Champagne Sales Are Down And The Industry Thinks It's Because People Are Too Bummed To Celebrate Things

There are plenty of industries that are struggling these days and one of them is the Champagne industry.

According to CNN, shipments of bubbly were down 10% last year, and that includes France where Champagne is produced where sales are also way down.

Comité Champagne is a trade organization representing vineyards cranking out Champagne, and the organization's co-president Maxime Toubart has an explanation.

Toubart said that there is "no time for celebration, with inflation, conflicts around the world, economic uncertainty, and a political wait-and-see attitude in some of Champagne’s biggest markets."

Alright, I'll give you inflation, but I'm not buying for a second that people just aren't ready to celebrate. Celebrating is great. I like it so much more than not celebrating.

The Champagne industry is hurting and they say it's because the world is such a bummer that people don't want to celebrate stuff. (Getty Images)

I think it's just that there are an infinite number of ways to celebrate something other than popping some bottles. 

I don't know about you, but I like celebrating things. Unfortunately, those things don't reach Champagne level.

A wedding or something, sure, but I'm usually just commemorating a clean bill of health from the doctor by ruining it with a celebratory Big Mac or celebrating a Flyers win by pulling a ceremonial Tastykake out of the freezer (by the way, that's the best way to enjoy Tastykakes).

I mean, how often do you do something Champagne-worthy?

Sure, if you're christening a boat or just won a Formula 1 Grand Prix, then yeah, champagne is in order, but I think the times the normal person gets to do that are few and far between. For other celebrations, you don't need champagne.

Also, if you were going to celebrate with champagne, no one would have a bottle of Dom Perignon in their hand and then put it back on the shelf because of geopolitics.

"No, I can't with a good conscience pop open this bottle and spray at my friends… not with the geopolitical situations around the world being the way they are. No way, no how."

Maybe times are changing, and Champagne is just on the way out.