From the champagne houses to importers and retailers, everyone is coming up with creative ways to move champagne from a special occasion beverage into everyday life.
By Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng
parkling wine sales are traditionally heaviest dur- ing the holiday season. Pop, fizz, chin-chin: these are the sounds of merriment. But after January 1, Cava, Prosecco, Cramant, Franciacorta and Champagne lose their “fizz” in the consumer consciousness. So what are producers and retailers doing to spark sales during the more dormant months? Actually, more than one might imagine. As a champagne consultant and writer, I have always advocated for champagne as a wonderful year-round go-to drink. No matter the season, the time of day, or the cuisine pairing, there’s always a place for champagne. Retailers know this, of course, but the issue is convincing and edu- cationg customers about champagne’s wide variety of drinking occasions. I start by encouraging clients to keep a
S
bottle of champagne in the fridge ready to go — not for a specific celebration, but just to pop open spontaneously — to welcome the end of the work day, for example, or to enjoy as a retro apéritif. I encourage my clients to see champagne as a wine of comfort and welcome, for home entertaining and cuisine-pairing.
And, of course, since there is a range of champagne styles, so it opens up a world of possibilities. There’s the sweetness level from extra brut to demi-sec, so you’ll find something to go with raw oysters all the way to dessert champagne. Then, you have youthful to mature. So an NV (non-vintage) wine for cocktail to a vintage wine to go with a meal. Lastly, there is the stylistic dif-
Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng, founder of cyn-et-vin champagne consultancy, Monday columnist of the New York Wine Salon and wine editor of Cravings (www.findyourcraving.com).
50 • Beverage Dynamics • www.beveragedynamics.com • May/June 2011
