Why 2026 champagne could leave you with an even worse hangover
- French authorities have granted a one-off exemption allowing the alcohol content of champagne to reach up to 15 per cent following record summer heatwaves.
- The National Origin and Quality Institute usually caps champagne at 13 per cent, but extreme heat left grapes unusually rich in sugar, which converts into alcohol during fermentation.
- Industry experts from the Comité Champagne warned that such weather conditions could become the norm within 10 to 15 years due to climate change.
- Producers plan to moderate the higher alcohol levels by blending grapes from different harvest years to protect the drink’s traditional image.
- Bottles produced from this summer’s harvest are not expected to hit shop shelves until at least 2028 due to the minimum fermentation process required.
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