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First the Russians were credited with fuelling the London property boom. Then their wealth flooded into sectors from art to sports cars. Now the rush of roubles into Britain is credited with funding another rising market - champagne.
Along with wealthy Indians, the estimated 300,000 Russian emigrés in
Britain are being credited with spearheading a sharp increase in sales of rose and vintage bubbly.
And New Zealand bubbly-makers are vying for a slice of the lucrative market.
Connoisseurs, buyers and makers gathering around spittoons in London's Whitehall this week for the industry's annual tasting, the largest in the world and featuring about 10,000 bottles of champagne, toasted a 5 per cent growth in the value of the British market last year to more than £340 million or 37 million bottles.
From the ultra-expensive labels of Dom Perignon and Cristal to the dominance of supermarkets and their own-label brands, champagne sales have now increased in Britain for 11 years running.
Organisers said a modest 1 per cent rise in the volume of sales in Britain, the biggest champagne market outside France, was offset by "increasingly discerning" Britons buying more expensive types of fizz to mark events from Christmas to Sunday lunch.
Sales of rosé champagne increased by 14 per cent with a similar rise in single vintage and "cuvée prestige" or blended vintage champagnes. Such is the level of demand for rosé that some champagne houses have already sold their 2007 allocation.
Francoise Peretti, director of the Champagne Information Bureau, which organises the event in the Rubens-decorated Banqueting House on Whitehall, said demand was being underpinned by wealthy expat communities in London.
She said: "In recent years the area of London and the M25 has become truly cosmopolitan, in particular with the arrival of large numbers of Russians and Indian millionaires. Champagne was popular in Russia before 1917 and the taste for it remains.
"But the British palate as a whole is also becoming increasingly discerning. The restaurant and food revolution in the UK has instilled demand for vintage champagnes."
Champagne makers gathered in the gilded surroundings of the Banqueting House, which provided the backdrop for the execution of Charles I, confirmed that production in the region will peak at about 380 million bottles at some point in the next decade, making sales of more expensive fizz the only avenue for growth.
Members of the Russian emigré community said there was little doubt it would be doing its bit to bolster the trade. Aliona Muchinskaya, a former Russian journalist turned party organiser and public relations consultant, said: "As a Russian, you cannot have an event in London and not offer champagne. It is a prestige thing."
The increasing taste for fizzy wine means that champagne faces intense competition in Britain from rival producers in countries from Spain to New Zealand.
Champagne, whose production methods and name are jealously guarded by producers, accounts for about 40 per cent of the British fizzy wine market, worth £830 million ($2290). Ms Peretti insisted that the status of champagne as a "luxury brand" means its real competition is so-called super-premium spirits such as expensive vodkas and single malt whiskies.
Indeed, with about 200 different champagnes lined up on long tables and alongside stands representing 70 champagne houses from the giants of Moet et Chandon and Laurent Perrier to small co-operatives, the talk at this week's event was more about how to keep up with current demand.
As recently as five years ago, rosé champagne was considered a niche market in Britain.
Now it is the area of strongest sales growth, forcing growers to crank up production of what is increasingly called "the English champagne".
Peter Reeves, head of Cattier champagne in Britain, said: "The growth in rosé has been extraordinary.
"There is a two-year time lag in champagne production - the wine made this year will not be available until 2009.
"So the rosé we have to sell this year was made in 2005, before the trend became really clear. We are having to tell new customers we don't have any rosé available this year and can only sell to our existing clients."
As one buyer for a well-known wine merchant put it: "People buy champagne to feel good about themselves.
"There are plenty of cheaper wines out there that are every bit as good as champagne. But champagne has cornered the market in allure and we fall for it every time."
- Independent
