Double Bay in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs has been revealed as the Australian suburb that drinks the most champagne.

Endeavour Group compared the sales of champagne in over 1600 of their Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores, with the Dan Murphy’s in Double Bay coming out clearly on top followed by Willoughby on Sydney’s lower north shore.

The group found that champagne sales have been on the increase, with Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte being the fastest growing brand and seeing a 200 per cent growth in sales in NSW.

The champagne, which costs $52 a bottle, is often the house champagne in venues in France.

Andrew Shedden, head of fine wine at Endeavour Group, told The Australian that non-vintage champagne continues to drive the majority of the sales volume for the company, but there is growth in premium brands and across vintage expressions specifically, plus increasing interest in smaller producers such as Philipponnat, AR Lenoble and Delamotte.

John Noble, director of the Champagne Bureau in Australia said: “Champagne demand in Australia is exceptionally high and I think it is important to remember this time of year it is definitely the Champagne season.

“Our indicators for the year show really strong growth in the market continued through 2022 and remember that in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, Australia was the only market in the world that showed significant growth.

“Australians don’t wait for celebrations to drink champagne, we drink champagne that makes the celebration and this time of year the weather is better, we are going outside, drinking champagne on the terrace or by the pool, in the backyards at barbecues and it really is an exceptional time for champagne in our market.”

Pernod Ricard Winemakers tips strong champagne sales

Pernod Ricard Winemakers Chair Bryan Fry told The Australian he doesn’t expect heightened cost of living stresses on household budgets to affect sales of its Mumm and Perrier-Jouët Champagnes in Australia.

“I have a theory that people don’t want to go back to the days where we were locked in at home and I think people are going to manage their budgets and try as much as possible to enjoy themselves where they can,” Fry said.

“And pulling back on household spend, so perhaps less trips to restaurants every week, maybe more cooking at home, and if there are more home meals we see that as an opportunity.

“People doing more home hosting with friends, we see that as an opportunity where people will still go and buy a premium bottle of wine or champagne.”

Pernod Ricard’s FY22 results saw organic sales growth of 17% totally €10.7million, with sales surging by double digits across each of its regions. Among the brands that saw the biggest organic net growth was Perrier-Jouët, which was up 32%.

‘We believe for $65 for a bottle of champagne, maybe sounds expensive, but compared to many other things we see it as a small luxury.

“And what we are finding is that wine above $20 in Australia, wine above $US20 in the US and above £10 in the UK is actually not too bad, there is still some growth there, it is actually wine at the lower end of the spectrum or price point that is struggling a bit.”