Brits cut back on Champagne as austerity bites The second biggest export market is the US, which saw shipments of Champagne rise by 14 per cent in 2011 to 19.4 million bottles. Emerging markets in Asia have also developed a taste for the drink. Shipments to India rose by 60 per cent to 290,000 bottles, while shipments to Russia rose by a quarter to 1.3 million bottles. Francoise Peretti, the UK Champagne Bureau director, said that appetite for the drink remains strong in the UK, despite the dip in shipments. Never mind the mood of austerity. Champagne shipments for 2011 closed within a whisker of the volume for 2010 - and that's remarkable in the current economic climate," said Mr Peretti. The bureau's figures show that despite an overall decline in shipments to the UK since 2007, there was an increase between 2009 and 2010, when people thought that the economic downturn was behind them. However the economy's longer-than-expected recovery meant that consumption fell again last year. Mr Peretti added that events in the UK this year such as the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee should provide a boost to sales. "Champagne is forever Britain's first choice for celebration, and we have a great deal of celebrating to do," he said.