Report suggests Swiss know little about champagne

Most champagne is sold in the run-up to New Year celebrations Keystone

A new report into Swiss drinking habits suggests most people know more about wine than they do champagne.

According to research undertaken by the editor of the wine magazine, “Vinum”, Swiss people are very well informed about wine “but know nothing about champagne”.

“Your average Swiss is the sort of person who would order a Dom Pérignon because he has heard that it is the stuff James Bond drinks,” Rolf Bichsel suggests in the latest edition of the magazine, timed to coincide with the annual New Year celebrations.

“There is still a lot of work to be done to educate people about champagne,” he adds.

Retailers upbeat

Despite the negative assessment of people’s knowledge of the sparkling alcoholic beverage, Swiss retailers remain upbeat about the amount of champagne bottles sold every year.

Karl Weisskopf, spokesman for the national supermarket chain, Coop, said sales of champagne “remained constant”.

Nearly 10.8 million litres of sparkling wine including champagne were imported into Switzerland during 2001, an increase of 17.6 per cent on the previous year.

“Around 80 to 85 per cent of our champagne sales are made between mid-November and the New Year,” Weisskopf said.

“But champagne struggles to stand out during the rest of the year.”

swissinfo with agencies