August 23rd – EPERNAY, France – The Comité Champagne announced that harvest started on August 20 and will begin in the vast majority of villages within the next week. The start dates vary by each village and grape varietal, ensuring that every plot is picked at the optimal ripeness. Individual start dates are spread between August 20 and September 6. As in previous years, the region’s Réseau Matu guided the choice of optimal dates for the start of picking.
The Réseau Matu is a network of hundreds of representative vineyard plots spread across the region. Data from these plots allow the Comité Champagne, with the assistance of volunteer professionals, to track and analyze the progress of grape ripening in real time, and therefore optimize the choice of harvest dates.
Champagne growers and houses decided to set an available yield of 12,000 kilos per hectare for the 2022 harvest. This is the highest level in 15 years, thanks to minimal losses from spring frosts and hailstorms and the excellent health of the Champagne vineyard as a whole. As is the case each year, all the grapes are handpicked — part of the appellation’s strict regulations and one of the key steps to producing the unique, high-quality sparkling wine that only comes from Champagne, France.
“Following the remarkable rebound of Champagne shipments in 2021, including record shipments to the United States, Champagne is expecting an excellent yield in 2022,” said Jennifer Hall, director of the Champagne Bureau, USA. “We look forward to the results of this year’s harvest.”
Champagne shipped more than 34 million bottles to the United States in 2021, a 63.9 percent increase year-over-year. In 2022, the Comité Champagne expects another strong year for global shipments. Champagne shipments in the first half of 2022 were close to 130 million bottles globally, an increase of 13.8 percent compared to the same period in 2021.
For a full list of harvest start dates by village and grape varietal, click here.
The Champagne Bureau, USA, is the official U.S. representative of the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, a trade association which represents the grape growers and houses of Champagne, France. The Bureau works to educate American consumers about the uniqueness of the wines of Champagne and expand their understanding of the need to protect the Champagne name. For more information, visit us online at www.champagne.us.
