Sparkling Wine Is Losing Its Prestigious Image

Champagne in particular, and sparkling wine in general, is losing its image as a drink for celebration and conspicuous displays of perceived glamour in the U.S., Brian Freedman wrote on Forbes.

"This change in consumer perceptions is at least partly due a new generation of sommeliers and other wine professionals who understand the astounding versatility of high-quality bubbly," Freedman said.

According to Champagne Bureau, USA, the trade organization that represents the Comité Champagne in the United States, shipments to the United States rose by 6.61 percnet from 2014 to 2015, which is the third growth year in a row for Champagne.

Freedman said other sparkling wines are also recording tremendous business in the United States. According to Nielsen, sales of sparkling wine grew 10 percent from October 2014 to October 2015. Sales of Cava, a sparkling wine from Spain, is also increasing. The Consejo Regulador de Cava, or the Cava Regulatory Board, reported in March an 8.6 percent increase in sales to the United States—about 20,000,000 bottles.

At all ends of the price and perceived-prestige spectrum, excellent bottles of bubbly are finding their way to restaurant wine lists and retail shelves.

"And producers both familiar and less so are finally being given the chance they so richly deserve to shine," Freedman added.