Has Prosecco gone flat?

In recent years, the power of its name in commercial terms has only been rivalled by its Northern Italian stable mate Pinot Grigio. A wine that has brought affordable and approachable fizz to the masses across Europe is loved by tens of millions.

Due to its relatively sweeter palate, and cheaper method of production that means it is not only for special occasions, Prosecco has become so popular that it challenged the growth of Champagne.

Prosecco’s “glass of giggles” reputation has been so strong that few dared to predict the waning of its popularity.

To put its dominance in some context, nearly a quarter of the total Prosecco production is consumed in the UK, which means that in 2017 there were nearly one hundred and twelve million bottles drunk. In Britain for every one bottle of Champagne there are four bottles of Prosecco sold, a truly colossal amount by any reckoning.

But its dominance is slipping. From its once seemingly untouchable position of superiority, Prosecco sold 7% fewer bottles in the UK last year than it did in the previous year and much to the chagrin of the French, it was not because of the resurgence of Champagne.

At an industry briefing I attended, the person presenting changes in the market place said that Prosecco’s popularity had declined due to the enormous rise in the popularity of gin. In fact, as a whole, the UK wine industry saw a decline of 7% last year largely driven by, in my opinion, the “Emperor’s new clothes” of spirits.

It is not a surprise that the public palate has begun the move on to another product; it was always likely to do so at some point. My sadness is only that drinkers have not, at the moment, moved to another wine category. As a wine enthusiast, my advice is that there are plenty of affordable European alternatives to Prosecco out there.

While the much maligned Cava from Spain has definitely pulled up its socks and there are now some respected people producing some beautiful wines, I suggest you should be focussing on the amazing French fizzes called Crémant.

Most wine producing parts of France will have a crémant, in fact Champagne is really just the crémant from that specific region. All are made by the same method as their uber-famous cousin, but retail at a fraction of its price.

If you’re curious, the ones I’d advise you to try are the Crémant de Loire and Crémant d’Alsace which are often based on Chardonnay and the famous grapes of their respective regions, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Blanc respectively. Their beauty is that they are really delicious wines. They make “every day drinking fizz” interesting again.

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Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Blanc, Simonnet-Febvre – produced by traditional methods since 1840. Using Chardonnay, it is the only Maison in Chablis to produce Crémants of Burgundy.

Crémant d’Alsace Brut, Gustav Lorentz – from an Alsatian dynasty that stretches back to 1748, this is a classic blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir & Pinot Blanc

Bouvet Ladubay Saumur NV – a super Crémant de Loire using the classically delicious Chenin Blanc from this area