From climate change to novel business models, there are plenty of factors that may dramatically alter the landscape of champagne in the coming years
For an insider view of where champagne is headed, I asked two champagne experts: Essi Avellan MW, Champagne specialist, author of Essi Avellan’s Champagne and Christie’s Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine and Finland’s First Master of Wine; and Peter Liem, Champagne resident and author of ChampagneGuide.net and the James Beard-winning book Champagne: The Essential Guide. They’ve share key trends, changes they hope to see and producers effectively future-proofing or actively helping shape the future.
1. Climate Change
Both Liem and Avellan start with this critical issue. “Many champagne producers are quick to cite its benefits in the short term,” says Liem, but he worries about the future, given increasingly frequent and severe storms, hail and frost plus growing disease threats with warmer weather. The shorter growing season leaves less time to develop complexity, he says and sugar ripeness is arriving more quickly than “physiological” ripeness, raising potential alcohol and lowering acidity. Avellan notes the prevalence of “warm vintage taste profiles” and says “in today’s climate there is less need to ’correct’ the wines” but that going forward reserve wines will have to be adapted for freshening rather than enriching the blend.
2. Sustainability
More positive is Champagne’s progress in sustainability over the past 20 years. Liem partially credits what he calls "progressive producers”, but also important regional initiatives. He isn’t fixated on percentages of certified organic or biodynamic vineyards, not of interest to many top Champagne viticulturalists, since certifications can be overly rigid or inappropriate for the region’s wet climate. Fighting diseases like downy mildew organically requires significant amounts of copper and tractor usage while light synthetics use could have less overall environmental impact, he says. Sustainability factors like biodiversity, carbon footprint, and waste and water management are addressed by HVE3 and Viticulture Durable en Champagne, he says. He also thinks progressive ideas like regenerative viticulture, no-till farming and agroecology are likely future regional priorities.