France Goes Flat

Sales of French Champagne have hit the skids in the United States. Since 1985, the decline has been steady--a disastrous drop of 20% last year followed by a further 6% this year.

“The only reason it’s down so little this year is that there was a lot of stockpiling earlier this year by importers who feared that the United States was going to impose high tariffs on Champagne,” says wine industry analyst Paul Gillette.

Gillette says he doesn’t think Champagne sales in the United States will revive soon. “Prices are just too high,” he says. “Other wines of the first rank are a lot less expensive.”

Some industry analysts think French Champagne has declined in sales because it has dropped in quality. To be sure, production has risen dramatically in the last 25 years. In the mid-1960s, there were about 25,000 acres of wine grapes in Champagne. In 1990, some 65,000 acres were harvested, with higher yields per acre than in the past.

Another factor in the price hike came about two years ago when a contract between grape growers and wine producers expired, leaving growers in command of grape prices. Within months of the end of that contract, grape prices rose. There was a consequent inching upward of Champagne prices.

Finally, a freeze in 1991 reduced the size of the Champagne crop by about 20%, scotching any thoughts the Champenois had about easing prices.