According to European law sparkling wines can only be called Champagne if they are produced largely from grapes grown within the rather small deleanated Champagne D.O.C. or whatever they call the appellation - similar sparkling wines grown in other areas can only call themselves "Methode champaignoise sp?" - produced by similar grapes in the same style but grapes from outside Champagne wine district.

Well whilst this neatly protects the growers of real Champagne in Europe (but not in the U.S. who refuses to adhere to the ruling and thus we have New York Champagne, etc.) as a monopoly - and everyone wants the real stuff - Champagne Champagne and not some substitute - it has resulted in a Champagne shortage as worldwide demand increases from areas like China, India (!) and other areas with larger and larger middle classes who want real Champagne for their celebrations.

The U.K. was said (all this based on a BBC broadcast i heard) to still be the largest Champange market. Woolworth's High Street stores it says sells their own branded official Champagne for 5 quid a bottle (the Beep commentator said this equalled $7 before being quickly corrected by his colleague as being over $10 - so much for some Beep guys getting into the real world)

It was kind of an amusing rant the $7 bottle guy then went into about Woolworth's Champagne - disparanging it by its 'wretched label' and saying that this 'swill' would only dilute Champagne's prestige and he thought that a 'nice Kent of Suffolk bottle of similar brew would be better.'

Thus the Champagne makers in the Reims-Epernay- Marne Valley area are hard pressed to produce more as every little inch of cultivable soil in the strictly limited area is being used for grapes.

The solution? Something that was an anathema to Champagne producers so long - increase the official Champagne producing area by extending the boundaries.

Champagne consumption in 1950 worldwide was 30,000,000 bottles a year - now it's 300,000,000 btls/yr

so an expansion of the area to 35,000 hectares is being pushed.

I don't know - i may not run in the right circles but i rarely encounter Champagne - it seems that sports teams more and more celebrated by dousing each other in Champagne (wonder why it's always the right stuff and not NY champagne?)

Do you drink Champagne? Only on special occasions. I don't even care that much for the bubbly - do you?

Woolworths don't sell booze, and I have never seen a bottle of champagne for £5. £10 is about the cheapest i've seen it.

No problem. We much prefer Prosecco!

Woolworths don't sell booze

well that's what i thought but the BBC report definitely said High Street Woolworth's - last nite so i don't know.

Same article is in the Daily Telegraph. Note that Chablis also increased a few years ago so what was Petit Chablis became Chablis.

Champagne increased as well and traditionaly used to import Loire fizz and "transfer" the wine before selling on (nothing illegal in French terms) just fraud in Anglo-Saxon terms

I also saw panics that the Chinese are now drinking so much that.....

Every few years we get the claim and I have never seen it run out.

Woolworths ARE selling champagne this Christmas at £5 a bottle.

Britain's NOT the biggest champagne market. France is: Britain is the biggest champagne market outside France. Growth in Asian markets (where wine just doesn't get drunk) is trivial compared to the annual fluctuations in the UK market caused by the £euro; rate, the state of City bonuses and young Britons' determination to spend their entire waking lives paralytic.

I'm with PalQ on not liking the stuff much: but it's practically impossible to socialise without having it forced on you. I now have to go out of my way to ask for still white instead of the fizzy stuff that's almost invariably on offer. Which, 90% of the time, is champagne rather than cava, mushroom method, cremant or whatever other euphemism they use.

Will woolies be selling it as part of the pick and mix?

yes Mr Flanner - it did say number one export market was U.K. and that did surprise me a bit. Would have thought U.S. though perhaps the faux champagnes there cut into it. In U.K. i guess you cannot confuse the naive consumer about real Champagne.

We bow to no one when it comes to alcohol consumption.

And on that note....

"Will woolies be selling it as part of the pick and mix?"

Almost. Apparently "The label on the bottle promotes Woolworths’ confectionery range by suggesting the best range of Pic ‘n’ Mix sweets that would best complement the drink such as chocolate raisins, peach fizzies or strawberry milkshakes."

It's part of a cheapo brand called Worthit that's apparently going to include caviar (something else I've never seen the point of) and will be advertised on the box by Kelly Osbourne and Rolf Harris.

Taking chavdom to a whole new level.

Strewth.

It'll be popular in Penge.

Kelly Osbourne? Kelly Osbourne? Kelly Osbourne?

someone explain that and the 'transfer effect' of publicity of that to me

Kelly Osbourne? Wouldn't Ozzie himself be more appropo?

Kelly Osbourne?

You've never been to penge have you? It's full of fat slappers drinking cheap booze. She's the target market all right.

Indeed i have been to Penge and Penge West many times

I just hopped on a train at Penge West last Jan when i finished walking thru Crystal Palace Park.

And in former times i have stayed at Caravan Harbour by the BBC tower for weeks at a time.

Penge - i know it well - to me it was a rather leafy area.

Penge = grim down south.

I know Champagne and Penge but what is Kelly Osbourne? Is it a boy or a girl?

that's a good question - somewhere in between

and Kelly Osbourne, issue of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, of the Osbournes TV show fame and Ozzie of Black Sabbath - i guess Sir Ozzie by now.

since when does someone who has been in rehab at least once for booze and drugs come to gracing a bottle of Champagne or any booze?

that it's being sold at Woolworth's says a lot

<<< Champagne Shortage! What Can be Done? >>>

Drink slower

alanRow said: "Drink slower"

Or drink Schloer.

Pal,

please don't tell me you have never had a mimosa!