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Within the world of Wine, I’ll admit that proper Champagne is probably not my area of expertise. I’ve been to France a few times but have yet to travel to Champagne and sample the elixir from the source.
Cristal, Krug, Dom Perignon…these are all names synonymous with wealth. Brands that only the rich can afford and they all come from the same tiny area of the world. Champagne’s such an expensive habit that you should have very specialized and extremely expensive glasses just to properly enjoy drinking it.
As far as price tags go, Champagne is appreciably more expensive than other varietals of sparkling wine. Taking a step back, Champagne is sparkling wine like Cava or Prosecco but it distinguishes itself from the pack because in order to be true Champagne is has to come from the Champagne region of France.
That alone factors into the jacked-up cost. All of the other factors which contribute to Champagne being one of the most expensive wines on the planet are outlined in this clip from BI Video after they traveled to France in order to find out why Champagne is so expensive.
It’s pretty wild that a region 2x the size of San Francisco is home to a $5 billion/year industry with ALL of the world’s champagne coming from the Champagne region.
Every wine region on the planet would have you believe that the unique terroir is where the distinct flavors come from and that’s the ONLY place on the planet that can produce those flavors. This is true on a Micro level but definitely not on a Macro level.
There are similar landscapes across the planet and you can smuggle those grapes out if you were so inclined but you’d never be able to slap the ‘Champagne’ label on your product unless you grew the grapes in Champagne, France.
I’ve had Dom and Cristal on a number of occasions and they are exquisite. With that said, I’m not sure I love them that much more than sparkling wines from California or Italy. I’m willing to pay 5x for a good bottle of Zinfandel/Cabernet if I know it’s going to be excellent but I’m not sure I’d ever be willing to pay 5x for a Champagne over its worldwide counterparts if both were readily availble.
Anyway, if you’d rather read than watch that video above then you can click here to read the full article on Business Insider.