Page 30 - bon-dia-aruba-20200803

A30 FEATURE
Monday 3 august 2020
Champagne losing its fizz as global pandemic clobbers sales

By THOMAS ADAMSON strategy for his, and other
REIMS, France (AP) — champagne companies,
Champagne is losing its fizz. will seek to highlight the
For months, lockdown put wine's status as a naturally,
the cork on weddings, din- and often organically, pro-
ing out, parties and interna- duced quality drink from a
tional travel — all key sales historic French region.
components for the French "Even if the bars and the
luxury wine marketed for nightclubs are closed for
decades as a sparkling five years, we don't plan
must at any celebration. on missing out on custom-
Producers in France's east- ers ... There will be a very
ern Champagne region, big change to our market-
headquarters of the global ing that highlights the gran-
industry, say they've lost an deur of our wines," Vranken
estimated 1.7 billion euros said.
($2 billion) in sales for this Selosse, who produces
year, as turnover fell by a many "natural" cham-
third — a hammering un- pagnes with no added sug-
matched in living memory, ar, also hopes the pandem-
and worse than the Great ic will encourage thought
Depression. about future champagne
They expect about 100 mil- marketing and how the
lion bottles to be languish- multi-billion dollar industry is
ing unsold in their cellars by restructured. He would like
the end of the year. to see a more cooperative
"We are experiencing a cri- side to production, such as
sis that we evaluate to be "communal wine presses"
even worse than the Great to help pool the costs for
Depression" of 1929, said smaller producers.
Thibaut Le Mailloux of the Selosse said adaptabil-
Champagne Committee, Champagne bottles for tasters are displayed in the cave of Champagne producer Anselme Sel- ity has served champagne
known by its French acro- osse in Avize, in the Champagne region, east of Paris, Tuesday, July 28, 2020. well in the past, helping it
nym CIVC, that represents Associated Press evolve from a dessert wine
some 16,000 winemakers. in the 19th century to the
Recognizing the urgency sult to nature" that cham- Vranken-Pommery predict now, there is no way out — modern day dry version
of the problem, the CIVC is pagne's famous grapes that the crisis could last for unless we find a vaccine." named "brut."
launching unprecedented might even be destined to years. Vranken said the very es- He even thinks — but this
damage-limitation mea- produce alcohol for hand "It should not be forgot- sence of champagne mar- is a minority view among
sures. Like oil-producing sanitizer, as is happening ten that (champagne) has keting -- as a drink quaffed producers — the industry
countries, the committee in other wine-producing re- lived through every single at parties and weddings could move away from ef-
regulates the size of the gions such as Alsace after war," said Paul-Francois -- needs to be re-evaluat- fervescence and be able
harvest each year to avoid demand spiked during the Vranken, founder of Vran- ed to reflect the new nor- to produce all sorts of wine,
the kind of excess produc- pandemic. ken-Pommery Monopole. mal: Fewer festivities and a as it did in the past: red,
tion that would cause bot- "We are to destroy (the "But with the other crises, lack of celebratory group white or still.
tle prices to plummet. At grapes) and we pay for there was a way out. For events. The new branding In fact, literally no fizz.q
a meeting scheduled for them to be destroyed," Sel-
Aug. 18, it's expected to osse said, referring to the in-
impose a cap so tight that dustry as a whole. "It's noth-
record quantities of grapes ing but a catastrophe."
will be destroyed or sold "Champagne has never
to distilleries at discounted lived through anything
prices. like this before, even in
The prospect alarms small- the World Wars," Selosse
er producers, who are added. "We have never
more vulnerable than the experienced ... a sudden
big houses. one-third fall in sales. Over
Anselme Selosse, of one hundred million bottles
Jacques Selosse Cham- unsold."
pagnes, called it "an in- Major producers such as

View of the Champagne vineyards in Avize, in the Champagne region, east of Paris, Tuesday, July
28, 2020.
Associated Press