We have officially entered National Champagne Week 2016. Running from 1st to 7th October, this unique event gives you a chance to celebrate your love for France’s signature sparkling wine!
Brits and Champagne
We Brits love Champagne. Our fondness for Brut Champagne even helped popularise this style of France’s famous sparkling wine all over the world during the 20th Century. We in the UK drink more Champagne than anyone outside of France, according to Harpers, consuming 40m bottles on average per year.
Champagne is so popular with UK consumers, because we see it as a luxury tipple. Premium Champagne brands such as Dom Perignon and Cristal, whose products are available on Ideal Wine Company’s Champagne list, have positioned their wines as the ultimate special occasion drinks. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that there is now a whole week dedicated to Champagne!
Champagne Week
National Champagne Week was established six years ago by Searcys, a high-end hospitality group which owns four chic wine bars in London, along with another in Birmingham. The week-long event is designed to celebrate the broad diversity of Champagne as an industry, by holding a range of “accessible and approachable experiences” across some of the country’s most legendary venues.
This event was created, Searcys Champagne Expert Joel Claustre said, to make Champagne approachable, showing consumers that there’s “more than just brut.” Going on, he explained: “Champagne can be drunk anywhere any time… We also want to show off the range of styles, from dry to super dry to sweet.” With English sparkling wines now becoming more popular with wine enthusiasts, Claustre added, it is more important than ever to promote Champagne to UK consumers.
Celebrating National Champagne week
This year’s Champagne Week will take place in London, Birmingham and Bath. Events include tutored tastings, masterclasses, pop-up stalls, parties, supper clubs and more. There will also be a Champagne Safari, where after signing up online, participants can enjoy Champagne at various hotspots. During National Champagne Week 2016, participants even have the chance to win a year’s supply!
But tickets for National Wine Week events have mostly sold out, so you might want to get involved at home instead. The best way to celebrate National Champagne Week at your own convenience is to crack open your bottle of bubbly and toast the occasion. You could also get involved online with the hashtag #ChampagneWeek, sharing your passion for this elegant French sparkling wine with like-minded enthusiasts. From all of us here at Ideal Wine Company, cheers!
