EU Records First Drop in Sparkling Wine Exports in Decade as Champagne Loses Its Fizz

Bottles of Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot French champagne are seen in this illustration picture, taken on July 5, 2021. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters

BRUSSELS—The European Union’s exports of sparkling wine to the rest of the world fell last year for the first time in a decade, Eurostat said on Friday, largely because of a massive drop in champagne sales, though prosecco and cava sold well.

The COVID-19 pandemic dampened wine trade globally in 2020, the latest year for which data are available, as restaurants and bars remained closed for long periods.