Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleFrench authorities have granted a one-off exemption allowing the alcohol content of champagne to reach up to 15 per cent following record summer heatwaves. The National Origin and Quality Institute usually caps champagne at 13 per cent, but extreme heat left grapes unusually rich in sugar, which converts into alcohol during fermentation. Industry experts from the Comité Champagne warned that such weather conditions could become the norm within 10 to 15 years due to climate change. Producers plan to moderate the higher alcohol levels by blending grapes from different harvest years to protect the drink's traditional image. Bottles produced from this summer's harvest are not expected to hit shop shelves until at least 2028 due to the minimum fermentation process required. In fullRecord heatwave set to turn champagne more alcoholicMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Why 2026 champagne could leave you with an even worse hangover
Jump to contentAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleFrench authorities have granted a one-off exemption allowing the alcohol content of champagne to reach up to 15 per cent following record summer heatwaves. The National Origin and Quality Institute usually caps champagne at 13 per cent, but extreme heat left grapes unusually rich in sugar, which converts into alcohol during fermentation. Industry experts from the Comité Champagne warned that such weather conditions could become the norm within 10 to 15 years due to climate change. Producers plan to moderate the higher alcohol levels by blending grapes from different harvest years to protect the drink's traditional image. Bottles produced from this summer's harvest are not expected to hit shop shelves until at least 2028 due to the minimum fermentation process required. In fullRecord heatwave set to turn champagne more alcoholicMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
