Pain in Champagne: 100m bottles to go unsold as demand falls flat

Historic cut in grape harvest yield agreed in bid to shore up prices during coronavirus pandemic

Champagne bottles
Historic cut in grape harvest yield agreed in bid to shore up prices during coronavirus pandemic
(Image credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Champagne makers in France are unlikely to be popping corks to celebrate sales this year, as the coronavirus crisis hits both demand and production.

As the grape harvest for 2020’s crop kicked off yesterday, industry body Le Comite Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC) announced an unprecedented last-minute agreement to reduce grape volumes to 8,000kg per hectare (kg/ha) - a drop of almost 22% year-on-year.

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Mike Starling is the former digital features editor at The Week. He started his career in 2001 in Gloucestershire as a sports reporter and sub-editor and has held various roles as a writer and editor at news, travel and B2B publications. He has spoken at a number of sports business conferences and also worked as a consultant creating sports travel content for tourism boards. International experience includes spells living and working in Dubai, UAE; Brisbane, Australia; and Beirut, Lebanon.