Is Champagne Dying? The State of Champagne in 2026
A 12×75 Long Read
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Three years of falling sales, a 20-year low, and a region under pressure. So is Champagne actually dying, or just sobering up?
By Vim, Editor of 12×75 · Last reviewed June 2026
Every few months somebody declares Champagne dead. They are wrong, but they are not making it up either.
The short answer: No, Champagne is not dying, but it has just had its worst run in a generation. Global shipments fell for a third year in a row in 2025, down to around 266 million bottles, the lowest in 20 years outside the Covid crash. The good news is that interest is recovering, the UK is actually drinking more of it, and 2026 is shaping up as the turning point. Champagne is not dying. It is drinking less, and better.
How bad is it, really?
Let us start with the numbers, because they are genuinely sobering. According to the Comité Champagne, the body that runs the region, global shipments have now fallen three years running. The peak was a champagne-soaked record in 2022. Since then it has been downhill.
| Year | Bottles shipped | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 326 million | Record high, post-Covid boom |
| 2023 | 299 million | Down around 8% |
| 2024 | 271 million | Down around 9% |
| 2025 | 266 million | Down around 2%, a 20-year low |
That is roughly 60 million fewer bottles a year than in 2022, which is a lot of unpopped corks. Apart from the lockdown year of 2020, you have to go back to the early 2000s to find Champagne selling this little. Revenue held up better than volume, at around 5.7 billion euros, because the average bottle now costs more, but nobody in Reims is pretending it was a vintage year for the balance sheet.
Why Champagne slumped
No single villain here, just a pile-up of bad luck and changing habits:
- It got expensive. The big houses pushed prices up year after year, and at some point a lot of people quietly decided their Tuesday did not need a 50 pound bottle.
- We are drinking less. The global move toward moderation hit Champagne squarely. It is a celebration drink, and people are celebrating with smaller glasses.
- The world got wobbly. Trade wars, geopolitical tension and inflation all chipped away at the kind of carefree spending Champagne relies on.
- The competition got good. Drinkers traded down, or sideways, to Prosecco, Cava and Crémant, and increasingly to genuinely excellent English sparkling wine. More on that below.
Interestingly, the pain was not shared evenly. France, Champagne’s biggest single market, did most of the damage, with home sales sliding hardest. The big grandes marques held up best, accounting for around three quarters of all shipments and barely dropping, while the smaller growers and cooperatives took the heavier hits. Fame, once again, proved recession-resistant.
The green shoots
Now the part the doom-mongers leave out. The bleeding is slowing, and several signs point to a 2026 recovery. The 2025 fall of around 2% was far gentler than the near double-digit drops of the previous two years, which is what the bottom of a slump tends to look like. Search interest in Champagne actually jumped about 14% in the year to March 2026, after two years of falling, suggesting curiosity is coming back even where sales have not fully caught up. The wider sparkling category is forecast to grow nicely in 2026, and a chorus of sommeliers and buyers are openly predicting a Champagne resurgence.
And here is the bit that should cheer you up if you are reading this in Britain: while France drank less, the UK actually drank more, posting volume growth in 2025 even as the global figure fell. We have, it seems, kept the faith.
What is actually changing
Champagne is not so much dying as reinventing itself. The slump has accelerated four shifts worth knowing about, because they change what ends up in your glass.
- Grower Champagne is booming. The “farmer fizz” made by the families who actually grow the grapes is the connoisseur trend of the moment, prized for terroir, transparency and value as the big houses get pricier.
- Drier is winning. Low-dosage styles, Extra Brut and Brut Nature, are growing faster than standard Brut, as health-conscious drinkers chase purity over sweetness.
- Rosé is rising. Pink Champagne is the fastest-growing colour, driven as much by how it looks on a table as how it tastes.
- England is at the gates. English sparkling wine has started beating Champagne in blind tastings, including ones staged in Champagne itself, and it is no longer a patriotic novelty but a genuine rival.
The common thread is “drink less, drink better.” People are buying fewer bottles but caring more about what is in them, which is arguably healthier for the category than the cheap-volume boom ever was.
So, is Champagne dying?
No. It is recalibrating after a bubble, and losing a habit, not a heartbeat. What is dying is the idea of Champagne as a cheap, thoughtless, buy-it-by-the-trolley commodity. What remains is a 5.7 billion euro luxury icon that is getting more interesting, more diverse and, in places, better value than it has been in years. The corks are popping a little less often, but when they do, people are paying more attention. For a drink built on occasion rather than habit, that might be exactly the right place to be.
What it means for you
A softer market is good news for buyers: discounting has made shelf prices more accessible, especially in the UK. So now is a fine time to drink well. See our guide to the best Champagne for every budget, the best Champagne for the money if you are feeling the pinch, and our take on the cheaper bubbles in Crémant, Cava and Champagne vs Prosecco.
Is Champagne dying FAQ
Is Champagne dying?
No, but it has had a rough few years. Global shipments fell for a third year running in 2025 to around 266 million bottles, a 20-year low outside the Covid crash, but the decline is slowing, interest is recovering and 2026 is expected to be a turning point.
Why are Champagne sales falling?
A mix of rising prices, the global move toward drinking less, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and growing competition from Prosecco, Cava, Crémant and English sparkling wine.
Is now a good time to buy Champagne?
Yes. A softer market has meant more discounting, especially in the UK, so you can often drink better for less than a couple of years ago. Christmas and case deals are particularly good value.
Which Champagnes are still selling well?
The big famous houses have proved the most resilient, accounting for around three quarters of all shipments. Grower Champagne, low-dosage styles and rosé are the fastest-growing niches.
Is English sparkling wine really beating Champagne?
In several blind tastings, yes. English wines have come out ahead of Champagne when tasters did not know the labels, including tests run in the United States and in Champagne itself. They are now a serious rival rather than a novelty.
Reports of Champagne’s death are greatly exaggerated. Pour responsibly. ♢
