Champagne sales have been on sparkling form of late. Prices, too, have been bubbling as fast, if not faster than for a barrel of crude oil. And, like crude oil, demand has been outstripping supply. But, unlike crude oil, there is little chance that supply will ultimately dry up unless climate change – however unlikely – turns the north-eastern Champagne region of France into a desert.

The French authorities have agreed to extend the territory where champagne grapes can be grown to ease the supply shortage. Even this is hardly expected to reduce significantly the longer-term gap between supply and demand. Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that many consider the champagne industry recession-proof. Consumers seem to keep on drinking champagne in good times and bad; as Winston Churchill noted: “In victory you deserve it; in defeat you need it.”