in super handy

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In the UK prices are down considerably. I have been picking up Laurent Perrier for £27 Rather than £40. Pleased to say I have been doing my bit to drain the surplus over Christmas.

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If that’s. excited you wait till the sales hit with the merchants in Jan. I picked up. 12 bottles of Pol Roger 20% off in November.

It is worth differentiating between the release prices to the wholesale market vs retailers clearing out their stock; Tesco lowering their prices 30% on champagne isnt a reflection of the wider market (yet)

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A bit tone-deaf.
Maybe, producers can ship black-labelled bottles, for deathbed phone calls and virtually attended funerals.