New Year's Eve without champagne? - not to worry - Brief Article

Experts say there is enough bubbly to ring in Y2K

New Year's Eve won't be the same without magnums of champagne to kick off the celebration. Fortunately, research by experts doesn't predict a shortage. According to Winnie Burwell, director of New York-based wine consultant firm Where There's Wine There's Winnie (www.winewinnie.com), "You'll still be able to choose from a fine selection of champagne and sparkling wines. Unless you're looking for a special vintage, don't worry about not finding something to toast in the New Year. You may not get exactly what you want, but there'll be something to pop." The media hype was a publicity ploy to boost sagging sales. In recent years, U.S. sales declined to 12.2 million cases, vs. 19.4 million in 1985, according to the wine-industry consulting firm Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates.

In fact, Daspin thinks there will be a glut of champagne. Many sellers who have overstocked on sparkling wine may have to drop prices as the end of the year nears.

Lorena Ascencios, assistant buyer at New York's Astor Wines & Spirits, hasn't seen a rush on champagne at the store. "Although people have been buying early and we've had an increase in sales, I don't foresee a shortage. We may run out of some of the higher-end champagne." Eileen Fredrikson, partner at San Francisco based Gomberg Fredrikson & Associates, agrees: "It will probably be hard to find `real' champagne, made in the Champagne region of France, because there's a finite amount of that available." She predicts French champagne brands Perrier Jouet, Dom Peringnon, Cristal, Salon, Tettinger and Veuve Clicquot Ponaardin will be in short supply. Fredrikson says it may also be difficult to find the finer domestic sparkling wines, "but there will be loads of other sparkling wines to go around." So stock up if there's a special vintage you fancy, but otherwise you'll probably be able to get some bubbly to toast in the new century.

COPYRIGHT 1999 Earl G. Graves Publishing Co., Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group