Prosecco pops champagne’s bubble

SALES of prosecco outstripped champagne by ten to one this Christmas as French fizz fell firmly out of favour.

British drinkers swapped champagne for alternatives, with English sparkling wine also flying off the shelves, retailer Majestic Wine said.

Market research firm Nielsen said demand for champagne has slumped by 10.6 per cent over the past year. Higher import costs due to the weaker pound have sent its sales down by 7 per cent at Majestic.

Meanwhile, English sparkling wine popped by 31 per cent.

Prosecco continued to be the strongest contender in the sparkling wine category, with 9.5 bottles sold for every one of champagne over Christmas and New Year.

Wine drinkers are also shunning mass-produced plonk in favour of bottles produced by smaller, lesser-known vineyards, Majestic said.

Rowan Gormley, the firm’s chief executive, said customers were willing to ‘shell out that extra bit’ to move away from ‘fake brands’ to ‘real wines made by real people in real places’.