‘Champagne shortage is real’: Popular bubbly brands harder to find this Christmas

However, Kirkpatrick – a global speaker and advisor on champagne and a former ambassador for Moet & Chandon – said the current shortage was primarily confined to the most well-known brands, with lesser-known champagne houses still available on shelves.

“We have diversification of our interest into gin, craft vodka, craft beer, boutique wineries. Yet why are consumers still drinking big-name champagnes which are not the best champagnes in the world, by any stretch of the imagination?” she said.

Parisians will turn their nose up if gifted a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, she added.

“It’s almost offensive because it’s not considered. You didn’t put any thought into it.”

After the end-of-year festivities, Kirkpatrick believes champagne demand will reduce significantly as people will tighten their belts even further. “For the first time in maybe 20 or 30 years, we are going to see luxury [consumption] slow down.”

John Noble, the Australian director of the Champagne Bureau, which regulates production and yield of champagne, said the sparkling wine was “flying out the door” and described Australians as being particularly brand loyal.

“There is plenty of champagne, but we might notice the one we traditionally buy is not available. Maybe today’s the day to try something else,” he said.

Australian Grape & Wine chief Lee Maclean encouraged Australians to look to locally produced options.

“There’s still some fantastic Australian prosecco on the market … whether it is Tasmanian sparkling, sparkling shiraz from the Barossa Valley, or prosecco from the King Valley in Victoria, these are all excellent options.

“If they can’t get a hold of their favourite champagne at Christmas, they should be looking to transition to one of these other wines.”

Anticipating high demand ahead of the festive season, Endeavour Group – which owns Dan Murphy’s and BWS – has ensured its stores are well-stocked.

“We have pulled forward a fair bit of stock, and we’ve gone really broad in terms of the range we’ve got this year. We’ve got a fantastic range of over 200 different types of champagne,” said Dan Murphy’s managing director Agi Pfeiffer-Smith.

“There are amazing champagne houses all over France. We tend to sort of focus on a few key brands – but I think we’ve got really a broad range of fantastic product.”