Perhaps the best occupation to be in during a cost of living crisis is a private hepatologist with a client base of oil and gas industry executives. With most of us scrimping, surely the record bonuses recently enjoyed by fuel purveyors is the only explanation for what is driving the recent uptick in Champagne shipments – now at a staggering £5.3bn according to Comité Champagne. Let’s hope some of the filters down to their liver docs, at least.

The trade association of producers in northern France, 

 announced in March that sales had grown to a record €6bn (£5.3bn) – or 326 million bottles – in 2022. This is an increase of 1.6 percent on 2021, with the fizz predicted to continue rising in 2023.

Following two years of global pandemic, and considering the on-going war in Ukraine and the current cost of living crisis, it surely seems absurd that there’s so much demand for this luxury vino. Charles Goemaere, Comité Champagne’s general manager, admits the market’s enduring vitality was a shock. “It was a surprise after the pandemic to see such a rebound in most of the markets,” Goemaere said. “We don’t have a precise view of psychological reasons, but consumer studies show Champagne is the drink of celebration, and people very much want to celebrate even small things after such a horrible period.”

Which makes sense, although downing bubbly still feels slightly extravagant at a time when supermarket eggs are at a premium and a mug of tea is up by 65 percent. (The UK’s inflation rate is beginning to level out, but it still rose by 0.765 percent between February and March 2023).

Naturally, the richest among us are less bothered by inflation or having to pay through the nose for a tin of beans. According to Goemaere, the upper set’s disposable cash has largely remained unaltered and so, with life to celebrate they’ve been searching out rare bottles and much sought-after vintages. ‘Just’ 245 million bottles were shipped in 2020 during the darkest days of the pandemic. The sudden uptick in sales is surprising, however, given that Champagne has seen a drastic increase in price over the last few years; top labels such as Cristal and Dom Perignon saw a 42 percent price increase in 2021, and a 21 percent increase in 2022.

, Tom Gearing, co-founder and chief executive of investment firm Cult Wine Investment, said he expects the price to drop in the coming years as farmers are able to increase yield and catch up with demand.

“It doesn’t affect the richest people. Luxury goods are doing better than ever during a cost of living crisis – I’d arguably say luxury is doing better than it ever has done,” he said, adding “The cost of living crisis has really shown us the scale of wealth inequality,” he said. “It doesn’t affect the richest people. Luxury goods are doing better than ever”.

The embodiment of this inequality has to be Bollinger’s new £350-a-bottle Champagne, launched last month at Spencer house in Mayfair. Speaking at the event Charles-Armand de Belenet, managing director of Bollinger Champagne, quoted the words of the late Madame Bollinger who told the Daily Mail: “I drink Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it―unless I’m thirsty.”

Sadly for Madame Bollinger, according to the 

, her namesake brand still has someway to go, with Moet being the drink of choice in 27 percent of the bars that stocked Champagne, with LVMH brand – Veuve Clicquot coming in second.

If all of this has whet your whistle, but you don’t have a spare 350 quid lying about, may we suggest Miller Light, the “Champagne of beers”? The US brand also made headlines this week after Belgian customs officers crushed over 2000 cans after taking umbrage with its Champagne claim. Perhaps, in hindsight, shelling out £350 would have been cheaper after all…

Money laundering at Metro Bank. What the hell is going on?

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