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This year’s Sparkling Report is a solid snapshot of bubbles around the world, with 80 wines outside of Champagne tasted from numerous distinct wine regions. Seems the bubble has popped on fizz, at least a bit.
This year’s Sparkling Report is a solid snapshot of bubbles around the world, with 80 wines outside of Champagne tasted from numerous distinct wine regions.
Seems the bubble has popped on fizz, at least a bit. The sparkling wine category, which had posted growth for 20 consecutive years since 2002, took a slight stumble in 2023-2024. Sparkling wine consumption in the US fell 3.4% according to The Beverage Information Group’s 2024 Industry Overview, which was on par with still wine consumption. Though we are also seeing a slight decrease in sales in Canada this past year, we should remember where we’ve come from. In 2022-2023, Statistics Canada reports that sparkling wine sales in Canada rose at the fastest pace in the wine category, up 5.9% from the year previous. When you compare to pre-pandemic times, sparkling sales in Canada were up over one-quarter (+25.5%) higher than 2019, showing how we really have taken to bubbles for our troubles.
Of course wine consumption is in decline globally due to the struggling economy, and the gaining momentum of the no-to-low alcohol movement. Whatever the cause, it’s simple: fewer people are drinking, and those that are, are drinking less.
Fortunately for the sparkling category, quality continues to rise, and Canada is no exception. In my Sparkling Wine Report for the 2024 National Wine Awards of Canada I highlighted the solo sparkling Platinum medal was very closely followed by 14 Golds, across various grapes and colours, though all traditional method.
More casual, fun, and affordable options, like pét-nat and charmat, help widen the demographic, and allow bubbles to be part of everyday life (they certainly are for me!).
Below is our year in sparkling wine at GOW, in alphabetical order. For our detailed Champagne Annual, with 135 champagnes reviewed, click here.
