Britain has retained its position at the top of the Champagne drinking league, remaining the number-one export market for the ninth consecutive year.

The UK attained a new all-time shipment record of 34.95 million bottles last year, putting it leagues ahead of both the second- and third-placed countries: the USA with 20.2 million bottles and Germany with 11.5 million.

Since the Millennium, total Champagne shipments to the UK have increased by about 40% in volume and 62% by value.

Top of the pops: UK is number one

The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, which conducted the research, said British consumption of pink Champagne was also on the up, growing by 19% in 2004.

“The British are not only drinking more bottles of Champagne, they are also trading up in style,” claimed Françoise Peretti, director of the Champagne Information Bureau in the UK.

“It appears that experimentation with different styles is fashionable, including Vintage Champagne, a blend of wines from one specific year. Hence the UK market has increased in value as well as volume.”

by Jessica Gunn

Rank	Country	No. of bottles	Change vs 2003
1	UK	34,952,691	+1.41%
2	USA	20,257,824	+6.86%
3	Germany	11,546,321	-4.21%
4	Belgium	9,295,393	+1.66%
5	Italy	8,201,588	-3.58%
6	Japan	5,922,497	+18.13%
7	Switzerland	5,247,392	-6.24%
8	Netherlands	2,991,259	+16.13%
9	Spain	2,289,024	+6.07%
10	Australia	1,682,318	+1.38%

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