Champagne contains its losses, with a year-end that brings total shipments of the most beloved and well-known French sparkling wine in the world to the milestone of 271.4 million bottles. A number far from the psychological threshold of 300 million that we are now used to seeing the French excellence sail, but a 9.2% drop compared to the previous year, significantly lower than the catastrophic scenarios hypothesized by many during 2024. Champagne, therefore, pays the price, but is certainly not in crisis. In fact, we must look at the figures of the last 12 months for what they are: nothing that cannot be recovered after the euphoria of the post-Covid years. And now the Denomination is already looking to the future, hoping for better times in terms of geopolitical conflicts in the world and inflation, the two elements that, together with an increase in price lists that is not always justified, have weighed most in the “subdued” performance of 2024.
Total Champagne shipments in 2024 down 9.2% on 2023: limited losses for the French sparkling wine
Total shipments of Champagne in 2024 stood at 271.4 million bottles, down 9.2% compared to 2023. This was officially reported in a note from the Comité Champagne, the interprofessional organization based in Epernay that brings together all the winemakers and all the Champagne Houses.
In detail, in 2024 the French market accounted for 118.2 million bottles, marking a -7.2% compared to 2023, continuing to suffer from the negative political and economic scenario across the Alps.
Exports, amounting to 153.2 million bottles, closed down 10.8% compared to 2023. However, the percentage of exports (56.4% of the total) remains significantly higher than sales on the domestic market, confirming the reversal of the trend recorded in recent years.
For Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons and co-president of the Comité Champagne, “Champagne is a true barometer of consumer sentiment. And this is not the time to celebrate, with inflation, conflicts around the world, economic uncertainty and a wait-and-see political attitude in some of the main Champagne markets, such as France and the United States”.
Echoing these words are David Chatillon, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and co-president of the Comité Champagne, who concludes:
“It is in the most unfavourable times that we must prepare for the future, to stay on course in terms of sustainable development and the conquest of new markets and new consumers. Champagne is a solid and sustainable organisational model, which has proven its value even in the face of adversity and which gives confidence in the future”.
