Making Mealtime Meaningful: Discover how we're giving back with the 12T Cares program →

In 2020, there was hardly anything worth celebrating. It seemed like the world was bombarded with one tragedy after another – with the COVID-19 pandemic perhaps being the biggest news story to circulate the world.

Because of this global pandemic, many of us spent the majority of the year stuck inside. And while the stay-at-home orders meant that we may have gotten a handle on home organization or began work on a passion project, it also meant that not many of us were popping open the bubbly and marking significant milestones. We just weren’t feeling much joy throughout the year.

Photo: Pixabay

Because of this, it comes as no surprise that many retailers ended up reporting low champagne sales in 2020. In fact, Reuters reported that champagne sales were down by 18% during the 2020 year – a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the numbers weren’t as bad as what was initially anticipated, in total, the sales of champagne totaled 245 million bottles sold in 2020 – this was less than the nearly 300 million in 2019.

Photo: Unsplash

The CIVC co-Chairman Maxime Toubart said to Reuters, “It is a little better than we had thought. Around the world, even if we are not allowed to party, there were still some events to celebrate, and champagne is a symbol of celebration.”

Photo: Pixabay

Going forward, champagne sellers can only hope that the sales will get a boost towards the end of the year should the world begin to reopen and go back to normal. With the vaccine already being distributed, and so long as people continue to take this virus seriously, we can all remain hopeful that one day soon we’ll be popping champagne with the people we care about.

Subscribe to 12 Tomatoes