Bad weather gives Champagne nothing to toast about

Rumors of a Champagne shortage have fans of the fizzy in a tizzy. 35% of the potential champagne harvest has been lost this year according to Champagne Tattinger. And in the Aube region as much as 80% losses. All due to unsuitable weather conditions a combination of frost, mildew and scalding weather. A spokesperson in the Aube said that the press house at Loches-sur-Ource will not open this year and some growers will not even spend money and labour on organising the harvest of their vineyards, for some the harvest has been that bad. On the optimistic side some believe that hiding behind these small grape volumes is the potential for real quality. Champagne-producers are fully prepared for this kind of shortage situation. They have hefty champagne reserves they can use to fill in for the missing champagne, so the shortage shouldn’t be too noticeable. The only worrying thing for champagne lovers is how much wine-makers will need to dip into their reserves to supplement the shortage. If we don’t get back to normal champagne levels next year, we could be in trouble. Well there's always Prosecco?