Italians & Champagne, an increasingly passionate liason: trends from the Signorvino Observatory

Champagne is increasingly loved by Italian consumers, and not only to celebrate great occasions: in fact, French bubbles are gaining popularity for everyday drinking, thanks to their elegant versatility, which facilitates pairings throughout the meal. Data from the Signorvino Observatory - a chain of wine shops born in 2012 from an idea of Sandro Veronesi - show purchases on the rise and an increasing number of requests, as also confirmed by the testimonials collected by WineNews at the “Modena Champagne Experience”. Suffice it to say that Italy represents the fourth largest market in the world for the prestigious French labels, which are celebrated on “Champagne Day” on October 27.
Signorvino - which today has more than 30 points of sale and a particularly active e-commerce channel, and which between November and December will land abroad for the first time, in Prague and Paris - highlights an evolution of the bubbly category, through the analysis of sales (period from November 2022 to October 10, 2023): the number of bottles sold (retail channels + e-commerce) of the “bubbly” category was more than 400,000, a number that underscores how this is among the most chosen by Signorvino customers (at least 1 bottle purchased out of every 3 is a sparkling wine). Of these, 37% are Metodo Classico and 63% are Metodo Charmat, an incidence that is clearly reversed if we look at the figure by value. The appellation that most represents the category in value terms in Signorvino purchases is Franciacorta, followed by Prosecco (first appellation in quantity) and immediately after by Champagne. It is followed, somewhat at a distance, by Trento Doc, Alta Langa and other Metodo Classico sparkling wines.
In a year of sales, Champagne has thus earned the third step on a podium that still has large Italian bubblies firmly in the top two positions. The sparkling wine category, however, thanks to the boost of this important new appellation characterized by products with a decidedly high price point, led to an average category value increase of +27%.
But who are the customers of Signorvino - which on “Champagne Day” will offer in its stores a special promo with discounts, tasting by the glass and masterclasses - hunting for bubbles? First of all, enthusiasts with heterogeneous tastes, ranging from daily consumption to grand occasions. The most in-demand type of Champagne is certainly Blanc de Blancs, although analysis by specific product reveals how the best-selling references are the Vintages of the great Houses. If we focus attention only on Signorvino Club loyalty customers, we observe how Champagne manages to climb the podium even up to the second position in the bubbly category. Franciacorta remains the favorite appellation among loyalty customers, while Trento Doc takes the bronze medal.
Profiling the customer further, there is a slight preference of Gen Z (customers aged 26 to 18) in opting for French bubbly over domestic. Their predecessors, the Millennials, detach, on the other hand, sharply in their purchasing choices, preferring Franciacorta up to 15% more over Champagne. A further distinction can be seen in dosages: young people vary their taste toward Brut to Extra Brut types, preferring lower dosages, confirming the trend of taste variation that is becoming increasingly distinctive for new consumers.
This is a trend that Signorvino is firmly following: “abroad”, explains Federico Veronesi, owner with his family of the Signorvino brand, “we will have an increasingly large assortment of wines. In Paris, for example, we will propose a wide selection of Champagne while keeping strong our identity and our main objective, which is the enhancement of Italian products and suppliers”.