France lifts alcohol content limit on champagne after record heatwaves

Champagne lovers may find themselves getting tipsy more quickly after French producers have been given the go-ahead to raise the alcohol content in a bottle of bubbly for the first time following this summer's record heatwave.

The extreme heat and drought produced grapes with exceptionally higher sugar levels. Yeast converts sugar into alcohol during fermentation.

The temporary increase in champagne's alcohol content is only expected to affect a small number of wines, a spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne told the BBC.

"Therefore a decision was made to exceptionally and temporarily increase the regulatory limit to 15% - only for this year," she said.

"The 2026 growing season will be remembered as one of the most unusual in Champagne's history, marked by severe spring frosts of historic intensity, an exceptionally early flowering period and five heatwaves throughout the summer." it added.

Higher-strength champagne is unlikely to be an obvious selling point, warned Jane Anson, a wine columnist and author based in Bordeaux.

"The battle between what consumers want and what nature provides must be very stressful for producers."

Maxime Toubart, co-chair of the Comite Champagne, told the AFP news agency that the likelihood of hotter weather in the future means "this unusual harvest will probably become the norm in 10 to 15 years".

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