The cost of Champagne

Adding to the Champagne discussions of late, are we not avoiding some fundamentals? Champagne is expensive, so is considered a luxury item usually reserved for a special occasion. There is increasing competition, with many regions, Old World and New, offering very respectable alternatives, often at a far lower price. To break this ‘special occasion’ stigma, the average cost of NV Champagne needs to fall. I fail to see how the historic costing of Champagne can be justified given the advances in mechanisation in all aspects of production, particularly for larger houses.

I would be interested to read more about the actual net cost of the product compared to the gross cost that includes the overheads and vast sums of money ploughed into marketing.

I buy wines en primeur each year – mostly modest Rhône, Burgundy and Bordeaux – and would love to cellar some Champagne, but it’s simply cost prohibitive currently.

On a positive note, unless Champagne wakes up, the winners will be the alternatives including, of course, English sparkling wine, which increases in quality year on year.

Harry Rouse, Herefordshire, UK