The number of sparkling wine drinkers in the US is growing, with a 17% increase in the number of monthly drinkers since 2018, with US drinkers increasingly favouring Italian wines, though they turn to Champagne for quality, according to a report.
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South Korea is being put forward as a top wine market for winemakers to target, second only to the US and ahead of China, having survived COVID-19 comparatively well with wine consumption expected to rise robustly, according to Wine Australia.
With July the driest month on record in Champagne, producers will have less grapes with which to produce the region’s famous wines. But according to the vineyard director at Taittinger, there were positives from the drought too, with less mould and mildew to harm fruit.
As fires rage in the Napa Valley and threaten US wine production, the drought has worsened in France, with more areas reaching ‘crisis’ level water restrictions in September after the warmest European winter on record, as households and farmers face severe water restrictions.
Shares in Treasury Wine Estates, Australia’s biggest wine firm, have fallen to their lowest since January 2016 on China’s wine dumping probe. Australian wine exports fell just 1% to $2.84bn in 2019–20.
TWE targets more female bosses
A battle between Australia’s largest liquor retailer and France’s LVMH, which led to supply shortages of the world’s famous Champagnes Moët & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot at its stores, has been settled.
One in two Chinese wine drinkers and almost one in three Australians buy their wine online, followed by 25% in the US, according to new research, with the level of internet shopping boosted by COVID-19.
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This year’s Champagne grape quality was ‘excellent’, in part thanks to the severe drought in France. But global warming is challenging winemakers to maintain finesse and keep down alcohol levels.
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Wholesale red and white wine prices have dropped in France since March given the impact of COVID-19, while values have rebounded in Spain in recent months, according to data from the European Commission.
Many people have turned to alcohol while more people are drinking alone during the Covid-19 pandemic after being forced to stay at home, according to the latest Global Drug Survey, the world’s largest annual drug survey.
