Is 2001 a good year for champagne

A.� The French champage industry has been badly hit by the wettest weather for 120 years. The weather has resulted in outbreaks of the grape disease botrytis in what little harvest there has been.

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Q.� Does this mean it won't be a vintage year

A.� For the first time in a decade, France will not produce a champage classed as a vintage. Champage is produced in vineyards around Reims and Epernay. Grape-picking began at the 6,000 vineyards in those regions earlier this month, and growers have stated that the quality of the grapes is poor, with low alcohol and acidity levels.

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Q.�What quality must champagne be for vintage status

A.� All the grapes used in its production must come from the same year for vintage classification. Because the harvest has been so badly affected in 2001, champagne houses will use a blend from different years to make their products.

Prolonged periods of wet weather affects the maturity of the grapes and means the balance of acidity and sugar is low. In a normal year, 85 per cent of champagne is a blend of grapes from various years, while 15 per cent is vintage.

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Q.� What will happen to the vineyards

A.� Some producers are now delaying the harvest in the hope of drier conditions, which would allow the swollen grapes to dry and low sugar levels could then increase. Under a quota agreement this year, champagne growers will be allowed to leave much of the rotten fruit on the vines.

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Q.� How much champagne is drunk in Britain

A.� Champagne sales have soared in the UK in recent years. It has become the biggest champagne-drinking nation outside France. Between January and May this year, 7.7 million bottles were shipped over the Channel to the UK - a 39 per cent increase on last year. However, worldwide sales of the stuff are expected to drop sharply because of the terrorist attacks on the US. A cutback in corporate entertaining in Britain is also likely to hit overall consumption.

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by Katharine MacColl