Champagne industry is satisfied with 2022 and cautiously optimistic about 2023

n Champagne, the mood is one of cautious optimism for 2023. “We are very satisfied with results for 2022, with sales in the range of 320 to 330 million bottles”, says Maxime Toubart, chairman of the Champagne winegrowers' organisation. “Nevertheless, there are some causes for concern with soaring prices of dry goods, an increase in production costs due to our environmental practices and of course inflation and the geo-political context. We have to remain cautious”.

Sales fell in the last quarter of 2022. Is this a harbinger of a slow-down as consumers are forced to make choices in their spending? Or is it due to a lack of bottles to sell? David Chatillon, chairman of the Champagne house organisation claims “there was no issue with sales at the end of 2022 but rather a lack of availability. Sales dropped in supermarkets because there have been fewer special offers. We are optimistic in the medium term because the fundamentals of the Champagne appellation are good. Champagne has regained its place as an outstanding wine thanks to the work carried out over the last twenty years. We must sustain our efforts to improve both the quality of our wines and their perceived quality, which is achieved through the environment and image”.

David Ménival, director of the Champagne department at the Crédit Agricole North East France bank, stresses the strong increase in overheads, which has only been partially passed on to winegrowers’ sales prices. “To maintain their profit margins, they should have increased their prices by €0.60 before tax, but the average increase seems to be €0.30 to 0.40 before tax. It is difficult to forecast sales going into 2023. Who would have thought that the market would be so dynamic in 2021 and 2022? We'll see how consumers react with lower disposable income and a large supply of sparkling wines”. Availability will be limited again in 2023, as the yield in 2020 was 8,000 kg/ha, compared to an average of 10,500 to 11,000 kg/ha in other years.