Consumers are increasingly turning to sparkling wine rather than Champagne as their celebratory tipple of choice, according to new research from Mintel.

Volumes of sparkling wine have increased 44% since 2002 and 42 million litres of the intoxicating stuff was sold last year, the study revealed.

In comparison, Champagne sales have increased by 24% over the same five-year period and stood at 29 million litres last year.

Mathilde Dudouit, senior market analysts at Mintel, said: “Champagne used to be the only accepted choice and sparkling wine was simply seen as a second rate imitation but sparkling wine growers have now turned the market around by producing consistently good quality wines.”

In value term sparkling wines sales reached £385m in 2007, up 27% on 2002 figures.

For more on making the most out of your wine offer see our Wine section >> 

Champagne masterclass >>

France's Champagne region to expand >>

Pubs may pass on wine price rises >> 

By Chris Druce

E-mail your comments to Chris Druce here.