Ahhhh, bubbly.

There’s nothing like that sensuous experience of a fine bottle of champagne getting opened.

…the crinkle of the foil as it’s unwrapped…

…the soft twist of the wire frame holding the cork in place…

…the anticipation as you see the cork slowly rise up in the bottle’s neck…

Then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for.

POP!

And joy overflows as that Dom Perignon (or perhaps a brand of somewhat less renown) gets passed from celebrant to celebrant, blessing the festivities with that sparkling splash of fun.

At least – that’s how it worked in the good old days.

But according to the Robb Report, happy days for the champagne industry are definitely NOT here again.

COVID-19 and its aftereffects hammered France’s sparkling wine industry hard, and producers of Champagne report that millions of bottles of excess inventory lie unwanted and untapped.

The industry had lost over $2 Billion in sales for this year alone, a devastating figure even worse than recorded during the Great Depression.

To stem the tide, they’ve decided to cut back the harvest from 10,000 kilos of grapes to 8,000 kilos – a full 20% reduction. Hard, but necessary as industry leaders complain that 50 million fewer bottles were sold in the first six months of 2020.

But one person’s famine is another’s feast – according to CNN, sales of beer in the US has skyrocketed, with brands like Anheuser-Busch and Miller reporting double-digit increases.

Just goes to show that it pays to always keep a watchful eye on what you plant and harvest. Give us a call today, and we’ll talk together about trends we think make sense to consider in planning your portfolio. Contact the office at 513-563-PLAN (7526) or book online for your free 15-minute call.

Regards,
Nikki Earley, CFP®