A damper on the fizz

Will a second wave of coronavirus infections burst the bubble of French champagne producers?

Epernay: The pandemic has put a damper on fizz consumption this year, with retail sales in France falling 23 per cent between January and July, as restaurants closed and millions of people went into lockdown.

For the full year, the global decline in sales is expected to reach up to 30 per cent, “a colossal economic shock unseen since World War II”, according to the SGV champagne growers union.
Producers of the festive tipple in the champagne capital of Epernay, in northeast France, are hoping that the global mood will have lightened by New Year’s Eve and that people will be popping corks again.

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But with the virus tipping the global economy into a slump and forcing revellers to call off large gatherings, including big weddings, there has been little cause for celebration.In France, where bars in Paris and several other cities were closed last week, President Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to announce Wednesday new restrictions to tamp down record levels of daily infections.

Faced with the steady drip of bad news, the champagne industry has been trying to recast the wine’s elite image and portray it as more than suitable for everyday drinking.A recent ad showed a glass of bubbly being set down next to a slice of toast topped with sardines. “There’s nothing to celebrate, just something to savour,” was the catchline.

Top brands, like Mumm and Veuve Clicquot, were particularly hurt by the slowdown in air travel, which all but dried up all-important duty-free sales.The Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC) trade body has said it expects to sell 100 million fewer bottles this year, an unheard-of hit that will slash overall sales to 3.3 billion euros ($3.9 billion) — down 34 per cent from last year.