The myth about Champagne de Vignerons grows as sommeliers and independent retailers strive to find wines they can get a higher margin on. Sellers these days, especially restaurants, are desperate not to antagonise customers by offering wines at three, even four, times the bottle shop price.
And wine writers aid and abet this deception by increasing the media attention grower-Champagnes receive. Their excuse is the limited number of times they can produce a tasting note for Veuve Clicquot. So yet another wine con goes un-exposed by the fourth estate.
One of the more talked-about success stories of the last 25 years has been the ascension of grower-Champagnes writes Robert Joseph in that excellent German wine journal Meininger’s. “Except that it’s fake news. It never happened. In fact, the vignerons’ share of the market has shrunk by a quarter since the turn of the century.”
Today, growers produce and sell around 18% of the region’s wine, compared to 25% in 1999-2000. The 130 cooperatives’ 9% share has barely changed, while the 370 ‘Maisons’ — merchants — who had around two thirds of the market, are now edging their way towards three quarters. This change in the balance of power was not what many expected at the turn of the century.
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