Worldwide Champagne Shortage

Did you know we are heading into a worldwide Champagne shortage?

First you should know about the Comité Champagne. They decide, among other things, how much Champagne can be produced and used from reserve each year. Normally they approve the equivalent of about 315 million bottles of Champagne to go out on the market. 

Over the last few years, we've had some really good vintages in Champagne, meaning strong yields and high quality yields at that. 

You'd think that would help supply. But, it has led to a lot of wine being held back to be released as vintage wines, leaving less available for regular non-vintage Champagne that most of us buy. Note: Vintage Champagne like Dom Perignon is more expensive than the standard "non vintage" aka NV. So despite some recent strong vintages, the reserve has been a bit stagnant. 

Then 2020 comes around. We start off 2020 with low supplies of NV wine. Then the Comité Champagne set maximum production levels 30% lower than the usual limits. Hm... less wine for future Champagne and less on the market.

Then this year, you may remember, delivered two weeks of frost to the region in the early spring, reducing crops by 30%. Another 30% was lost to persistent spring rains and mildew. Then there was the hail. Oy. 2021 has been a terrible year in Champagne. 

And then, don't forget about the supply chain issues that have plagued every industry since the pandemic hit. The pandemic has put a tremendous strain on activities that used to be easy. PVC for operations, glass for bottling, longshoreman to receive shipments: all of these things and more are delayed and causing difficulties in producing, bottling and shipping champagne. 

So bottom line, get your bubbles now for New Years 2022 and 2023 and 2024 for that matter...

And buckle up. Champagne is the new toilet paper.

Cheers! 🥂