French edge out Italians in battle of the bubblies

THEY have been fierce competitors for years, but now it seems that champagne has regained its crown over prosecco as Britain’s favourite fizz.

An aggressive pricing campaign by French producers has edged champagne ahead of its Italian rival in the battle of the bubblies for the first time in five years, just as the the festive season approaches.

After a stratospheric rise, sales of prosecco overtook champagne in Britain in 2015 with the Italian tipple firmly ensconcing itself as the nation’s summer drink of choice. But UK prosecco sales are forecast to have dropped by 6 per cent this year, while champagne is predicted to be 34 per cent up.

The figures were revealed at a wine industry event in Verona where Giovanni Mantovani, an event organiser, told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: “France has lowered the price of champagne in the UK by more than 25 per cent, something which is pretty unusual for French sparkling wine.

“Evidently they have decided it is worth sacrificing their price margins to reconquer an important market which had been won by Italian sparkling wines.”

Leta Bester, president of the London Wine Academy, said that after years of booming prosecco sales consumers were becoming jaded.

“We are seeing the same thing that happened with chardonnay and sauvignon blanc – people get on top of a wine style, then they get a bit bored with it,” she said.

The thirst for prosecco has also been eroded by interest in other varieties of fizz, including cava from Spain and English sparkling wines.