Record heatwaves in France set to make champagne stronger

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

Winemakers can temporarily produce champagne with an alcohol content of up to 15% - above the 13% cap, industry officials have said.

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

France's Champagne region also saw its earliest-ever harvest due to the weather, something that could become the norm "in 10 to 15 years" because of climate change, according to the Comite Champagne industry association.

The temporary increase in champagne's alcohol content is only expected to affect a small number of wines, a spokeswoman for the Comite Champagne told the BBC.

During the second fermentation process, which 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 said.

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 said.

"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 added.

Speaking in the Times newspaper, Stéphane Vignon, a producer in Verzenay said: "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, warned Jane Anson, a wine columnist and author based in Bordeaux.

She told the Times: "Today people increasingly prefer lower-alcohol

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

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, told the AFP news agency that the likelihood of hotter weather in the future 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 huge wildfires.

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

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