If you found your favorite champagne at restaurants and in wine shops during the holidays, there are good reasons for that. If not, there are reasons for that, too. After my brief segment on Yahoo Finance where the Champagne shortage and alternatives for sipping were addressed, I decided to check in with a few experts to understand their perspective and experiences.
I asked logistics expert Robert W. Lowe, COO of Sea Box, Inc., a global company that specializes in the design, customization and manufacturing of ISO containers and modular buildings for commercial and military applications, to weigh in about the port delays. “Many east coast deliveries are ongoing and doing well. Certain ports, though, like Savannah, Georgia, are problematic because a larger container vessel needs more depth and capacity to enter – the ports aren’t able to accommodate them. In fact, smaller ports with smaller vessels are making more money than bigger ports. On the west coast, Los Angeles and Long Beach have huge ports, but they’re inefficient. Too many vessels are waiting their turn and no one seems to be in a hurry to deliver because these vessels are being paid to stay in place.”
Port of Savannah – Photo Credit: Georgia Ports Authority
How are sommeliers and wine store operators managing the situation? PJ Meyers, Sommelier and Beverage Supervisor at Montage Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina explained. “We weren’t able to get the bigger houses such as Krug and Dom Perignon since the inventory was very limited. Distributors were getting very little or light orders filled by importers – the orders were only 15% of what they had been. Importers were being hit with high tariffs and getting containers off the boat in time. Many importers use the Savannah port which is a huge problem.”
Nancy Sabatini, Director of Wine Education & Sales at MainStreet Wines & Spirits in Countryside, Illinois shared her thoughts. “As a retailer we are always trying to stay at least 3 months ahead of what will happen. When the rumors began about how bad the supply was going to be for champagne, we decided to buy heavy at the end of October/beginning of November 2021. Although the best prices and deals are usually offered in December, at least we knew that we would have the supply on hand at a decent price to offer our customers. We’ve only seen a problem in the last four months or so.”
Although consumption data for 2021 hasn’t yet been released, it appears that the current demand for champagne reflects the levels of 2019 – great news. However, the Champagne Board, responsible for setting the region’s production limits each year, had set the limit for 2020 production about 25% less than it did for the 2019 vintage because of the pandemic. Queue the supply and demand issue leading directly to higher prices.
“Going forward, I’m confident that not only the quantity of champagne will run low but the prices will increase in 2021,” shared Sabatini. “Especially given the poor spring weather (heat, frost, hail, floods) for much of Europe, I foresee the quantity to be way down. I don’t have a crystal ball, but 2022 is going to be a very interesting year in the wine industry. However, we have made it through tougher times and have come out on the other side! Supply is beginning to come back little by little, so my advice is to find quality and then buy quantity. That way you’ll never run out of wine!!”
Cheers! ~ Cindy
Note: Thank you to Robert W. Lowe, PJ Meyers and Nancy Sabatini for their contributions to this article.
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