UK champagne sales sparkle

RECORD amounts of champagne are being shipped to Britain, according to figures released today.The Comit Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) pronounced Britain as the No.1 export market worldwide, for the ninth year running.

Thirsty Britons helped achieved a new all-time shipment record of 34.95m bottles in 2004, a spokeswoman for the organisation said.

The figures show Britain is far ahead of both the second and third export markets, the US (20.2m bottles) and Germany (11.5m bottles).

Since the millennium, total champagne shipments to the UK have increased around 40%.The spokeswoman said not only were the British drinking more bottles, they were also trading up in style.

Experimentation with different styles is fashionable, including vintage champagne, a blend of wines from one specific year.

Britain has also boosted its own production of champagne in recent years, with Elliot Morley, Government environment minister, last month even predicting that southern England vineyards could rival the Champagne region if global warming persists.