Wine collectors are finally taking champagne seriously

BUSINESS: Napoleon Bonaparte was a Champagne enthusiast. While studying at the military academy he befriended the heir to Moët & Chandon, now the world’s biggest seller of French bubbly. Later, as emperor, Napoleon stayed in Epernay when going to war and returning from war. He said, “In victory, you deserve Champagne; in defeat, you need it.” Champagne now deserves its own Victory Tour. The value of Champagne sales in 2023 is set to hit €6.4bn ($6.9bn); 2021-23 were the best years on record, even when taking inflation into account (see chart). Over the past five years the “Champagne 50” index, which tracks the value of top brands traded on wine-buying platform Liv-ex, has risen 47%, more than any other regional index worldwide, including Bordeaux (up 1.3%), Burgundy (25%) and Italy (29%). Over the past half-decade Wine Advocate has published more articles and reviews devoted to Champagne than it has in the 41 years since its founding, says editor-in-chief William Kelly. (Bottles can carry the name “Champagne” only if they are from that region in northeastern France, near Epernay.)