DI Annual Bar Report: Champagne

25 January, 2017

The bubble’s burst for some brands, but the old favourites are still there. Holly Motion rounds up the cool kids

Champagne has been somewhat in the shade of prosecco and English sparkling wine in terms of column inches over the past couple of years. While it is changing, the other categories don’t tend to be brand led. Can you name five prosecco brands? You might be able to but a lot of patrons have historically struggled.

Moët & Chandon and Perrier-Jouët have been playing leap-frog for as long as the sparklers have graced these pages. With two best selling places and two runner ups apiece, it was neck and neck to see who would be the champion but Moët & Chandon clinches it this year.

Bollinger has had a corker of a year as it re-enters the chart after a year’s absence to take third.

The trendy Billecart-Salmon has to settle for fifth in the volume stakes but some will have been eyeing the top trending bubbly plaudit. It’s not the easiest to say, but Billecart-Salmon often takes pride of place in top cocktail bars and is a go-to at countless hotel bars across the world. It’s the top trending brand in the American Bar at London’s Savoy.

Dom Pérignon has lost its cool credentials this year but is still a big seller. In the past 12 months the bubble has burst for Deutz and Mumm as both plummet out of the trending and selling lists respectively in 2017.Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart and Krug all stay in both lists.

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Methodology

The Drinks International Annual Bar Report looks to gauge the buying habits of the best bars in the world by conducting a survey of their owners, head bartenders and bar managers.

The bars that took part – what we refer to as the best bars in the world – are a sample of 108 bars that finished in the top 250 places of the World’s 50 Best Bars survey, now owned by William Reed Business Media. Given the depth and scope of The World’s 50 Best Bars poll (voted for by 476 global bar experts) we feel this is the most credible place to source our sample of bars.

In each instance we asked the bartender to rank their three best selling products in each category, giving us an indication of the brands that are selling best.

As we know, a best selling brand, even in the best bars in the world, earns its place on more than taste, so we also wanted to know the brands that are not necessarily doing huge volumes but have cool-appeal right now. This is where the Trending brands come in. These are the brands customers are increasingly asking for, perhaps because of word of mouth, or even on bartenders’ recommendations.

For more on the methodology see How we did it





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