https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from France in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed French champagne houses are looking forward to bumper sales this year, but it is feared the Covid surge in the lead-up to Christmas and New Year could dampen festive expectations https://www.thelocal.fr/20211203/french-champagne-houses-expect-bumper-2021-sales Fri, 03 Dec 2021 16:59:04 +0100 french-champagne-houses-expect-bumper-2021-sales Russian elites could soon find themselves without their favourite French bubbles if Moet Hennessy makes good on a threat to halt champagne supplies following a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210705/french-champagne-makers-threaten-boycott-of-russia-over-sparkling-wine-label Mon, 05 Jul 2021 11:44:24 +0200 french-champagne-makers-threaten-boycott-of-russia-over-sparkling-wine-label A dessert cannot be called Champagne flavoured if it doesn't taste like the sparkling wine, a German court said in a ruling in favour of French vintners published Thursday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210702/french-champagne-makers-win-court-case-against-german-supermarkets-sorbet Fri, 02 Jul 2021 10:50:00 +0200 french-champagne-makers-win-court-case-against-german-supermarkets-sorbet Tapas bars in Barcelona called 'champanillos' could see off a legal challenge from France's Champagne region if the European Court of Justice follows a legal opinion published on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210430/tapas-bars-could-put-cork-in-champagne-name-challenge Fri, 30 Apr 2021 13:13:44 +0200 tapas-bars-could-put-cork-in-champagne-name-challenge Champagne sales plunged last year as coronavirus lockdowns stymied tourism and shut bars, hotels and restaurants, its trade association said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20210127/frances-champagne-houses-lose-1-billion-as-sales-plunged-during-lockdown Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:16:54 +0100 frances-champagne-houses-lose-1-billion-as-sales-plunged-during-lockdown French champagne producers had extra reason to celebrate this week with the sealing of a post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and the UK, the biggest market for the sparkling wine synonymous with luxury. https://www.thelocal.fr/20201227/the-english-are-resilient-champagne-houses-toast-brexit-deal Sun, 27 Dec 2020 14:14:18 +0100 the-english-are-resilient-champagne-houses-toast-brexit-deal Champagne is now connected: Thanks to tracking technology, champagne houses now have tools to better guard against fraud while gaining a new channel to interact with their customers. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190602/france-tech-in-lables-brings-data-security-to-champagne-industry Sun, 02 Jun 2019 11:01:13 +0200 france-tech-in-lables-brings-data-security-to-champagne-industry A small winemaker in northern France has launched a Champagne bottle that changes colour and design when it reaches the correct temperature. https://www.thelocal.fr/20190309/french-winemaker-introduces-colour-changing-champagne-bottle Sat, 09 Mar 2019 10:04:27 +0100 french-winemaker-introduces-colour-changing-champagne-bottle To celebrate the early arrival of a “very good vintage” harvest of champagne grapes, we’re honouring France’s glitzy beverage with some interesting facts you can use to impress guests at your next get-together. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180822/champagne-ten-fascinating-facts-about-frances-prized-bubbly Wed, 22 Aug 2018 17:11:13 +0200 champagne-ten-fascinating-facts-about-frances-prized-bubbly Champagne's grape harvest kicked off on Monday, about two weeks earlier than usual, with the industry predicting a "very good" vintage of the prized bubbly thanks to ideal weather conditions. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180821/champagne-harvest-starts-early-as-winemakers-predict-very-good-vintage Tue, 21 Aug 2018 11:00:14 +0200 champagne-harvest-starts-early-as-winemakers-predict-very-good-vintage The popular British pub chain JD Wetherspoon, whose founder is a staunch supporter of Brexit, has said it will stop selling French champagne in favour of sparkling wines that aren't made in the European Union. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180613/pro-brexit-british-pub-chain-to-drop-french-champagne Wed, 13 Jun 2018 18:51:48 +0200 pro-brexit-british-pub-chain-to-drop-french-champagne French champagne producers are counting their losses after a battering by a wave of hail storms that wiped out 1,000 hectares of grapes, the main growers' association said Wednesday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180530/hail-storms-leave-french-champagne-makers-battered Wed, 30 May 2018 14:59:43 +0200 hail-storms-leave-french-champagne-makers-battered At first glance, 2017 was a stellar year for French champagne, with 307 million bottles sold for a record 4.9 billion euros ($6.0 billion) -- but many of those growing the grapes see little to celebrate. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180304/record-year-for-french-champagne-hides-tough-market Sun, 04 Mar 2018 09:32:02 +0100 record-year-for-french-champagne-hides-tough-market The Champagne house Pol Roger has unearthed bottles of vintage bubbly from the debris of cellars that collapsed in 1900 and buried more than a million bottles of the luxury wine. https://www.thelocal.fr/20180214/treasure-trove-of-long-lost-19th-century-champagne-unearthed Wed, 14 Feb 2018 14:00:14 +0100 treasure-trove-of-long-lost-19th-century-champagne-unearthed A bubble it is not: the organic movement is only slowly taking root in France's Champagne region, although its proponents believe environmentally friendly techniques can help the sparkling wine express even finer subtleties. https://www.thelocal.fr/20171231/organic-champagne-making-a-slow-fizz-into-glasses Sun, 31 Dec 2017 09:32:24 +0100 organic-champagne-making-a-slow-fizz-into-glasses Popping a bottle of champagne that has been stored at 20 degrees Celsius (something one really ought never do) ejects a fleeting "mini-cloud" colder than ice and blue as the sky, awestruck scientists said on Thursday. https://www.thelocal.fr/20170915/france-awestruck-scientists-discover-totally-unexpected-blue-champagne-cloud Fri, 15 Sep 2017 12:47:54 +0200 france-awestruck-scientists-discover-totally-unexpected-blue-champagne-cloud In caves deep underground in France's Champagne region lie thousands of shells that are 45 million years old, a site researchers describe as "rare and exceptional" -- and which may have influenced the flavour of the local bubbly. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160913/ancient-shells-that-flavour-champagne Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:57:13 +0200 ancient-shells-that-flavour-champagne France's Champagne country has little to celebrate as global warming threatens to wreak havoc on production, forcing winegrowers to take a sober look at their future. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160805/reinventing-champagne-in-face-of-climate-change Fri, 05 Aug 2016 11:06:38 +0200 reinventing-champagne-in-face-of-climate-change A bid by Champagne industry chiefs to ban a Spanish kids drink Champin has gone flat after a ruling from the Spanish Supreme Court. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160308/champagne-loses-court-battle-to-ban-kids-drink-champin Tue, 08 Mar 2016 11:57:04 +0100 champagne-loses-court-battle-to-ban-kids-drink-champin Sales of Champagne hit €4.75 billion last year but it's not just the French who clearly have cause to celebrate. https://www.thelocal.fr/20160218/thirsty-foreign-buyers-help-champagne-sales-break-record Thu, 18 Feb 2016 08:20:01 +0100 thirsty-foreign-buyers-help-champagne-sales-break-record