Champagne Craze Causes Prices to Soar

Ringing in the New Year with a bottle of pricier than usual Champagne was probably the norm for most this past holiday season. With limited production of Champagne grapes and increased demand for the fizzy stuff from the U.S., Japan and Britain, true Champagnes are garnering higher prices.

Champagne shortages will most likely lead to unification of brands in an industry that's estimated at $3.38 billion. Larger producers will no doubt buy up less expensive brands to increase volume while bigger, publicly traded winemakers scoop up smaller private producers to help guarantee their supply.

Champagne appellations, which are strictly controlled and cultivated, will also most likely be added to or rezoned for increased production to meet demand and if the need is still as great, within about 2 years, most inventories of wine will not be aged more than 3.3 years, which is the "threshold for quality Champagne."

Lucky for those of us that are able to enjoy sparkling wines not deemed Champagne as they're still readily available, plentiful, and won't break the bank.