Bountiful Bubbly

Champagne is no longer put aside for special occasions, celebrations, or the weekend.

The growing worldwide demand for champagne has caused the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine, or I.N.A.O., the official body that determines France’s wine laws, to expand the country’s Champagne-producing region.

A century-old law has constrained the production of Champagne up until now to a mere 370 villages in northeastern France. Now, the global consumption is driven by a new subset of affluent wine connoisseurs in Russia, India, and China, draining the overall supply.

As a result, the I.N.A.O is admitting 40 more Champagne-producing communities to the business that exported a record of 150 million bottles last year.

So Sunday, Monday, or lunchtime Wednesday, will do just fine to pop open a bottle of champi. It won’t be cheap, but hey, at least there will be plenty to go around.

Via New York Times