Record heatwaves in France set to make champagne stronger
Wine-makers can make stronger bubbly following an unusual harvest that produced sweeter grapes.
Record heatwaves in France are set to make champagne stronger
Champagne drinkers may notice the effects sooner after French producers were allowed to increase the alcohol content in bubbly for the first time, following this summer’s record heatwave.
Wine-makers can now temporarily make champagne with an alcohol content of up to 15% - above the 13% cap, industry officials said.
The intense heat and drought led to grapes with unusually high sugar levels. During fermentation, yeast turns sugar into alcohol.
France’s Champagne region also experienced its earliest-ever harvest because of the weather, and according to the Comite Champagne industry association, that could become standard "in 10 to 15 years" because of climate change.
A spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne told the BBC that the temporary rise in champagne’s alcohol content is expected to affect only a small number of wines.
During the second fermentation stage, which creates champagne’s bubbles, "a very small number of wines from this harvest could have slightly exceeded the regulatory limit of 13%, reaching around 13.1% or 13.2%".
"Therefore a decision was made to exceptionally and temporarily increase the regulatory limit to 15% - only for this year," she said.
The first grapes were picked in early August and the harvest had widened by mid-month, "the earliest ever recorded in Champagne", the association said.
"The 2026 growing season will be remembered as one of the most unusual in Champagne's history, marked by severe spring frosts of historic intensity, an exceptionally early flowering period and five heatwaves throughout the summer." it added.
Speaking to the Times newspaper, Stéphane Vignon, a producer in Verzenay, said: "The Mediterranean climate is moving north. This is year one of a new cycle. It's unlikely to be every year, but it will happen again".
Jane Anson, a wine columnist and author based in Bordeaux, warned that stronger champagne is unlikely to be an obvious selling point.
She told the Times: "Today people increasingly prefer lower-alcohol
"The battle between what consumers want and what nature provides must be very stressful for producers."
The 2026 vintage is not expected to reach shelves until 2028, since champagne must age for at least 15 months.
Maxime Toubart, co-chair of the Comite Champagne, told the AFP news agency that the chance of hotter weather ahead means "this unusual harvest will probably become the norm in 10 to 15 years".
France has been among Europe’s hardest-hit countries during this year’s extreme weather, which has triggered huge wildfires.
Climate change is pushing up global average temperatures, making heatwaves more frequent and more intense.
Its effects have been felt especially strongly in Europe, the fastest warming continent, which is heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service.