Well, after all the doom and gloom earlier this year about champagne sales and prices falling through the floor, http://bit.ly/thepriceofchampagne
the year didn't end quite as disastrously as was first feared.
According to the information I'm getting, the official figures show that 294 million bottles of champagne were sold last year. That sounds like a lot of bottles but in fact it's 12% down on last year.
Still, back in Spring when sales were 30% + down on last year it looked as though the year was going to be a lot worse than it's actually turned out
Total champagne sales last year were back to the level they were in 2002 and I would think that, all in all, champagne makers will be satisfied with the way the year has ended.
Mind you, that figure of -12% versus last year is the total for all champagne makers' sales around the world and I haven't yet seen the figures for the U.K.
Within those 294 million bottles sold, sales of the smaller houses held up much better than those of the bigger brands; many smaller houses actually increased their sales.
Is this because the smaller brands are generally cheaper than the big brands and consumers are merely driven by price?
Or is it because smart consumers are realising more and more that the big brands rarely offer the best value for money and that you can find great quality and lots of variety amongst what are popularly called the Grower Champagnes, not to mention better value?
Time will tell, and it will be interesting to see if 2010 sees the return in force of the grandes marques or whether grower champagnes will continue their steady progress
Watch this spaces and in any event,
Stay Bubbly
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