The latest wheeze in one of the French supermarkets is champagne on sale for only 10.95 euros a bottle. I haven’t had the chance to pop over yet and taste it – if there is any left at that price – but I have it on good authority that it’s really not bad. When you consider that 10.95 includes VAT and that the supermarket will be making a margin too, it’s unlikely that the champagne maker will have sold the bottles for more than 8 euros. Remember too that the price for a kilo of grapes is around 4.5 – 5 euros and that it takes 1.2 kg to make a bottle of champagne, and you’ll realise that the raw material alone cost 5 – 6 euros without taking into account any of the other costs, much less a profit. All in all that’s not a very attractive situation for the champagne maker, but it does generate cash and it’s very much a sign of the times. How things change. This time a year ago prices were bouyant and all the talk was about how to keep up with the ever-growing worldwide demand for champagne. The plan finally approved was to include 40 new villages in the authorised production area, although this is a long-term project and won’t have an impact on the number of bottles produced until about 2020 Since last year you won’t be surprised to learn that sales of champagne have slowed down quite a bit and several champagne makers are resorting to cutting prices in order to generate precious cash. Whether or not that comes to pass remains to be seen and if the story does develop I’ll let you know. Don’t hold your breath too much however. It’s unlikely that we’ll see quite the same prices here in the U.K. For a start, the duty on a bottle of champagne is almost £2 a bottle, then there’s the transport to pay for as well – not much, but it all adds to the price. Still the price trend is definitely downward. As I’ve said many times before, the big brands will try to keep out of this price war as much as they can, but that means you’ll be able to find some great champagnes and some great prices amongst the smaller growers, so watch this space. Jiles PS The champagne industry is fascinating in many ways, but none is more intriguing that the thorny issue of pricing. I’ll be delving in more detail into this and the fascinating power struggles between the various players involved, in my forthcoming Bubbly Bulletins To make sure you receive the Bubbly Bulletins just go to Only recently there were reports in the French press that the Boizel Chanoine group, which owns Boizel as well as Lanson and De Venoge, amongst other brands, was planning on introducing a champagne at 10 euros a bottle as the entry point to its range of more expensive champagnes.
www.madaboutbubbly.com and leave your first name and preferred e-mail. Nothing to pay, but if you really want the lowdown on champagne they’re not to be missed.
Last but not least, I'd love to hear from you, so do please e-mail me with any questions and comments at
Comments