STORY:
Hotel's Y2K Crisis: Champagne

According to a story appearing in the San Jose's The Business Journal, hotels and party planners are wondering if there will be enough champagne for everyone who wants to make a millennial toast on Januray 1st 2000.

Dan Berger, a syndicated wine columnist, estimates that 150 million American adults will toast the new year with a glass of bubbly. Add to that figure 30 million revelers in Japan, 25 million in Germany, 20 million in Italy, 20 million in France and 5 million in Australia, and you have a huge demand for champagne says the article--easily the highest in history. Berger expects the average consumption this New Year's Eve is expected to be one bottle per party-goer.

For its part, Guerneville-based Korbel Champagne Cellars is seeing a 60 percent increase in demand from last year, which means the Napa Valley producer is at full capacity. Gary Heck, president and chairman of Korbel says his company is not going to run out of champagne. Mr. Heck said Korbel started planning five years ago for New Year's 2000. This year it has increased its production from 1.2 million cases to 1.4 million. "That's a 17 percent increase, but it's because we can't produce any more. Otherwise we'd make an additional 300,000 cases," Heck tells The Business Journal.

California, by far, is the biggest champagne and sparkling wine consuming state in America, with average consumption of more than 7 million gallons a year. Heck and Dave Muret, public relations director for Mirassou Vineyards in San Jose, are hearing through their distributors that the top-line French wines will be in short supply, and that they already have raised prices to take advantage of the demand.

Unlike producers such as Korbel, which staggers its production in order to have new supplies each month, many of the top European producers make one batch. Once that's gone, there will no more until next year.

But for those who can't see dropping $150 for a bottle of champagne, not to worry. "There's going to be plenty of $20 bottles of champagne," Muret told The Business Journal.

Source: The Business Journal

DATE: 5/24/99

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