France has popped its cork at faddy fizz, but it won’t last long | Agnès Poirier

Winston Churchill once said he couldn’t live without champagne: “In victory, I deserve it. In defeat, I need it.” He even named one of his horses Pol Roger, a famous champagne brand. But what about in murkier and less glorious times when you live on a continent that has lived in peace for 70 years but a peace that feels more and more precarious? What about at a time when we barely cope watching the news? And what about in inflationary times when everything costs more and a bottle of bubbly has gone up 12% in just a few months, clocking in at an average of €23 (£19.75)? It feels as if champagne doesn’t quite suit the spirit of our time. The news that sales in France dropped by 21% this year only seems to confirm that many of us find it both too bling and too celebratory. Of course, the news also sent shockwaves beyond France, where it is a symbol of French civilisation at its finest. Is France sinking? Have the French lost their joie de vivre?

Not quite, and French scorn for champagne might just be a self-defeating phase. Beyond the international doom and economic gloom, there are other reasons for the French rebuff. In the last decade, spurred by globalisation, fizz has become a new Eldorado for imaginative producers and adventurous consumers. And if there is one thing French consumers can’t resist, it’s newness, the excitement of everything à la mode. Today, there is fizz for everyone, both the teetotaller and the alcoholic tribes. The health-conscious millennials have kombucha and kefir, fermented water and effervescent milks coming from China and the Caucasus. Astute artisan producers popping up here and there in Europe cater for this growing tribe. French fortysomethings, more inclined to drink natural and biodynamic wines, have recently fallen for “pét nat”, as in pétillant naturel, in other words, natural sparkling, not quite champagne but cheaper, healthier and perhaps bolder in taste. Organic lambrusco, once considered as the lowest of the low by our oenophile parents and grandparents, is also charming French drinkers more and more, especially in the summer. Fizzy red wine is gaining ground in France thanks to the biodynamic fashion: who would have ever thought this possible? And there are the cocktail clans, shunning both wine and tradition, for drinks that make them feel on holiday. Remember when, 10 years ago, genius marketers thought of exporting the secret privilege of Venetians? Yes, spritz! That feelgood orange brew, low in alcohol (Aperol is around 11% alcohol content by volume and prosecco 12%) and high in dreams has now conquered the world to the point where, in French bars and cafes, a glass of spritz Aperol can be more expensive than a flute of champagne. Snob, moi?

Time will tell if those new trends and fads stick with the French. If they don’t, champagne will always be there for them and the world, as the last rampart. As Talleyrand once said: “Champagne is the wine of civilisation.” A crop of gold medals at next year’s Paris Olympics would surely give my compatriots an opportunity to clink their flutes again and restore their faith in a civilised world where the only battles are between athletes.

Agnès Poirier is a political commentator, writer and critic

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