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Leading Champagne houses are looking across the Channel
in search of new vineyards to meet a boom in demand.
Senior industry leaders have been visiting south-east
England with a view to buying up land, planting vines and producing fine
sparkling wine to meet the boom in demand in the British supermarkets.
Some of the major retailers had reduced the prices to as low as $20 to
increase their sales up to 40%.
Reporting this interest, http://www.telegraph.co.uksays
that 333 million bottles in 2006 had been shipped worldwide in 2006, reflecting
an increase of 11 million more than in the previous year. Similarly 2007
was also a year of record sales.
The year 2008 is expected to be an official shortage
year for Champagne.
India has also seen unprecedented sales of Champagne
in India-in part aided by serving buffets on week-ends with unlimited
champagne at the 5-star hotels. Some statistics place the growth of this
bubbly at over 100% during the last year.
The tiny, 220 sq. kms. Champagne region, the officially
allowed region to use the name is struggling to cope with demand. With
81,510 acres designated to make this 'luxury' product, and assuming a
yield of 4.050 bottles per acre in a good year, 330 mill is the limit.
The French government is considering extending the area
to include another 40 communes near Reims and Epernay. The move would
take many years to materialise and would require EU's approval. But land
has become quite expensive in Champagne.
An acre of established vineyard in the Champagne region
would cost $600,000, while the same land sells for around $20,000 in England.
Louis Roederer - maker of Cristal, the favourite of super-rich,
and Duval-Leroy are both considering buying vineyards in England. Even
grand crus such as Taittinger and LVMH-owned Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
are exploring the possibilities.
Champagne grapes, Pinot noir and Chardonnay are already
being grown in the south of England, where similar soil and temperatures
are available for the wine-growing regions as in Northern France.
A wine grown near the Sussex Downs village of Ditchling
was voted the world's best sparkling wine in 2005.
Last month, the British wine merchant Waitrose's private
label Blanc de Blancs, produced in Champagne beat leading houses, including
Louis Roederer, in a non-vintage Champagne tasting.
Prosecco and Cava – the bubblies from Italy and
Spain, have also experienced the boom. with sales trebling in Sainsbury's
and doubling in Waitrose. Sale-by-the-glass, a common practice for Champagne
in most restaurants in England has helped the boom England is facing.
The sparkling wine produced in England will, of course,
be labelled as sparkling wine and will be primarily to meet the English
demand and may take some pressure off from the fermenting supply crisis
of Champagne.
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