Champagne makers fix harvest quotas, as virus kills the fizz French Champagne producers have decided to put unprecedented limits on the quantity of grapes they’ll harvest this yearPARIS -- French Champagne producers decided Tuesday to put unprecedented limits on the quantity of grapes they’ll harvest this year in hopes of propping up prices and containing damage from the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, record amounts of grapes may need to be destroyed or sold to distilleries at discounted prices. But for the Champagne Committee, the influential group that represents 16,000 vintners around France's Champagne region, that’s the price to pay for saving their luxury business. Like the organizations that coordinate policies for oil-producing countries, the Champagne Committee regulates the size of the grape harvest each year to avoid the kind of excess production that would cause bottle prices to plummet. But this year’s discussions took on unprecedented importance after the industry collectively lost $2 billion in sales because of virus lockdown measures.

Source: ABC News August 18, 2020 14:48 UTC