French champagne sales rebounded last year to a record €5.5bn (£4.6bn) as demand soared despite the lingering impact of Covid restrictions that weighed on restaurants and bars, producers have said. About 322m bottles were sold in 2021, up 32% from the previous year, when shipments slumped 20% during Covid lockdowns worldwide, the Comité Champagne trade association said in its preliminary estimates. The French market reported a 25% jump, with 142m bottles sold, a return to the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, while exports reached a record 180m bottles on strong demand from English-speaking countries in particular. The sales boom came as champagne vineyards were hit with severe spring frosts followed by summer rains last year, which wreaked havoc on wine harvests in France. But champagne producers traditionally keep millions of bottles locked in their cellars to ensure steady supplies from one year to the next.

Source: The Guardian January 20, 2022 17:27 UTC