If you are a regular reader of my blog or the newspapers you'll remember that few weeks ago there were a lot of rumours flying around about champagne prices falling to £10 in the U.K. by Christmas.
http://tinyurl.com/yz3jwcvAt the time I was definitely not in agreement with those who were forecasting such a drop in prices, but after spending a few days in Champagne last week, I'm not so sure and here's why.....
On the first day I was there I went for a stroll in the vineyards and the first thing that struck me was that there were an awful lot of grapes still left uncut on the vines
There are some grapes left uncut every year but this year there were more than I'd seen since 1996 when I first went to live there.
What's more there were even more grapes that had been cut and left to lie on the ground. This may seem a criminal waste to you but once the maximum yield has been fixed, the pickers aren't allowed to pick any more grapes .
The next thing that got me thinking was going to the Leclerc supermarket just outside Epernay and seeing champagne on sale at only 8.95 euros.
It was called Marie de Bissey and was clearly a cheap and cheerful line, but heck, 8.95 euros is cheaper than I've ever seen and is indicative of what's going on in Champagne.
There are an awful lot of champagne makers who are so desperate for cash that they have to sell at almost any price.
The smaller growers ( the RM ) are actually not so badly off as some of the larger brands because sales in France, where many of the small growers sell most of their bottles, are holding up relatively well. However it's not always them who are in charge.
Chatting to my next door neighbour I understood why...
My neighbour, Christophe Corbeaux, is mayor of the village and also runs his family champagne company. They're holding their own, but as he explained, they're holding their breath to see what the bigger brands do.
If the bigger brands start dropping their prices, the little players won't have any choice but to drop their prices too, because they can't compete with the better-known brands if they're the same price.
I still can't see prices in the U.K. coming down to £10, but £15 certainly seems on the cards, so keep your eyes open for bargains, particularly in the supermarkets.
What the quality will be is another issue, but if you're just looking for the word Champagne on the label, then you could be in for some pleasant surprises.
Let me know the lowest prices you find in your local store.
Jiles
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