The world’s favorite celebration drink is experiencing a serious hangover. Global champagne shipments from France tumbled nearly 10% to 271M bottles in 2024, marking the second straight year of decline as inflation-weary consumers keep their cork poppers in storage. The industry faces multiple headwinds — extreme weather affecting harvests, rising production costs, and shifting consumer preferences toward cheaper or non-alcoholic alternatives.

• LVMHLVMH
  , the luxury powerhouse behind Dom Pérignon and Veuve Clicquot, first signaled trouble when reporting a 15% drop in bubbly sales in the first half of 2024.
• French domestic consumption slipped 7% to 118M bottles, with the nation’s political uncertainty and economic gloom dampening celebratory spirits.

Bottled-up trouble: The spirits sector’s struggles extend beyond champagne, with US whiskey volumes declining 1% in 2023, their first decline since 2002. Industry leaders remain cautiously optimistic, with Comité Champagne co-president David Chatillon emphasizing the sector’s “solid, sustainable organizational model that has proved its value, even in the face of adversity.” However, with alcohol spending among people under 25 dropping by over 60%, the path to recovery might require more than just time to age like fine wine.