Champagne sales surge in Australia for Christmas

Small retailers are warning of a possible champagne shortage – but a major chain is “confident” its supply will meet the demand.

Real Housewives of Melbourne star Kyla Kirkpatrick – aka the Champagne Dame drinks – champagne at Grill Americano. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Fizz the season for bubbly, with a major retailer on track to sell 3.5 times more champagne in December than the monthly average this year.

Aussies are set to buy about half a million bottles of champers from Coles liquor stores this month, with customers in Victoria, NSW and the ACT snapping up more than half of them.

More champagne bottles will be popped on Christmas Eve than any other day this year.

And champagne rose is in particular demand, with sales up 57 per cent compared to last year.

Coles Liquor general manager Mia Lloyd said she was confident the retailer could meet the high demand for bubbles this Christmas.

“Our most popular champagne choices, like Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon and Canard-Duchêne, are in strong supply,” she said.

“We are confident that our customers will be able to enjoy a glass of bubbles this festive season.”

But smaller retailers are warning there could be a champagne shortage.

Corkscrew Cellars Darlinghurst co-owner Justin Goldsmith said there was consumer demand for champagne going unmet.

“The champagne shortage is an issue for us,” he said.

Another bottle shop owner said they have been selling “a tonne of Moet and Veuve Clicquot.”

Moet Hennessy chief executive Philippe Schaus has previously said the top champagne producer was “running out of stock” due to heightened international demand.

“Internally, we talk about the ‘roaring 20s’ … we are running out of stock on most of our best-selling champagnes,” he said last month.

Canard-Duchêne champagne ambassador Nikki Phillips.

Angela Valore, owner of Valore Cellars which has stores across Sydney’s west, said consumers were opting for high-quality alcohol of all types.

“They’re drinking less, but they’re drinking better (quality items),” Ms Valore said.

She said her stores had seen this particularly in whisky.

Alex Leyland, a wine specialist at Le Pont at Milson’s Point, identified a number of trends in how drink preferences were changing.

“Last year, there was a sort of gin craze which is dropping off. And now it’s tequila and mezcal that are taking off,” he said.

Liquorland, Vintage Cellars and First Choice Liquor Market offer more than 250 types of champagne and sparkling wine, ranging from $17 Grant Burge-brand bottles for the budget-conscious up to the $355 Dom Perignon for the silly season splurger.

Model and Canard-Duchêne ambassador Nikki Phillips said her family were “firm believers that the Christmas festivities cannot begin” without a cork being popped.

“It’s our family tradition that all adults pop a champagne and pour mimosas before settling in for a morning of love, laughter, the occasional child tantrum, presents and that Christmas feast,” she said.

Kyla Kirkpatrick, The Champagne Dame, said champagne sales were once again booming right in heart of the festive season.

“Champagne is a perfect way to bring people together during the holiday season,” she said.

“It’s a given that bringing a bottle of champagne is the best way to start a party. The cork popping and the glasses clinking is the sound of happiness.”

Originally published as Champagne sales surge in Australia for Christmas