Leading industry representatives delivered a mixed assessment of the previous year and presented their estimates for the expected annual results during the annual general meeting of the Association Viticole Champenoise (AVC) on December 5, 2025, in Troyes.

David Chatillon, President of the Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC), now forecasts annual sales of around 270 million bottles, a slight decline compared with the 271.7 million bottles sold the previous year. Current figures from the Comité Champagne place 12-month sales at the end of October even lower, at just 269.2 million bottles, representing a 1.2% year-on-year decrease.

According to Chatillon, last year’s revenue of €5.85 billion is also unlikely to be matched. This is mainly due to weakness in the prestige cuvée segment and the depreciation of the dollar against the euro—a factor currently affecting exports to the United States more strongly than tariffs. This has also contributed to a decline in the average price per bottle. Recent customs data show that the average bottle price fell by around 23% between October 2024 and September 2025 compared with the same period the previous year.

Falling sales, driven in no small part by weak domestic demand in France, have in turn led to an increase in inventory levels. Chatillon reported an inventory of 1.279 billion bottles for 2024, which corresponds to 4.75 years of sales at the current rate—50 million bottles above the intended inventory horizon of 4.2 years. Maxime Toubart, President of the Champagne Winegrowers’ Association (SGV), emphasized in his speech that Champagne must aim for annual sales of 300 million bottles in order to function as a sustainable model.

Nevertheless, the AVC—which serves as the “technical pillar” of the appellation, coordinating research, trials, and vineyard monitoring on behalf of the Comité Champagne—was also able to share some positive developments in its annual report. Early indications of the excellent quality of the 2025 harvest have been confirmed; with just under 9,900 kg per hectare, yields came in slightly below the Comité Champagne’s estimate of 10,000 kg. Signs are also emerging that the vine disease Flavescence dorée is beginning to be brought under control.

The Quality and Sustainability Department announced that the appellation’s long-standing goal of reducing its carbon footprint by 25% by 2025 has been exceeded. Finally, the number of grape varieties authorized in Champagne—which recently increased to nine with the inclusion of the experimental variety Voltis and Chardonnay Rose—will soon rise to eleven. According to the daily newspaper L’Union, the two new additions are varieties currently known as “Blue” and “Green,” belonging to the next generation of the ResDur research programme.

Source: https://www.meininger.de

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