No no no. Not on the beaches where you mostly go to brown your bodies.
Toast yourself with a flute of champagne because you have been very good girls and boys last year.
Firstly you might raise a glass to thank the effervescent Tyson Stelzer, our very own global expert in all things bubbly. Brisbane-based Tyson is acclaimed around the world for his knowledge of the Champagne region and its wines and his fearless critiques of this most magical beverage.
He has recently compiled the figures for 2015 that show just how well Downunder has been in downing it share of champagne.
Of all the countries on the planet, Australia was the fastest growing.
Not just by a couple of glasses either. Tyson describes the growth as ‘explosive’ the fastest of any country in any year in history; up by almost a quarter to 1.5 million bottles.
Our little island of battlers at the bottom of the globe now ranks seventh in the world in total champagne consumption, behind France, the UK, the USA, Germany, Japan and Belgium. We stand at fifth in per capita consumption. Not bad.
But not all rosy
The statistics Tyson has assembled show our unique preferences in bubbles.
We tend to go for the cheaper non-vintage bottles. We drink markedly less of the prestige blends like Dom Perignon and Cristal and much less rosé. We are not as adventurous as some countries, staying with the big names, drinking very little of the ‘grower’ brands which are rapidly taking the fancy of connoisseurs overseas.
Taste for yourself
Tyson doesn’t just lock himself in a room full of bottles and glasses as he writes his reports. (His latest book, The Champagne Guide 2016-2017 published by Hardie Grant, is the perfect present for anyone you know who loves champagne).
He takes his knowledge to the road as well.
Taste Champagne
Coming up in August he has planned Taste Champagne events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, where you can taste to your heart’s content. These presentations will showcase 46 Champagne Houses with a range of labels. Many you will know, some will be new to your palate. There will be prestige blends, vintage, non-vintage and rosés. A treasure trove of the finer tastes in life.
The dates are:
Sydney, Monday 15th August.
Melbourne, Monday 22 August.
Brisbane, Monday 29th August.
You can find all the details at www.tastechampagne.com.au
Australia’s best bubbles too
Is Tyson perhaps being un-Australian with his concentration on the wines of Champagne? Not at all.
Amazingly this man, in spite of his relentless scholarship on the world’s finest bubbles, also finds the time to sample not just the best Australian sparklers but to have a decent look at almost all the fizz we make here. He has tasted and evaluated; he has written it all up and made his report available FREE to anyone who wants to download it.
You can find it at:
http://tysonstelzer.com/articles/tyson-stelzers-australian-sparkling-wine-report-2016
Thanks Tyson. To you we raise our flutes. Cheers.
