Champagne producers will sell fewer bottles in 2023 after a record year

Champagne resumes its cruising speed. Manufacturers sold fewer bottles in 2023. In detail, total champagne supplies in 2023 amounted to 299 million bottles, or 8.2% less than in 2022, the committee bringing together producers and traders indicated in a press release.

The professionals aren’t worried about this: their strategy is to “move up the market,” that is, to sell bubbles at a higher price, even if that means selling fewer of them. “Despite the drop in volumes, the promotion of wines to a higher segment of the market, especially for export, has allowed the appellation to maintain a turnover above 6 billion euros,” the committee emphasizes, for the first time in 2022 this amount was exceeded.

“Back to Normal”

“The national market, more than export markets, suffers from inflation, which has put pressure on household budgets throughout the year,” he clarifies. Sales fell to around 245 million bottles in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, then rose to 320 million in 2021 and reached 326 million in 2022. Exports now account for “more than 57% of total sales, up from up to 45% ten years ago,” the committee notes.

As stated in the press release, the president of the General Union of Winegrowers, co-chairman of the champagne committee, Maxime Toubar, welcomes this “return to normal.” “Champagne is an appellation of origin, produced in a specific territory and subject to strict regulations that make it difficult to sustain strong volume growth,” he notes.

David Chatillon, President of the Union of Champagne Houses and also co-chair of the committee, adds that “while maintaining the value of Champagne, one remains optimistic about the future, even if Champagne is sensitive to the geopolitical context and the evolution of the global economy.” .