Brisk Sales and Stable Prices Make French Champagne Makers Bubbly

French champagne makers see new reason to crack open the bubbly as they look ahead to brisk sales and stable grape prices between now and 2000.

This “is turning out to be a record year,” said Lorson Daniel, a representative for the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne, France’s champagne trade association. “Excluding any catastrophes, we’re sure to reach historical records in sales by the end of the year.”

That’s welcome news for two of the world’s largest champagne makers, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Remy Cointreau, which expect to see fatter profits as grape prices are held down until the next century.

“Higher volumes, given stable prices, will result in higher profits as surely as day follows night,” said Jonathan Goble, a drinks analyst at BZW Ltd. in Paris. “It’s a glimmer of good news in an environment where bad news seems to travel better. Everyone likes to run down France and here are some guys doing well.”

In volume terms, the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne projects 250 million bottles of champagne will be sold this year, up from last year’s 246 million.

The 1996 figure will break the 1989 record of 249 million bottles sold. However, turnover is expected to reach just 15 billion francs ($2.9 billion), compared with 17 billion in 1989, because consumers have switched to cheaper brands in the face of rising prices, analysts said.