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CHAMPAGNE

Cava and Prosecco take fizz out of Champagne

After decades of rising exports, producers of Catalan cava are brimming with confidence and have their eyes set on taking on the "king" of sparkling wine -- French champagne, which is also being outpaced by Italian fizz Prosecco.

Cava and Prosecco take fizz out of Champagne
Cava and Prosecco are giving Champagne a real run for its money. Photo: AFP

France's Champagne region may have been granted World Heritage Status recently but the famous French drink is clearly not having everything its own way.

Cava, which is produced in the Alt Penedes region of northeastern Spain, an area of rolling hills about a half hour's drive south of Barcelona, began seeking new markets three decades ago by offering good value for money.

Exports of cava soared from just 10 million bottles in 1980 to 154.7 million bottles in 2014, the sixth consecutive year that foreign sales of the drink exceeded those of French champagne. By comparison in 2014 France exported 144.9 million bottles of champagne.

But of all the bottles exported last year, only eight million were high-end reserve cavas that producers now want to develop.

“Cava is beginning a second stage. We conquered the world with standard cavas. Now we are going to conquer it again with superior quality cavas,” the head of the the association of small and medium sized cava producers, Pere Guilera, told AFP.

Guilera only produces high-end cavas — some 30,000 bottles annually of which 20 percent are exported — at a small family-owned winery housed in an old farmhouse surrounded by vineyards near the town of Sant Sadurni d'Anoia.

The production requires a careful selection of grapes and a long ageing process of up to 12 years to create a “rich and harmonious aroma, fine bubble and a smooth texture” with a “smooth and slightly fruity” taste, said Guilera.

A bottle of reserve cava costs around 20 euros ($22), three times less than a bottle of champagne of a similar quality.

“We are offering quality at very low prices,” said Guilera.

“Cava still has some way to go to improve its image in the high-end,” said Pedro Bonet, communications director at Freixenet, the world leader in sparkling wines.

“We have been working on this for the last few years and bit by bit it is bearing fruit. It requires time, investment and careful staging,” he added.

France's prized bubbly, which was recently granted World Heritage Status is also under threat from Italy's famous fizz Prosecco.

Prosecco, which is produced in vineyards that make up a valley north of Venice, outsold champagne in 2013 by 307 million bottles to 304, according to figures released in 2014 by OVSE, the Italian wine observatory.

Worldwide revenue from the drink was up 16 percent, while volume increased by 11.5 percent.

Sales of Prosecco have been rising steadily in recent years as the credit crunch knocked the bubbles out of the pricier Champagne. A record 339 million bottles of champagne were sold in 2007 before the financial crisis gripped the market a year later.

Prosecco has become the tipple of choice across the world, particularly in the US and UK, where sales have been booming over the last few years, particularly during the festive period.

The sparkling wine is usually made from Glera grapes and was the original wine used in the Bellini (sparkling wine and peach puree) cocktail.

In 2009, it was accredited with the DOGC (controlled designation of origin) quality assurance label. 

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CHAMPAGNE

French Champagne makers threaten boycott of Russia over ‘sparkling wine’ label

Russian elites could soon find themselves without their favourite French bubbles if Moet Hennessy makes good on a threat to halt champagne supplies following a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin.

French Champagne makers threaten boycott of Russia over 'sparkling wine' label
Russian lawmakers adopted legislation saying the word "champagne" can only be applied to wine produced in Russia. Photo: Alexander NEMENOV / AFP.

Moet Hennessy’s Russia office warned local partners it was suspending supplies after Russian lawmakers adopted legislation stipulating that the word “champagne” can only be applied to wine produced in Russia, while the world-famous tipple from France’s Champagne region should be called “sparkling wine”.

Leonid Rafailov, general director of AST, a top liquor distributor which works with a number of brands including Moet Hennessy, said on Saturday his firm had received a letter from the French company notifying it of the suspension.

“I confirm that such a letter exists, and it is justified,” Rafailov told AFP.

He said that in accordance with the legislation – signed off on by Putin on Friday – the company would have to undergo new registration procedures, among other requirements.

Sebastien Vilmot, Moet Hennessy managing director in Russia, declined to speak to AFP.

But in a statement released through Rafailov, Vilmot called the suspension a “temporary” measure before a solution could be found.

Moet Hennessy is part of French luxury goods group LVMH and known for such brands as Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Dom Perignon.

The French are fiercely protective of the term “champagne”, and it can only be made in the French region of the same name.

A copy of Moet Hennessy’s letter was first published on social media on Friday by a representative of a Moscow-based liquor importer and distributor.

Drinks market expert Vadim Drobiz suggested the legislation was open to interpretation but added that Moet Hennessy’s share of the Russian market was relatively small and well-heeled clients could find a replacement.

“If there is no Moet, there won’t be a state coup and Russian elites will not commit suicide,” Drobiz quipped.

But wine consultant Anna Chernyshova questioned the purpose of the amendments. “My phone has been ringing off the hook,” she said. “Me and my clients are thinking what to do next.”

Chernyshova, who helps people build wine collections, said she was not sure why the Russian parliament had passed such a law. “How will they walk back on it?” she told AFP. “So many officials love this champagne.”

Social media was abuzz with jokes, with wits making fun of the latest piece of Russian legislation. “Now it’s necessary to ban Scots and Americans from using the word “whisky”, joked restaurateur Sergei Mironov.

Popular singer Vasya Oblomov said Russian lawmakers could now adopt similar legislation regulating the use of the name “Mercedes” and even place names.

“I thought it was a joke,” wrote Putin’s self-exiled critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky. “I was wrong.”

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