Record heatwaves in France set to make champagne stronger

12 September 2026, 13: 50 BST.

Key points

• The 2026 vintage is unlikely to hit shelves until 2028 as champagne must age for at least 15 months.
• Speaking in the Times newspaper, Stéphane Vignon, a producer in Verzenay remarked: The Mediterranean climate is moving north.
• Winemakers can temporarily produce champagne with an alcohol content of up to 15% – above the 13% cap, industry authorities have stated.
• Higher-strength champagne is unlikely to be an obvious selling point, cautioned Jane Anson, a wine columnist and author based in Bordeaux.
• The temporary growth in champagne's alcohol content is only anticipated to affect a small number of wines, a spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne informed the BBC.

Champagne lovers may find themselves getting tipsy more rapidly after French producers have been given the go-ahead to raise the alcohol content in a bottle of bubbly for the first time after this summer's record heatwave.

Notably, the extreme heat and drought produced grapes with exceptionally higher sugar levels. Yeast converts sugar into alcohol during fermentation.

France's Champagne region additionally saw its earliest-ever harvest due to the weather, something that could become the norm "in 10 to 15 years" as of climate change, according to the Comite Champagne industry association. How will extreme weather affect our food? France links sharp rise in drownings to heatwaves.

Meanwhile, the temporary growth in champagne's alcohol content is only anticipated to affect a small number of wines, a spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne informed the BBC.

During the second fermentation process. It gives champagne its bubbles, "a very small number of wines from this harvest could have slightly exceeded the regulatory limit of 13%, reaching around 13.1% or 13.2%".

"Therefore a decision was made to exceptionally and temporarily increase the regulatory limit to 15% – only for this year, " she remarked.

Notably, the first grapes were cut in early August and the harvest expanded by the middle of the month, "the earliest ever recorded in Champagne", the association remarked.

"The 2026 growing season will be remembered as one of the most unusual in Champagne's history, marked by severe spring frosts of historic intensity, an exceptionally early flowering period and five heatwaves throughout the summer." it continued.

Speaking in the Times newspaper, Stéphane Vignon, a producer in Verzenay remarked: "The Mediterranean climate is moving north. This is year one of a new cycle. It's unlikely to be every year, but it will happen again".

Higher-strength champagne is unlikely to be an obvious selling point, cautioned Jane Anson, a wine columnist and author based in Bordeaux. She informed the Times: Today residents increasingly prefer lower-alcohol.

"The battle between what consumers want and what nature provides must be very stressful for producers."

Notably, the 2026 vintage is unlikely to hit shelves until 2028 as champagne must age for at least 15 months.

Maxime Toubart, co-chair of the Comite Champagne, informed the AFP news agency that the likelihood of hotter weather going forward means "this unusual harvest will probably become the norm in 10 to 15 years".

France has been one of Europe's worst-hit countries during this year's extreme weather, sparking massive wildfires.

Climate change is driving up global average temperatures, making heatwaves more frequent and intense.

It has been felt acutely in Europe. It is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus climate service., external.

For now, record heatwaves in France set to make champagne stronger remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.