The biggest Champagne houses are suing English wineries. Quietly buying English soil. And losing to them in blind tastings. If you’ve ever wondered why a bottle of Champagne costs £100 — and whether it’s still worth it — this video is for you.
The French built the most powerful marketing story in wine. The British just made it irrelevant. And the French already know.
I’m Anya Gariboldi — sommelier, wine judge, WSET Diploma.
🔴 Wine Sense Method — read ANY wine label in any country: https://course.thegrandcruaffair.com/
🍷 Free Vintage Chart — never buy a legendary name from a disaster year: https://thegrandcruaffair.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video
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ENGLISH SPARKLING BOTTLES TO BUY
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Chapel Down Brut NV
Ridgeview Bloomsbury Brut NV
Hambledon Classic Cuvée
Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
Roebuck Estates Reserve 2020
Gusbourne Reserve Brut
Most of these are available at Waitrose, M&S, or Majestic
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — The French houses secretly buying English soil
1:00 — The French sued a small English winery
2:32 — Why one of the biggest Champagne houses is in panic
2:54 — The climate problem nobody talks about
4:10 — The chalk that runs under the English Channel
4:47 — The Champagne sales collapse
6:27 — The 2025 blind tasting that broke a 34-year record
7:30 — The Champagne Killer bottles
#champagne #sparklingwine #winery #wine #blindtasting #sommelier #frenchwine
7 Comments
Some English sparkling is very good but a lot is quite average imo and yet all are pricy. Your £40-50 bottle might be amazing but equally could just be bland. No bargains to be had.
IMO gusborne is excellent. Nyetimber classic is very dull
English sparkling is still terra incognita for me, but I’ve noticed one thing. Ten years ago, the premium sparkling section in my local wine shop was exclusively Champagne. Now I see a lot of Franciacorta, Trento DOC, Corpinnat, Classic Penedes, and Alta Langa on the shelves. The owner told me that people are buying more from growers now, while sales from the big houses are declining in his shop. He hasn’t sold a single bottle of Moet at full price in the last year
Anya, Dom Perignon and Cristal Champagne will always be very popular to impress.🤔Thanks for covering the rise of English Sparklings. 🍾
The real war for Champagne is Prosecco, to the point the former relies on illegal workers from Africa to reduce costs and compete (source DW). USA trade war and English quality make things worse for France. Great clip. Hard to disagree about the advatanges of English bubbly.
If I had a dollar for every time I drank an overpriced French champagne, and paid for it, I'd be filling my pool with Perrier-Jouet. These companies know exactly how to brand items in a way to entice brand chasing. Looks like I'm leaving France and taking the Chunnel to England on my next bottle, thank you Anya.
Buona Sera Anya … I like your side angle …
Thanks for keeping your promise!
1. Actually the English invented sparkling wine – French just copied
2. LVMH are investing in Chinese winaries as well, it will be intetsting to get some insights on their wine industry. Chinese are great in copying everythig, so there is all reasons for them to become leaders in wine making as well.
3. The UK winaries heavily investing in non alcoholic wines..In my opinion it is pointless product but this is just my opinion. I'm quite sure that if it is such a hot trend, then there is a demand for it.